Month: August 2019

¡Hola a todos! Welcome back to Tune for Tuesday, bringing you a new song every week from around the world! This week we’re listening to Ojalá que llueva café by Juan Luis Guerra from the Dominican Republic. Possibly one of the most internationally successful Latin artists, his music is heavily influenced by a range of styles, including native Caribbean merengue and bachata rhythms. We love this catchy song, whose lyrics use coffee to express an important message about granting people their basic necessities and relieving those in need of their hunger and struggle.

Coffee Break Spanish learners, have you noticed the use of the subjunctive in the title yet? It’s a perfect example of the structure ojalá que + subjunctive (to hope that something will happen). The lyrics also contain one other subjunctive trigger. Can you spot it? To help, try reading the lyrics while you listen to the song.

If you’d like to hear the song played more slowly, we recommend watching the YouTube video below and selecting a slower playback speed by clicking on the settings symbol.

To find our Spotify and YouTube playlist containing a whole range of music in some of the languages you may be learning, simply scroll down the page. Happy listening!

Salut les amis ! Have you heard of Stromae? He is a Belgian rapper and singer-songwriter who is often associated with Belgian New Beat electronic music. His stage name comes from the word maestro. This is an example of verlan, a type of French slang which involves swapping round the syllables of a word. This week our Tune for Tuesday is Stromae’s song Papaoutai which was a great success across much of Europe when it was released in 2013.

While you’re listening, listen out for the title, coming from “Papa où t’es” (“Dad, where are you?”). The lyrics refer to the absence of Stromae’s father, Pierre Rutare, during his childhood, before Rutare was killed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. 

Stromae sings a little fast but quite clearly, so try listening to the song a few times and let us know how you get on in the comments! Click here to read the lyrics while you listen or if you’d like to hear the song a little slower, you can play the YouTube video below at a slower playback speed by clicking on the settings symbol.

Do you know any other Belgian artists? Feel free to share some of your music suggestions for other French learners in the comments. And remember that you can find our full Spotify and YouTube playlist of songs from around the world by scrolling down.

Dàjiā hǎo 大家好! Hello everyone! Today’s Tune for Tuesday comes from Taiwanese singer, Teresa Teng. The song is Yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn 月亮代表我的心 (The moon represents my heart). It was made famous by Teng in 1977 and is often considered a classic within the Mandarin-speaking community.

Teng’s music was very important in the musical history of Taiwan and China. Her songs revolutionised music in China and were banned from the country in the 1980s, as this romantic style of song coming from Taiwan and Hong Kong was considered commercial and decadent. After the ban was lifted a few years later, however, Teng regained her status as one of the most popular singers within the worldwide Chinese community.

Luckily for Coffee Break Chinese learners, the lyrics are quite slow and clear, so see if you can pick out any words you know! Click here to read the lyrics written out in pinyin to help you. Or if you’d like to hear the song played more slowly, we recommend watching the YouTube video below and selecting a slower playback speed by clicking on the settings symbol. 

We hope you enjoy this taste of this style of music and would love to hear what you think of Yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn in the comments.

Ciao a tutti! This week our Tune for Tuesday comes from Italian indie rock singer-songwriter, Giuseppe Peveri, known by his stage name, Dente (Italian for “tooth”). He started his solo career in 2006 and has since become one of Italy’s most popular independent artists.

For any Coffee Break Italian learners who find the verb piacere a bit tricky to use, have a listen to Dente’s song A me piace lei for some good examples. Notice how the verb changes depending on whether what he likes is singular (mi piace) or plural (mi piacciono), or whether he’s talking about what she likes (le piace). Why not trying creating your own song or poem listing the things you like, using the verb piacere?

What other Italian artists do you know? Feel free to share some of your favourites in the comments!

We hope you enjoy listening to A me piace lei even if you’re not an Italian learner, and remember that you can find our full Spotify and YouTube playlists below, containing songs from all over the world.

If you’d like to hear the song played more slowly, we recommend watching the YouTube video below and selecting a slower playback speed by clicking on the settings symbol. To find the lyrics, click here.