Strange thought, is there one language that we all can speak, that we all can feel and understand? Sure some of you might say feelings, body language etc but the only problem with those is that they differ from culture to culture. Some cultures are more expressive than others, some have really stiff postures which makes one think that they are unfriendly.
Music is the one language that no matter what language it is sung in it is understood, our souls feel its rythym, its beat. Music can bring us to tears, make us laugh, have the urge to get up and dance or to lie back on the couch and just relax, it does it to all of us. When you hear a song, you often immediately like it or not, sometimes it takes a while or at a different time in your life you latch on to it like a crutch. Its beat or lyrics can affect anyone no matter their sex, age, race, country of origin or culture taking a person to highs and lows in a heartbeat.
As a universal language it can also bridge the gap between two totally different languages. Have you ever tried to speak to someone who has no comprehension of what you are trying to say?
In my travels I have often landed up in a country that does not speak my mother tongue, English, I’d always try to learn a bit before I left but there is only so much you can learn without actually being submersed in it, living it. While in Brazil I was chatting to someone at one of the markets in Copacabana, he saw my bag with all my country flags on and we got to talking. It was amazing except for one small detail, neither of us had mastered the others language.
I spoke in broken Portuguese and he in broken English, you can just imagine it. I am normally expressive with my hands, talking to him, both of us were standing there making shapes of Table Mountain, the best wine, river rafting with the funniest being my impression of hang gliding off the cliffs near Ipanema. He and I really connected because the whole time we were laughing at each others sign language, but then came the time when he asked “Brasilia like?” and you know, the Portuguese words to express my deep love for his country and its people escaped me. So I stood there and moved my hips, shook my arms and said Shakira Whenever, Wherever. He claps his hands and smiles good good yes Shakira, don’t laugh but he understood what I was trying to get across… the fact that I loved his country and the vibe of the Copacabana, it was energising and beautiful.
Perhaps ridiculous example, but music helps when there are no words to express what you want to, it gets your message across regardless of the language. Shakira’s beat transferred the fact that I thought Rio was a vibey place full of fun and amazing, The Stones got me a whole bunch of CD’s instead of the required listening for women.
Music is without borders, timeless, ageless, colourless, sexless, it is everything and anything to anyone.
Here are some non English songs – listen to them and see what it makes you feel, what story does it tell you?
Shakira – En Tus Pupilas,
Ismaël Lo – Jammu Africa
Sigur Ros – Hoppipolla
Kraftwerk – Autobahn
Gipsy Kings – Volare
Johnny Clegg
We all speak through music, music speaks to all our souls, it is within us as we are within its beats in time…
One language that connects each and everyone of us 
