10 English-Speaking Artists Who Sang in German

September 30, 2020 Anika Rieper

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Did you know that The Beatles recorded two of their songs in German? And Elvis sang a German folk song partially in Swabian dialect? Johnny Cash, David Bowie, The Beach Boys, they all have recorded songs in German. In the 1960s it was not unheard of that artists released some of their songs in German for the German market. You have to remember that during that time, English was not the musical lingua franca it is today.

I’m listing 10 US-American and British artists who recorded a song or more in German. It is not a comprehensive list, and it doesn’t include covers of the original English titles by German artists.

I have also created a playlist on youtube with German language recordings by English speaking artists.

1. Elvis Presley

In 1960, Elvis Presley sang the German folk song “Muss i denn“, adapted and published by Friedrich Silcher in 1827. Parts of the song, originally from Württemberg (Rems Valley), are sung in English and Presley’s version of the song is known as “Wooden Heart”. It appeared in his movie “G.I. Blues”, a comedy musical about an American soldier stationed in West Germany, just like Elvis was from 1958-60. The video is from that movie.

The song tells the story of a journeyman, who has to leave his Schatz (lit. treasure; darling) behind while he goes on Wanderschaft (journey). Traditionally, men who learned a trade, like carpenter or shoemaker, left their hometown for 2 years to work for other masters in their guild in other cities. In the song, the man laments having to leave but promises to be faithful and come back to marry her.

The song became very popular, also outside of Germany, in the middle of the 19th century. In 1856, Henry William Dulcken translated the song into English.

For the lyrics of the German original and an English translation, see here.

2. The Beatles

In 1964, The Beatles were pressured to record some of their songs in German to be successful in Germany. It turns out it wasn’t necessary but two singles were released: “Komm’, gib mir deine Hand” (I want to hold your hand) and “Sie liebt dich” (She loves you).

The translation was done by Camillo Felgen from Luxembourg, he was also the one who coached the Beatles how to sing phonetically correct; all within 24 hours.

In 1969 while making the movie “Let it be”, The Beatles recorded a German version of “Get back” (Geh raus). It was released on “Anthology” in December 2000 but the German is full of errors and seems to be for fun and in memory of their time in Hamburg in the early 60s.

3. Johnny Cash

Like Elvis, Johnny Cash was also stationed in West Germany. He worked as a radio intercept operator in Landsberg for the US Air Force from 1951-1954. Unlike Elvis, he wasn’t a known musician when he was sent to Germany.

Cash and two friends formed a band while in Germany but went their separate ways when they returned to the US. Cash recorded a couple of his songs in German, like “Wer kennt den Weg?” (I walk the line), “Wo ist zu Hause, Mama?” (Five feet and rising), and “Viel zu spät” (I got stripes). However, the translations leave something to be desired, and sometimes don’t even come close to the original. “Five feet and rising” is about a flooding that Cash experienced but the German version never mentions any flood at all.

Here are five songs that Johnny Cash sang in German. The first three were written in German and they don’t have an English version.

Besser so, Jenny-Joe, 1966
Kleine Rosemarie,1966
In Virginia, 1966
Wo ist zu Hause, Mama? released in 1968 (Five feet and rising)
Wer kennt den Weg? released in 1966, (I walk the line)

4. David Bowie

David Bowie released “Heroes” in 1977, and also recorded a German and a French version, “Helden” and “Héros” respectively.

Bowie recorded the album at Hansa Tonstudio in West Berlin and reflects the atmosphere of the Cold War. The song “Heroes” was inspired by a couple who Bowie saw meeting under a guard turret by the Berlin Wall. It was later revealed that the couple was co-producer Tony Visconte (who was married at the time) and the German back-up singer Antonia Maaß.

5. Dionne Warwick

One of the most iconic American singers, Dionne Warwick, also recorded some of her songs in German. She never performed them live but she said in interviews that learning the German words and recording them was a joy because Marlene Dietrich was her coach.

Her German songs are “Geh’ vorbei” (Walk on by), and “Ich warte jeden Tag” (You’ll never go to heaven), released in 1965.

6. Sandie Shaw

Sandie Shaw is an English singer and was very popular during the 1960s with songs like “There’s always something there to remind me” (1964) and “Puppet on a string” from 1967 which won her the Eurovision Song Contest.

The album “Wiedehopf im Mai” (“Hoopoe in May”, see picture) was released in 2004 with the 29 songs Shaw recorded in German. The title of the album is the German version of “Puppet on a string”. Her hit “There’s always something there to remind me” was translated with “Einmal glücklich sein wie die andern“.

7. Marvin Gaye

You might know Marvin Gaye for his iconic album “What’s going on?” from 1971. But before he became politically outspoken and openly critical of societal problems, he was singing love songs for Motown.

A song we probably all know is “How sweet it is”, released in 1965. That is also the song that was translated into German as “Wie schön es ist” and performed by Gaye himself. The A-side of the single is “Sympatica” which is a song that only exists in German.

8. The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys’ song “In my room” from 1963 was translated into German by Mike Love’s German girl-friend or neighbor (it’s not clear). The title in German is “Ganz allein” which means “all alone”.

It was part of the album “Rarities” of 1983, and a bonus track on the re-released “Surfer Girl” from 2001.

9. Connie Francis

If you are German, you might almost consider Connie Francis a German pop star because she had so many hits in Germany with her German language songs. Unlike with all the other songs mentioned before you might only know the German lyrics of “Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel” (“Everybody’s somebody’s fool”, 1960), and “Schöner fremder Mann” (“Someone else’s boy”, 1961) which was Francis’ biggest hit in West Germany.

Connie Francis didn’t just record songs in German but also in other languages, mostly Italian and Spanish. She released albums like “Connie Francis sings Italian favorites”, “Connie Francis sings Yiddish favorites” and “Connie Francis sings Irish favorites”.

10. (Sir) Cliff Richard

Like Connie Francis, Cliff Richard, a British singer, could almost be considered a German pop star since he produced many of his songs in German, and was very successful doing it.

His most famous song is probably “Rote Lippen soll man küssen” (Lucky Lips) from 1963 whose lyrics I also only know in German and not in English. When this song is played at parties (in Germany) it is normally the German version.

After reading the English lyrics, I realized how different both versions are. “Lucky Lips” is telling the story of a boy/man who has lucky lips and therefore will never be lonely while the German version tells a love story. We’ll just have to gloss over the obvious sexual harassment when the guy likes a girl on the bus and just “had” to kiss her. It’s ok, they get engaged. That’s the sixties for you.

Sources, Further Readings, and More Videos

Amerikaner singen Deutsch Deutsche Lieder deutsche Songs Engländer singen Deutsch Music Musik

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