Video contains SPOILERS!
So I too have been entranced by the song “Jai Ho!” by A. H. Rahman off of the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. Still haven’t actually seen the movie yet, so I don’t want to comment on the movie itself, and issues surrounding it. (Such as: the portrayal of India or the very Western fairy-tale like plot. This post and this post at Racialicious is better than anything I can come up with.)
So far, I’ve only listened to two of the songs off of the soundtrack, “Jai Ho” and “Paper Planes” because I’m a fan of her and her music.
And then there’s the Pussycat Dolls version. It’s basically just using the catchy background music to a completely different song and A.H. Rahman singing the hook, ‘Jai Ho.’ The original lyrics aren’t quite as sexual as their American counterpart, and more about celebrating life. The PCD version is your basic PCD song.
Usually when a song is translated to English, while still usually a bit opportunistic (see the controversy surrounding the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight“), the problems aren’t that obvious. The Pussycat Dolls ‘cover’ is clearly an cash-in on the popularity of Slumdog Millionaireand the craftsmanship of Rahman.
In this case, I’m sticking with the original. The song is mostly sung in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi but there is a section sung in Spanish and the song also includes elements of Japanese and Arabic music.
But is the original song in the native tongue always better? I think for the most part, yes.
Let me explain what I mean by better. Usually with the original you are getting the songwriter’s immediate thoughts (edited for coherency and rhythm) including colloquialisms that make sense in the native tongue. Often times in translations the meanings get lost, sentences get longer often times making the song sound awkward.
With the orginial ”Jai Ho” you don’t need to know any of the Indian-based languages to appreciate how the words sound. (Obviously, it helps.) It may seem silly at first, but I think how something sounds is one of the most important parts of writing a song or a poem, right under the actual content of the song. An awkwardly phrased sentence / line is akin to nails down a chalkboard for many writers.
To explain what I mean, let me provide an example with some Latino singers whose songs are on my iPod right now. I think that discussing Latino singers and Spanish lyrics and their crossover appeal to outside audiences pertinent to talk about since it also reflects on the change going on in the United States with the growing Latino population growing, especially the younger generation that may be second or third generation U.S. citizens that tend to be bilingual.
Now, it is very important to know what something means in a different language, especially as the world grows interconnected in various ways.
First is Gloria Estefan, one of the original Latina crossover singer. “Oye!” is off her 1998 album gloria! The album is more of a club album aimed towards a younger audience, instead of the usual adult contemporary market she is grouped in. (She’s been around since the 80’s so her market grew with her.) It’s a bilingual song, with Spanish parts making up the chorus. Now while she was born in Cuba, Estefan has spent most of her early life in the States so a direct translation from Spanish to English and vice versa would probably be easier, as she would be more familiar with English.
However, I personally like the all-Spanish remix better, probably because there’s more base. The song also changes. In English, Estefan is more forward, and in the Spanish version she is the one being seduced. However the general theme of ‘let’s never stop dancing’ stays roughly the same.
With Shakira the translation issues are different. The native Colombian, and did not start crossing over to English speaking audiences until 2000. The album Laundry Service was originally supposed to contain translations of previous released songs, but instead Shakira created new songs for that album, creating songs in English (and Spanish obviously) conscious of the translation issues.
“Suerte” and it’s English counterpart “Whenever, Wherever” are roughly similar. Some have criticized her English speaking abilities due to lines like:
Lucky that my breasts are small and humble /
So you don’t confuse them with mountains
Which sounds silly, until you realize most of the song is here making fun of herself and the problems of a long distance relationship. It’s actually pretty clever. Shakira really good with wordplay no matter the language, and likes playing around with them. In explaining the title for the following two albums, Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation Vol. 2, she said:
The title comes from the fact that I have always lived through my mouth… It is my biggest source of pleasure and my most accessible vehicle to discover and enjoy the world. I am fixated on chocolate! I am fixated on the spoken word, the written word, the things I have said and the things I should never have said.
However, the above to are examples of singers translating their own songs, choosing to change the meaning of the song or keep it as close to the originalas possible.
Going back to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” you have an entirely different case.
- Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds in 1941. (from Wikipedia)
See the band above? These are the original band who created the song, called “Mbube.” But since it was the 1940’s and the band was from South Africa, the song was brought over to the states to become a doo-wop staple. It was not until 2000 that the truth was covered, and 2004 that the Linda family got any money from the song. You know the song that was featured in a ’small indie movie’ called, oh, The Lion King.
Now, the above is something that is unfortunate but I wouldn’t feel too awful if you enjoyed the cover. I mean, I would seek out the original to hear it. But making yourself aware of the situation is always good.
Maybe I am being naive but I think that as time goes on, this will be less of a problem. English speaking singers/bands/songwriters are becoming more culturally senseitive by starting to credit where it is do.
However the popularity of the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, or french artist’s Yelle album, Pop-Up, both album with songs primarilyor completely with out English lyrics, is also a positive trend which shows that people are willing to expand their horizons. This isn’t to say artists shouldn’t translate their songs, as it helps them to reach larger audiences. But if you come across a song sung in the singer’s native language, try listening to it. You might learn something. I know I do.
