Released 27 February 2010 Length 4:292:58 (Radio edit) | Recorded 2009 Label Sweat It Out | |
Format 12"CDdigital download Genre Electro houseelectro swingswing house | ||
"We No Speak Americano" is a song by Australian band Yolanda Be Cool and producer DCUP. It was released on the independent Australian label Sweat It Out on 27 February 2010. The song samples the 1956 Italian (though sung in the Neapolitan language) song "Tu Vuò Fà L'Americano" by Renato Carosone, written by Carosone and Nicola Salerno. "We No Speak Americano" became a hit in Europe, Australia, and Latin America (where the song is also known as Pa-Panamericano) as well as a top 40 hit in the U.S. and Canada. It also won the 2010 ARIA award for "Best Dance Release." The song has sold over 1 million digital copies in the United States as of 10 April 2011.
Contents
- Music video
- Cover versions
- Credits and personnel
- Marco Calliari version
- Russian Parody
- Por Panamericana and El Chocoano
- Bi Bi pro Americano
- Hand dance video
- We No Speak Huttese
- References
The song was featured on the soundtrack of the 2011 films The Inbetweeners Movie and Hop, the 2012 film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and the 2013 film The Great Beauty. It also featured in Episode 2 of the 2011 Korean drama adaptation City Hunter and on the video games Zumba Fitness 2 and Just Dance 4. "We No Speak Americano" was later sampled by Cuban American rapper Pitbull for his Spanish-language tune "Bon, Bon", crediting Yolanda Be Cool and DCUP as producers of his song. American gymnast Gabby Douglas used the song in her gold medal-winning final floor routine at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Music video
The official music video for the song, directed by Andy Hylton is a take on classic silent film comedies and features a Chaplinesque Italian protagonist in New York City, in a bid to raise some quick cash to propose to the young woman that he met earlier in the video.
This music video appeared in an episode of Beavis and Butthead.
Cover versions
Credits and personnel
Marco Calliari version
In the UK, a cover version sung by Quebec-born Italian singer-songwriter Marco Calliari entered the Singles Chart peaking at number twenty-six.
Russian Parody
In Russia, a parody version of the track appeared in the summer 2010, with vocals in Russian by the band Трикотаж (Knit-Wear) featuring Dj Solovey. This version was entitled Подзаебало (Sick of it), with the lyrics па-падзаебало mirroring pa-parle americano of the original. The new lyrics make references to the record heat wave in Russia of summer 2010, The Twilight Saga, Lady Gaga, and other current socio-cultural events.
"Por Panamericana" and "El Chocoano"
In Argentina, various parody versions of the song were made. Among them, one resulted in very successful hit, that would even be played at discos as a companion for the original song. The best-known version is called "Por Panamericana", and the voice recorded on the record tell a story about being stopped by the police at the Panamerican Highway for speeding. Los Cantores de Chipuco (Colombia) also made their own parody of this song, called "El Chocoano".
"Bi Bi pro Americano"
After Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the United States Congress, Noy Alooshe spoofed it by using parts of the speech to the tune of "We No Speak Americano".
Hand dance video
In July 2010, Irish dancers Suzanne Cleary and Peter Harding (who perform as the group Up and Over It) released a music video filmed by Jonny Reed. Using "We No Speak Americano" as background music, the video features Cleary and Harding performing an elaborately choreographed tabletop dance using only their hands and arms, and wearing deadpan expressions throughout the song. By November 2016 it had been watched 9.9 million times.
"We No Speak Huttese"
A parody of the song titled "We No Speak Huttese" can be found in Kinect Star Wars for the Xbox 360 Kinect peripheral. It is featured in the Galactic Dance Off mini game. The vocals are replaced with Jabba The Hutt's and the instrumentals are replaced with the Max Rebo band.