PJ, Anne, Arlene, Betty, Frank, Barry, Dawn, Dan, Jean, Marjorie,Irene, Larry, Jack, Ken, Hong Kyang (Elizabeth) were all present for this evening's uke jam about Songs with Foreign Words in the title or lyrics.

1). BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN

Our opening song was perfect!

2). SPANISH EYES sung by Elvis Presley (PJ)

Si si and Adios were the Spanish lyrics. Pretty song!

3). SO LONG FAREWELL by Sound of Music (PJ)

This song had both French "Adieu, adieu" and German "Auf wiedersehen" lyrics.

4). LA BAMBA by Ritchie Valens (Irene)

The lyrics in this song were all in Spanish except for the "Hey" at the very end. Because of this, Irene was saved from being fined from the uke police.

5). CANSON D'AMOUR by 1958 Fontane Sisters (Irene)

This song was made popular by Manhattan Transfer. I've never heard this song before and the [Aaug] was a little tricky.

6). ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by The Beatles (Ken)

Includes the lyrics "Jai guru deva om" which is Sanskrit (ancient Hindu). Loosely translates to "I give thanks to heavenly teacher Dev, ॐOṃ". After studying some yoga philosophy, I was taught that OM is the sound of the universe and is broken down into the following 3 syllables A-U-M. Dev was the teacher of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi with whom the Beatles studied Transcendental Meditation with when they went to Rishikesh, India in 1967. This website says, "The Beatles’ encounter with the Maharishi coincided with their realization that LSD didn’t hold the answers they were hoping for. They held a press conference to reveal their new passion for meditation, and announced that they had given up drugs." Ken also noted that you could play along to the Rufus Wainwright version from the movie "I Am Sam."

7). AULD LANG SYNE (Betty)

This song to ring in the new year translates to "Old Long Past." We threw in a cha-cha-cha at the end.

8). BEI MIR BIST DO SCHEN by The Hot Sardines (Betty) & (Arlene)

This song means "To me, you are beautiful." It's an old Yiddish song that was too difficult for us.

9). THAT'S AMORE (Arlene)

This song is on the list and it sounded so great we played it twice!

10). QUE SERA SERA by Doris Day (Jean)

Most people think this song translates to "whatever will be, will be," but Ken pointed out that it really doesn't translate to anything in particular. It should've been requested for our nonsense jam and so Jean was fines 80 cents.

11). LADY MARMALADE by Patti LaBelle (Jen) (WendySue)

Voulez-vous Couchez Avec Moi Ce Soir translates to "Do you want to sleep with me this evening?" French people will understand this phrase, but I don't think they will take it too kindly. Dan and I both thought the "Creole Lady Marmalade," line sounded more like "Free your lady mamma." This song was too difficult for us to play. Too bad!

12). MICHELLE by The Beatles (WendySue)

"Michelle, ma belle, Sont les mots qui vont très bien ensemble, Très bien ensemble," translates to "Michelle, my beautiful one, These are words that go together well, Very good together." Supposedly Paul McCartney didn't write this song about anyone specific. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it is said that he was pretending to be French to pick up girls back in Liverpool, and John suggested he make it into a real song. That's how it became "Michelle" on the Rubber Soul album.

13). YOU NEVER CAN TELL aka. C'EST LA VIE by Chuck Berry (1966) (WendySue)

Signature Chuck Berry sound and Dan treated us to a great kazoo solo.

14). QUANDO QUANDO QUANDO (Arlene)

Good job, Arlene on making this chord sheet! Well done, but it requires practice.

15). FUNICULI, FUNICULA, by Luigi Denza/Lyrics by Peppino Turco, 1880 (PJ)

Everyone knew this song and we sang and played it well. This song was written to commemorate the opening of a cable car on Mt. Vesuvius. Hark the ukulele!

16). EDELWEISS (Betty)

Edelweiss is a small white flower that grows in the Alps. Young men would risk their lives, climbing the mountain, to pick Edelweiss and give it to their brides to show their love for them. Beautiful song!

17). CEST LA VIE by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, 1977 (Dan)

Dan played and sang a very pretty solo. The accordion break was pretty. You can play along with the video.

18). HAKUNA MATATA from the 1994 movie "The Lion King" (Ken)

Hakuna Matata is a Swahili language phrase from East Africa which means "no worries." It's in the original key so you could actually play along with the movie. Well performed by Ken!

19). NE ME QUITTE PAS by Jacques Brel (Irene)

Irene, who told us she took French and Latin, did a beautiful job singing this song which translates to "don't leave me." This song has been covered by many artists including Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, Edith Piaf, Nina Simone, Celine Dion and many more. Great job, Irene!

21). DO RE MI from "The Sound of Music" (Betty)

Betty avoided the ukulele police by declaring this song is written in a musical language. When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything!

22). LION SLEEPS TONIGHT (WIMOWEH) (Betty)

We sped up while playing this one.

23). VOLARE by Dean Martin (Irene)

Volare means "to fly." Irene sang this very well!

24). GUANTANAMERA by José Fernández Díaz (Betty)

"Guantanamera" is a Spanish word meaning a woman from Guantanamo. My brother's band, La Unica, does a nice cover of this song.

25). MACK THE KNIFE (Betty)

Well, we were out of songs for the night. This was our final song of the night ahead of our theme of "Lawlessness/ Irish Songs" at Sachem Library on March 14th. Hope to see you there!

The theme for our next jam is any songs with ARTICLES OF CLOTHING found in lyrics or title of songs. Adieu, Adios, Auf wiedersehen, Ciao and goodnight to all!

Cheers,

-- Jen.