Translation between languages is a wonderful thing but in the music business perhaps there are some things that are better left untranslated!
In the late 50s and early 60s most record companies insisted that artists who had hit records made some recording in another language to help promote the record and increase sales. Communication between countries was nowhere near as sophisticated as it is today and foreign language records had a hard time gaining acceptance.
In keeping with this policy and while in Paris in January 1964, the Beatles recorded a version in German of one of their hits: ‘Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand’ (Come, Give Me Your Hand). The song is, of course, ‘I want to Hold Your Hand’ and you can hear the German version at the YouTube link below. It’s an interesting recording so go and listen and then come back and read on. (Note, it is not possible to embed this YouTube recording.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuwITRVY6L8
Wow! Isn’t it a flat and uninteresting version? It is the Beatles singing but you’d be forgiven for thinking that maybe it wasn’t. In fact the Beatles were anything but happy about recording this and it shows, doesn’t it?
But, if you speak German, there’s another problem, too. It’s a nicely rhymed song but, of course, the words aren’t quite the same. You can read an interesting translation of the German version at the website below.
http://www.iamthebeatles.com/article1312.html
Coming back to the point of this article, it does amply demonstrate, does it not, why bands these days seldom make foreign language versions of their hits?
It is also true to say that, although the German version was a hit, the English version is far and away the most popular version to be found in Germany. So, if you live in Germany and you are reading this and you have an old 45rpm recording entitled: ‘Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand’, don’t throw it away! It could be worth a lot of money any time soon.
To be fair, the Beatles also at the same time recorded a version of ‘She Loves You’ in German under the title ‘Sie Liebt Dich’ and you can hear than at the YouTube link below. This is, actually, a much better recording and the excitement and vivacity of the the Beatles is much more in evidence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT6xiYUtlT4
If you are interested in the details, I have found a long web page that sets out exactly what happened and how the songs got translated and which is well worth reading:
http://www.beatlesebooks.com/komm-gib-mir-deine-hand
I’ve listened to the songs a couple of times now while preparing this article and I have to say that I like ‘Sie Liebt Dich’ but I am not so keen on ‘Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand’ – what do you think?
Photo beatles maniac11
