Is this song deliberately mispronounced?

[Chancer]

There is a song that I have heard played on two occasions during the half time of a French national league ladies basketball game, all of the crowd were la- la_ la'ing along to the melody and it seemed to be very popular but I was in shock, more so the second time when I listened more carefully to the lyrics.

As a background I once took some French friends to England and one of them had only one phrase which on a good day sounded like "thunk-you' and on a bad day "**** you"!

The song is sung in English by what sounds like a girl band, at first I thought the singers were French and mispronouncing the chorus like my friend but the rest is pronounced perfectly and I suspect that it may be an English or American group, I make no apologies for not being in touch with  yoof culture and having to ask on this forum but I have never heard it on French radio which I listen to all day.

It goes something like this, the different colours are individual singers, the blue is the chorus sug by all

**** you

 **** you

**** you.

**** you very mu-u-u-u-uch

Cos we hate what you do and we hate what you say

So please don't stay in tou-u-u-u-uch

etc etc.

Does anyone know this song? Are my ears deceiving me?

 

[NormanH]

This one?

By Lily Allen

Don't open if you find bad language offensive!

[Kitty]

It's a track from Lily Allen's latest CD that was released in France as a single but not in the UK for obvious reasons.  It is very catchy and I find myself singing it a lot.  The lyrics are hilarious.

[Chancer]

Thunk you (sic) for the prompt response Cathy.

So she (whoever Lily Allen is) is really singing what I think? And does the track appear on the UK CD?

I agree that it is really catchy but I hope that French people dont start saying it as a cool catch phrase, there are far to many peirced and tattoed skater chicks wearing "**** you" badges and I even once saw a near middle aged man walking down the street with his wife and children who was proudly wearing a T shirt with it emblazoned on it in 6" high letters à la Frankie goes to Hollywood.

I suppose that I will have to find out who Lily allen is now [:(]

[NormanH]

"I suppose that I will have to find out who Lily allen is now"

See my link in the first reply to your post.

[Chancer]

Thunks to you also Norman I didnt see your reply at first.

I couldnt hear the words very clearly at the stade as there was lots of shouting, drums being beaten, airhorns being let off and 1200 spectators rolling in their seats singing "thuck you, la la la"

A very catchy tune and now that I know the message behind it good lyrics too but I would be saddened if it were allowed to be sold in the UK, perhaps thats just my age showing, in my youth I was cautioned but not nicked for displaying a "****ed Fords Club" sunstrip on my beat up Capri after some miserable old git as I called him complained. He was the age I am now!

[Chancer]

Its all becoming a bit clearer now.

The team is 100% English speaking, there are very few French speakers as the players come from all over the world, my friend is the coach and she now has very good English as it is their common language.

The song is always played when the visiting team is being greeted and is sung with much gusto by the home crowd, I think they may have cheekily adopted it as their team anthem.

[cooperlola]

Thank you so much Chancer, for bringing this up as it has been haunting me for weeks - it's played again and again on the radio around this place (I don't listen to music radio at home as I dont' like most pop) and I kept thinking "is she really saying what I think she is?"[:)]

[Chancer]

I am glad to know that I am in a minority of at least two then[:)]

What for me is a real shame is that it is a catchy song, well sung and with a serious anti-racism message but I cant support the swearing.

Funny thing is she (now I know it isnt a group) sings "**** you" in a sincere, even smiling voice like someone saying "thank-you" with much sincerity.

[Renaud]

Chancer, clearly you are not too miserable an old git... but watching a French national league ladies basketball game on two occasions?

[Dog]

Where I lived in UK Carlsberg withdrew sponsorship of the local 'ladies' basketball club. I cannot say why or I may be accused of lesbophobia.

[Chancer]

Renaud I am surprised to admit that I am captivated by the sport!

I dont watch football, rugby and generally dont like competitive sports as a spectator and I only went along initially as my friend (the coach)gave me a ticket.

Once there I was amazed, the stade was packed and the game can only be described as explosive, very physical but nonetheless sporting.

Our team Arras is number 2 in the French league  but could now be number 3 after losing 69 to 68 in the last 1.4 seconds of the game.

Some of the players are simply Amazonian and dwarf me but our best player Mitchell is a titch but runs rings around the opposition making them look like statues.

I understand where you are coming from though and would myself have mocked anyone trying to convince me how good the game is.

[Renaud]

Beach volleyball next?

[Kitty]

[quote user="Chancer"]

Funny thing is she (now I know it isnt a group) sings "**** you" in a sincere, even smiling voice like someone saying "thank-you" with much sincerity.[/quote]

Chancer, I suspect that she wrote the song with a sense of irony in mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Allen

She is a Big Thing in the UK music scene, with a well known father.

[Chancer]

Yes knowing her father it wouldnt surprise me.

Wish I could get the bloomin thythm out of my head now!

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Chancer"]

I cant support the swearing.

[/quote]Good thing we have never met, Chancer, as I swear like Gordon Ramsay myself - one of life's little pleasures.  What I couldn't quite get over was just how accepted it was over here, given that most of the (certainly younger generation) French I know understand very well what the f word means.

[NormanH]

[quote user="cooperlola"][quote user="Chancer"]

I cant support the swearing.

[/quote]Good thing we have never met, Chancer, as I swear like Gordon Ramsay myself - one of life's little pleasures.  What I couldn't quite get over was just how accepted it was over here, given that most of the (certainly younger generation) French I know understand very well what the f word means.

[/quote]

It depends what you mean by 'know'

They don't have a feeling for the strength that the 'f' and 'c' words have (used to have perhaps?).

They know the technical meaning but don't share the feeling of shock.

There is an excellent Swedish film  called 'F**ing Amal ' (Amal is a  boring town by the way, not a person [:)]) and the title simply means " Bl**dy boring Amal".

Obviously it didn't get distributed in English speaking countries until the title was changed to 'Show me love'..

It is in fact a delicate 'coming of age/coming out' film

Can be watched here:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=5599594765620844277#

[cooperlola]

You are right Norman, the tough thing is always in conveying the relative "strength" - as it were - of swear words in another language, as opposed to their meaning.  But I still reckon that many French understand that the f word isn't acceptable to a certain generation and in certain cirumstances. 

That other word now, is a different matter.  Personally I only ever use it in private or in front of my o/h and usually to describe myself when I've done something particularly stupid.....

I'll check out *ff*n Amal, thanks.

[Chancer]

For me the problem is caused by the entirely natural tendency to first try to translate the swear word into ones own language and use that to decide its strength.

Think back to when you were a child, you sometimes heard these words  but didn't understand their real meaning for many years (I thought that ****ing had something to do with hitting your finger with a hammer) in all but the most dysfunctional families you very quickly learn not to use them in front of your parents, people other than your close group of friends etc, you may not understand why but you conform to what is expected of you.

Cooperlola, I reckon  that you wouldnt swear like that in the company of a group of new people that you didnt know, sadly this is not true of teenagers and young adults and when someone from a foreign country mixes socially with them they pick up the bad habits without realising the gravity of the words. 

It depressed me a lot when I was travelling how many young Europeans and Scandinavians spoke excellent English but heavily punctuated with F's and C's. The youngsters of New Zealand were paricularly bad and yet it is their language, I remember sitting on a long train journey beside an English speaking Finnish girl, the NZ ado behind me was moaning constantly and loudly at his mother about how everything was boring etc, every other word was **** or ****ing, after about 30 minutes I asked him to moderate his language as there were ladies present, nnot least of which his mother, she looked at me as if I was from another planet but at least he stopped.

I in turn have to be very carefull what language I pick up from where I live as it is a rather special area.

[ViVienne]

we were shocked when we heard them playing the song on the radio earlier this year, it was being played regularly on "forum", Lilly Allen released 2 versions of her album in the uk, one for over 18 and one for under. I quite like her music, the language does seem to be "normal" among younger people who use it all the time without thinking about what they are saying. As they use the words all the time I don't think they really see it as swearing. I wonder what they do when they are really really cross because that is the only time that I swear and everyone around me then knows to run for the hills!