"Dragostea din tei" is written in Romanian, and the title is difficult to translate due to the lack of context for the phrase. There are several proposed translations of the title, such as Love from the lime trees (also called "linden trees") and Love out of the linden trees. The intended translation is possibly shown in the subtitles of the music video by O-Zone, which translates it as Love of the linden tree. Linden trees have strong lyrical associations in Romanian poetry, tied to the work of the poet Mihai Eminescu. Therefore the expression may be interpreted as romantic, "linden-type" love. A strong link may be to Eminescu's actual linden tree from Iasi, Copou park. Another interpretation of the title is a simple paraphrase of a popular Romanian children's book, "Pupăza din tei" by Ion Creangă (in translation "The Hoopoe in the linden tree").
Another very likely translation takes into account the neighborhood "Tei" in Bucharest, the capital of Romania (in Romanian, "Cartierul Tei"). Since it's a place very popular with college students (several dorms in the area) and youngsters in general, the connection is there ("Love in Tei" as in "Love among young people"). In spring especially, many young pairs can be seen in the parks and streets in Tei, and "love is in the air" — even though it might be love that lasts just for a little while; the song alludes to this.[citation needed]
The third translation comes directly from a native Moldovan. He claims that the title uses a wordplay and simply means "Love at first sight", "dragostea dintâi", in Romanian (i.e. "Love from the linden trees", roughly analogous to "Love from the clear blue sky" in English, with the added associations that linden trees have in the Romanian language). This translation obviously rises above the literal meanings of the words and draws on something more poetic and specific to the language and culture. Given that O-Zone is from Moldova, where Romanian is spoken, it seems quite plausible that this interpretation is accurate. Furthermore, it provides something more universally meaningful, as the idea of love at first sight is understood more globally than the idea of love having to do with linden trees.[citation needed]
A still image from O-Zone's music video
[edit] History
The song was written and composed by Dan Bălan, and the original version was sung by Dan Bălan, Arsenie Todiraş, and Radu Sârbu. The single was first released in 2003 in Moldova, where the group lived and produced at that time, and in the spring of 2004 in most other European countries. As of 2006, the song is still in the lower reaches of some Eastern European singles charts. It was written and produced by Dan Bălan (who wrote most of the group's songs), and was one of 2004's most successful summer hits, as well as one of the best selling singles of the year across Europe.
O-Zone's version was the most popular across Europe with the exception of Italy, where it was only known by discogoers. The version of the song performed by the Romanian singer Haiducii, who released the song in Europe at about the same time, is the most popular in Italy (it reached #1 in the singles chart). Both performers have accused the other of taking it without permission. "Dragostea din tei" has also inspired a number of parody videos distributed over the Internet, most notably Gary Brolsma's popular "Numa Numa Dance" video in 2005. The "Numa Numa Dance", which first appeared on the flash site Newgrounds.com, has become so famous that it has sparked numerous parodies of the video itself in the United States over the years since 2003.[1]
[edit] Remixes and parodies
The Spanish humorists "Los Morancos de Triana" parodied the song in one of their TV programs. The parody, formally known as "Pluma Gay" (Gay Mannerisms) but commonly known as "Marica tú" ("Queer you", parodying the 'ma-ia-hii' refrain), features audaciously pro-gay lyrics. This version has become more popular than O-Zone's in Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico (where its success virtually eclipsed that of the original song) and other Latin American countries. Marica Tú has earned a cultural significance similar to that of Macarena (by Spanish duo Los del Río), to the point of being frequently played at weddings and gay clubs. In Panama, the humoristic TV Program La Cascara for the 2005 Carnival made a parody (named also Marica tú) in reggaeton, while Mala Fe, a Dominican merengue comedic soloist recorded a merengue version. One of Los Morancos - Jorge Cadaval - is himself openly gay [2], while his brother César is married and has six children. Their television programs and specials frequently portray either brother, or both, in female garb. Also Regional Mexicano artist Montez De Durango took out a version of the song titled, Pluma Pluma Gay.
A spoof of the song was released by the Romanian metal band "Trooper" under the name of "Zorzon", as a bonus track on one of their albums. The track is unique in Trooper's repertoire not only because of the clearly awkward melodic line for a metal song, but also because it features distinctly foul language and racist remarks towards the Moldovan singers.
There is a parody of the song in which someone attempts to understand the lyrics as if it were sung in English. The author calls it as misheard lyrics, and it ends up sounding very crazy. The video can be found here: [3]
A parody called "My PC Is On Fire" is about a broken PC, sung to the tune of Dragostea din tei. It can be found here [4]
Hyun Young, a Korean model/actress/singer, released a Korean version of the song, titled “누나의 꿈 (Nuna-ui Kkum; Sister's Dream)”, which ranked among the top on various Korean charts in March 2006, within weeks from release.[2] The song preserves the “ma-ia-hii” and “nu mă, nu mă iei” choruses from the original; however, while the “ma-ia-hii” does not carry any meaning, but is merely used as a rhythmic interjection, the “nu mă iei” is approximated as "누나의" (nuna-ui, often pronounced nuna-e), which means "sister's". [5] "Nuna" is also an affectionate title a Korean man calls a woman who is older than he is. The lyrics of Sister's Dream are about a romance between a younger man and an older woman.
In Japanese, the song's refrain sounds similar to the phrase noma noma (飲ま飲ま "drink! drink!") giving it currency as a popular drinking/party/karaoke song in Japan. It has served as the basis of numerous parodies (most notably Maiyahi) made by substituting similar-sounding but ultimately nonsensical Japanese words for the original Romanian lyric. The resulting bizarre interpretations became well-known in Japan in the song's heyday.
The American release of DiscO-Zone [6] features an English version of the song performed by Dan Bălan and Lucas Prata. It focuses on the "It's me, Picasso" lyric from the original to provide a theme of an artist who has lost his muse. Bălan and Prata performed an English recording of "Dragostea din tei" on the Today Show called "Ma Ya Hi" on 22 February 2005. Unlike the original recording, however, this version was not as successful and ended up taking the 72nd spot on the Billboard Charts.
An Austrian version with German lyrics was released in 2004 by the artist "Antonia aus Tirol feat Sandra S.". The music was mixed with tuba and accordion sounds, the lyrics were changed to a story about flirting in the office. A snippet in MP3 format can be heard on Antonia's official page. It was topping the Austrian charts quickly after the release.
Another image from the music video.
A Eurobeat version of the song was remixed by Italian artist Sergio Dall'Ora in early 2005 for release to the Japanese market. Fusing the original song with the popular fast-tempo stylings of the Eurobeat format, the release was one of the few occasions a commercial Eurobeat song has been remixed from an already-existing European track.
On 11 November 2005, another Japanese version under the same title "Koi no Maiahi" was released on the compilation album of Avex record label artists "Girl's Box ~Best Hits Compilation Winter~" (AVCD-17769) by the singers Hasebe Yu (長谷部優) from girlgroup "dream", Iwasaki Mai (岩崎舞), and Takimoto Miori (瀧本美織) both from girlgroup "SweetS". [7] The group also did a nectar and crystal remix of this song.
In Brazil, the singer Latino created his own version of "Dragostea din tei". Called "Festa no Apê" (Party at the Pad), the song's lyrics are somewhat indecent, talking about a party (held by the singer himself) that became wild. The song resembles "Dragostea din tei" only in rhythm and melody.
A Dutch version by the Belgian trio De Feestridders (The Partyknights), which criticizes the use of speed cameras also exists. De Feestridders also have made a parody of Boten Anna which is a song made by Basshunter, called "Ik heb een boot" (I have a boat). Other Dutch parodies include "Muggen Hier, Muggen Daar" (Mosquitoes Here, Mosquitoes There) by Gebroeders Ko, "Lekker Lekker" (Nice, Nice) by Ome Henk (Uncle Hank), and "Duitsers Hier, Duitsers Daar" (German Here, German There), by Lange Frans en Baas B.
A clip from the 2005 Walt Disney's animated movie Chicken Little has the title character dancing to a sped-up mix of the O-Zone version; in fact, it popularized the song in Mexico and in the Southeast Asia region (in Malaysia and Singapore, the trailer is aired on TV regularly and in fact, many Malaysians and Singaporeans attributed the song to Chicken Little thanks to the trailer).It can be found here [8][3]
A Taiwanese version (怒罵怒罵) depicts the legislative violence in the Taiwanese parliament.
Dan Truong, a popular Vietnamese singer, also featured a remixed version of the song in his 2006 album 'Bai ca Mi Ya Hee' (The Mi Ya Hee song). [9]
Professor Lebedinsky (Профессор Лебединский), Russkij Razmer (Русский размер) and Dmitri Nagiev (Дмитрий Нагиев) released a Russian single "Ya yeyo hoy!" ("Я её хой!") mixing drunken slur, mocking gay-like intonations, out-of-context foreign language and utterly meaningless lyrics.
[edit] Other languages
Afrikaans language: South Africa's Nicholis Louw, Net die een vir my ("Just the one for me")
The original 'ma-ia-hii' was kept. The song was also a huge hit in South Africa.[citation needed]
Chinese language: Singapore's Jocie Kok (郭美美), "Bu Pa Bu Pa" (不怕不怕, "Not Afraid, Not Afraid")[4]
The song is about overcoming her fears and becoming a stronger person. The start of the chorus, 看见蟑螂我不怕不怕螂, translates to "I'm not afraid when I see a cockroach". This track was released in a single, which includes the original track and 8 different remixes. The song became a hit in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan as well as China, launching Jocie Kok into stardom with her other single titled "Lao Shu Ai Da Mi" (老鼠爱大米, "The mouse loves the rice").
Chinese language, Mandarin: Taiwan's 2moro, "Shabu, Shabu"
Japanese language: Japan's Maeda Ken as Maeken Trance Project, "Koi no Buchiage Tengoku: Koi no Maiahi~Chihuahua~Banzai" ("恋のブチアゲ 天国：恋のマイアヒ～チワワ～バンザイ", "Love's High Tension Paradise: Love's Maiahi~Chihuahua~Hurrah"), released 24 August 2005.
Fused the original song with popular Japanese Eurobeat song Banzai and part of the 2002 ad Coca-Cola commercial-related hit by DJ Bobo titled "Chihuahua". It should be noted that although this is a Japanese release, the "Dragostea din tei" section of the medley is sung in Romanian.
Thai Language: Thailand's Yai โอ้เจ้าหนี้ ("Oh Jao Nee", lit: "O debtor")
In the melody of "Dragostea din tei", the penniless singer humorously pleads to his debtor to leave him alone.
Korean Language: South Korea's Hyun Young made a Korean version of the song titled, 누나의 꿈 (Older Sister's Dream). In the song the lyrics "numa numa" is changed to "nuna nuna." (Nuna being the Korean word for older sister.)
Lithuanian laguage: Lithuania's Dzordana Butkute, Nebenoriu laukt ("I don't want to wait anymore")
Another very likely translation takes into account the neighborhood "Tei" in Bucharest, the capital of Romania (in Romanian, "Cartierul Tei"). Since it's a place very popular with college students (several dorms in the area) and youngsters in general, the connection is there ("Love in Tei" as in "Love among young people"). In spring especially, many young pairs can be seen in the parks and streets in Tei, and "love is in the air" — even though it might be love that lasts just for a little while; the song alludes to this.[citation needed]
The third translation comes directly from a native Moldovan. He claims that the title uses a wordplay and simply means "Love at first sight", "dragostea dintâi", in Romanian (i.e. "Love from the linden trees", roughly analogous to "Love from the clear blue sky" in English, with the added associations that linden trees have in the Romanian language). This translation obviously rises above the literal meanings of the words and draws on something more poetic and specific to the language and culture. Given that O-Zone is from Moldova, where Romanian is spoken, it seems quite plausible that this interpretation is accurate. Furthermore, it provides something more universally meaningful, as the idea of love at first sight is understood more globally than the idea of love having to do with linden trees.[citation needed]
A still image from O-Zone's music video
[edit] History
The song was written and composed by Dan Bălan, and the original version was sung by Dan Bălan, Arsenie Todiraş, and Radu Sârbu. The single was first released in 2003 in Moldova, where the group lived and produced at that time, and in the spring of 2004 in most other European countries. As of 2006, the song is still in the lower reaches of some Eastern European singles charts. It was written and produced by Dan Bălan (who wrote most of the group's songs), and was one of 2004's most successful summer hits, as well as one of the best selling singles of the year across Europe.
O-Zone's version was the most popular across Europe with the exception of Italy, where it was only known by discogoers. The version of the song performed by the Romanian singer Haiducii, who released the song in Europe at about the same time, is the most popular in Italy (it reached #1 in the singles chart). Both performers have accused the other of taking it without permission. "Dragostea din tei" has also inspired a number of parody videos distributed over the Internet, most notably Gary Brolsma's popular "Numa Numa Dance" video in 2005. The "Numa Numa Dance", which first appeared on the flash site Newgrounds.com, has become so famous that it has sparked numerous parodies of the video itself in the United States over the years since 2003.[1]
[edit] Remixes and parodies
The Spanish humorists "Los Morancos de Triana" parodied the song in one of their TV programs. The parody, formally known as "Pluma Gay" (Gay Mannerisms) but commonly known as "Marica tú" ("Queer you", parodying the 'ma-ia-hii' refrain), features audaciously pro-gay lyrics. This version has become more popular than O-Zone's in Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico (where its success virtually eclipsed that of the original song) and other Latin American countries. Marica Tú has earned a cultural significance similar to that of Macarena (by Spanish duo Los del Río), to the point of being frequently played at weddings and gay clubs. In Panama, the humoristic TV Program La Cascara for the 2005 Carnival made a parody (named also Marica tú) in reggaeton, while Mala Fe, a Dominican merengue comedic soloist recorded a merengue version. One of Los Morancos - Jorge Cadaval - is himself openly gay [2], while his brother César is married and has six children. Their television programs and specials frequently portray either brother, or both, in female garb. Also Regional Mexicano artist Montez De Durango took out a version of the song titled, Pluma Pluma Gay.
A spoof of the song was released by the Romanian metal band "Trooper" under the name of "Zorzon", as a bonus track on one of their albums. The track is unique in Trooper's repertoire not only because of the clearly awkward melodic line for a metal song, but also because it features distinctly foul language and racist remarks towards the Moldovan singers.
There is a parody of the song in which someone attempts to understand the lyrics as if it were sung in English. The author calls it as misheard lyrics, and it ends up sounding very crazy. The video can be found here: [3]
A parody called "My PC Is On Fire" is about a broken PC, sung to the tune of Dragostea din tei. It can be found here [4]
Hyun Young, a Korean model/actress/singer, released a Korean version of the song, titled “누나의 꿈 (Nuna-ui Kkum; Sister's Dream)”, which ranked among the top on various Korean charts in March 2006, within weeks from release.[2] The song preserves the “ma-ia-hii” and “nu mă, nu mă iei” choruses from the original; however, while the “ma-ia-hii” does not carry any meaning, but is merely used as a rhythmic interjection, the “nu mă iei” is approximated as "누나의" (nuna-ui, often pronounced nuna-e), which means "sister's". [5] "Nuna" is also an affectionate title a Korean man calls a woman who is older than he is. The lyrics of Sister's Dream are about a romance between a younger man and an older woman.
In Japanese, the song's refrain sounds similar to the phrase noma noma (飲ま飲ま "drink! drink!") giving it currency as a popular drinking/party/karaoke song in Japan. It has served as the basis of numerous parodies (most notably Maiyahi) made by substituting similar-sounding but ultimately nonsensical Japanese words for the original Romanian lyric. The resulting bizarre interpretations became well-known in Japan in the song's heyday.
The American release of DiscO-Zone [6] features an English version of the song performed by Dan Bălan and Lucas Prata. It focuses on the "It's me, Picasso" lyric from the original to provide a theme of an artist who has lost his muse. Bălan and Prata performed an English recording of "Dragostea din tei" on the Today Show called "Ma Ya Hi" on 22 February 2005. Unlike the original recording, however, this version was not as successful and ended up taking the 72nd spot on the Billboard Charts.
An Austrian version with German lyrics was released in 2004 by the artist "Antonia aus Tirol feat Sandra S.". The music was mixed with tuba and accordion sounds, the lyrics were changed to a story about flirting in the office. A snippet in MP3 format can be heard on Antonia's official page. It was topping the Austrian charts quickly after the release.
Another image from the music video.
A Eurobeat version of the song was remixed by Italian artist Sergio Dall'Ora in early 2005 for release to the Japanese market. Fusing the original song with the popular fast-tempo stylings of the Eurobeat format, the release was one of the few occasions a commercial Eurobeat song has been remixed from an already-existing European track.
On 11 November 2005, another Japanese version under the same title "Koi no Maiahi" was released on the compilation album of Avex record label artists "Girl's Box ~Best Hits Compilation Winter~" (AVCD-17769) by the singers Hasebe Yu (長谷部優) from girlgroup "dream", Iwasaki Mai (岩崎舞), and Takimoto Miori (瀧本美織) both from girlgroup "SweetS". [7] The group also did a nectar and crystal remix of this song.
In Brazil, the singer Latino created his own version of "Dragostea din tei". Called "Festa no Apê" (Party at the Pad), the song's lyrics are somewhat indecent, talking about a party (held by the singer himself) that became wild. The song resembles "Dragostea din tei" only in rhythm and melody.
A Dutch version by the Belgian trio De Feestridders (The Partyknights), which criticizes the use of speed cameras also exists. De Feestridders also have made a parody of Boten Anna which is a song made by Basshunter, called "Ik heb een boot" (I have a boat). Other Dutch parodies include "Muggen Hier, Muggen Daar" (Mosquitoes Here, Mosquitoes There) by Gebroeders Ko, "Lekker Lekker" (Nice, Nice) by Ome Henk (Uncle Hank), and "Duitsers Hier, Duitsers Daar" (German Here, German There), by Lange Frans en Baas B.
A clip from the 2005 Walt Disney's animated movie Chicken Little has the title character dancing to a sped-up mix of the O-Zone version; in fact, it popularized the song in Mexico and in the Southeast Asia region (in Malaysia and Singapore, the trailer is aired on TV regularly and in fact, many Malaysians and Singaporeans attributed the song to Chicken Little thanks to the trailer).It can be found here [8][3]
A Taiwanese version (怒罵怒罵) depicts the legislative violence in the Taiwanese parliament.
Dan Truong, a popular Vietnamese singer, also featured a remixed version of the song in his 2006 album 'Bai ca Mi Ya Hee' (The Mi Ya Hee song). [9]
Professor Lebedinsky (Профессор Лебединский), Russkij Razmer (Русский размер) and Dmitri Nagiev (Дмитрий Нагиев) released a Russian single "Ya yeyo hoy!" ("Я её хой!") mixing drunken slur, mocking gay-like intonations, out-of-context foreign language and utterly meaningless lyrics.
[edit] Other languages
Afrikaans language: South Africa's Nicholis Louw, Net die een vir my ("Just the one for me")
The original 'ma-ia-hii' was kept. The song was also a huge hit in South Africa.[citation needed]
Chinese language: Singapore's Jocie Kok (郭美美), "Bu Pa Bu Pa" (不怕不怕, "Not Afraid, Not Afraid")[4]
The song is about overcoming her fears and becoming a stronger person. The start of the chorus, 看见蟑螂我不怕不怕螂, translates to "I'm not afraid when I see a cockroach". This track was released in a single, which includes the original track and 8 different remixes. The song became a hit in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan as well as China, launching Jocie Kok into stardom with her other single titled "Lao Shu Ai Da Mi" (老鼠爱大米, "The mouse loves the rice").
Chinese language, Mandarin: Taiwan's 2moro, "Shabu, Shabu"
Japanese language: Japan's Maeda Ken as Maeken Trance Project, "Koi no Buchiage Tengoku: Koi no Maiahi~Chihuahua~Banzai" ("恋のブチアゲ 天国：恋のマイアヒ～チワワ～バンザイ", "Love's High Tension Paradise: Love's Maiahi~Chihuahua~Hurrah"), released 24 August 2005.
Fused the original song with popular Japanese Eurobeat song Banzai and part of the 2002 ad Coca-Cola commercial-related hit by DJ Bobo titled "Chihuahua". It should be noted that although this is a Japanese release, the "Dragostea din tei" section of the medley is sung in Romanian.
Thai Language: Thailand's Yai โอ้เจ้าหนี้ ("Oh Jao Nee", lit: "O debtor")
In the melody of "Dragostea din tei", the penniless singer humorously pleads to his debtor to leave him alone.
Korean Language: South Korea's Hyun Young made a Korean version of the song titled, 누나의 꿈 (Older Sister's Dream). In the song the lyrics "numa numa" is changed to "nuna nuna." (Nuna being the Korean word for older sister.)
Lithuanian laguage: Lithuania's Dzordana Butkute, Nebenoriu laukt ("I don't want to wait anymore")
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