Tune for Tuesday

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Hùg air a’ bhonaid mhòir

This Saturday 30th November is Saint Andrew’s Day, the official national day of Scotland. That’s why this week we’re bringing you a Tune for Tuesday from Coffee Break Languages’ home country. Hùg air a’ bhonaid mhòir is a song in Scots Gaelic by Julie Fowlis, a folk singer and instrumentalist from the Scottish Outer Hebrides. You may

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Bailando

¡Hola amigos! We’re sure that many of you will already known the artist of today’s Tune for Tuesday. Today we’re listening to Bailando which was written and recorded by Enrique Iglesias and Cuban artists Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona in 2014. The song topped the charts all over Latin America, in Spain and in many other European

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: C’est écrit

Do you already know any songs by Francis Cabrel? The iconic sound of his acoustic guitar in his songs such as Petite Marie, La corrida and Je l’aime à mourir has made them well-loved by many across the French-speaking world, and he is generally considered to have been an extremely influential figure in the development of popular music

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Il cielo in una stanza

Ciao a tutti! Have you heard of Mina, also known as La tigre di Cremona (the tiger from Cremona)? Her combination of traditional Italian melodies, swing and other styles, as well as her impressive vocal range of three octaves made her an important figure in Italian 1960s and 70s pop music, and between 1958 and 2003,

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Lieblingsmensch

Hallo zusammen! Today we’re bringing you a Tune for Tuesday from a singer and rapper who is fairly new to the German hip hop music scene. Namika, whose real name is Hanan Hamdi, released her first single Lieblingsmensch in 2015, making her an overnight success and reaching Number 1 in the German Singles Chart. She

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Livin’ la vida loca

This Tuesday we’re listening to a song which we’re sure almost all of you know already, Livin’ la vida loca – the full Spanish version, of course! It was written by Desmond Child and Draco Rosa and performed by Enrique Martín Morales, better known as Ricky Martin or the ‘King of Latin Pop’. It was

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Quelqu’un m’a dit

Bonjour à tous et à toutes ! Today’s Tune for Tuesday is by Carla Bruni, a French-Italian singer-songwriter who is also the wife of Nicholas Sarkozy. You may already know Quelqu’un m’a dit, as it was very popular throughout Europe when it was released in 2002, reaching the top ten in Italy, Portugal, Germany and

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Buonanotte Fiorellino

Salve a tutti! This week, we’re bringing you a Tune for Tuesday from the so-called Principe dei cantautori (“The Prince of the singer-songwriters”). Francesco De Gregori is an Italian poet and folk-rock singer who has been an important figure in Italian music since the 1970s. And the good news for us is that his song

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Wanderers Nachtlied

This week, our Tune for Tuesday comes from Austrian composer, Franz Schubert. Schubert (1797-1828) was a very famous composer of the early Romantic period, who was especially well-known for his vocal compositions, known as Lieder (German for “songs”). Wanderers Nachtlied is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe set to music by Schubert in 1822. We hope

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: La vuelta al mundo

¡Hola! This Tuesday, we’re listening to La vuelta al mundo by Puerto Rican group, Calle 13. Their music is a fusion of a number of styles, notably hip-hop and Puerto Rican reggaeton. They have had huge success within Latin America and further afield, holding the record for winning the most Latin Grammy Awards. While you’re

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: La chanson de Prévert

Bonjour tout le monde ! This week’s Tune for Tuesday comes from French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. Often considered one of the greats of French popular music, he wrote songs influenced by a variety of genres to create a distinctive style. This week we’re listening to his song La chanson de Prévert, inspired by Jacques Prévert’s

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: La danza

Ciao a tutti! We couldn’t possibly talk about Italian music without mentioning Italian opera. We’re sure that many of you are familiar with Luciano Pavarotti, an Italian operatic tenor (the term used to describe a higher male voice). He was one of the most successful operatic singers of all time and was particularly well-known for his

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Für Frauen ist das kein Problem

Hallo! Wie geht’s? This week, Max Raabe’s Tune for Tuesday is going to help us with our German! He wrote the song Für Frauen ist das kein Problem, and many others, to perform with his Berlin-based Palast Orchester, which he founded with fellow students while studying opera in Berlin. Together, Raabe and Palast Orchester perform

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Ojalá que llueva café

¡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

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Papaoutai

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

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn 月亮代表我的心

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

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: A me piace lei

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

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: Geboren um zu leben

Hallo alle zusammen! This week’s Tune for Tuesday is by German rock band Unheilig, who were together between 1999 and 2016. Their song Geboren um zu leben, released in 2010, was a great success in Germany and Austria. The whole 2010 album, Große Freiheit, was #1 in the German charts for 23 weeks, breaking the

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: La Puerta de Alcalá

¡Hola amigos! This Tuesday we’re bringing you a classic Spanish “Tune” by Ana Belén and Víctor Manuel. La Puerta de Alcalá was a huge success when it was released in 1985 and it remains an important song for many Madrileños because of its link with Madrid’s monument of the same name. Its lyrics also give us

Tune for Tuesday

TFT: La cura

Ciao, come state? This week’s Tune for Tuesday is one of Coffee Break Italian Francesca’s favourite songs! La cura was a collaboration between Sicilian philosopher Manlio Sgalambro, who wrote the lyrics, and Sicilian musician, filmmaker and painter, Franco Battiato. Battiato’s experimental musical style – a fusion of various genres – and his collaboration with Sgalambro