I did sing Italian, German and Jewish songs on the job; like Dom, I memorized the words. Well at least I memorized how the words sounded.
After a time it was an awakening to find my lyrics were being sung with an American flavor; the original pronunciation of the words was gone. That’s why I feel learning the language is a good idea – you can sing the song with feeling because you know what it is you are saying/singing.
John C.
PS, It’s nice to record yourself from time to time.
John, I often record myself for critiquing purposes ...
I have not learned to sing any songs in Spanish, although I keep promising myself to do so ... There are several songs I do in Italian, and one in particular - Mala Femmena - I sang for years without knowing the full translation, although some words were evident to me and I knew it was about a woman who mistreated her lover ... then I heard a version where the vocalist sang the lyrics
"te voglio bene e t'odio" differently than how I had heard them sung previously, so I looked up the translation and found that it meant
"I love you and I hate you" ... it gave the line a whole knew meaning and I have sung it differently ever since ...
When I sing "Mala Femmena", I also do an English 'version' to the same melody called "Always You" which I actually learned from my mother ... funny thing is, I can't find that song on the I'net
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