Broken English (song)

"Broken English" is a song recorded by English singer Marianne Faithfull for her seventh studio album Broken English (1979). It was released as the second single from the album on 25 January 1980 by Island Records. Written by Faithfull, Barry Reynolds, Joe Mavety, Steve York and Terry Stannard, the song's lyrical theme revolves around terrorism. The inspiration behind the song was Ulrike Meinhof, a co-founder of the terrorist group Baader-Meinhof Gang. Faithfull allegedly got the idea for the song after watching a documentary about the group and was intrigued by its subtitle "broken English... spoken English".

For other uses, see Broken English (disambiguation).

"Broken English"
Single by Marianne Faithfull
from the album Broken English
B-side"Why'd Ya Do It"
Released25 January 1980 (1980-01-25)
Recorded
  • May–July 1979
  • Matrix Studios, London
Genre
Length3:45
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Mark Miller Mundy
Marianne Faithfull singles chronology
"The Ballad of Lucy Jordan"
(1979)		 "Broken English"
(1980)		 "Sweetheart"
(1981)

Musically, "Broken English" is a mid-tempo rock song with a strong influence of new wave music. It is built around a simple rhythm guitar beat with synthesizer sound effects. It shows Faithfull's vocals cracked and lower in pitch compared to her earlier work as a result of severe laryngitis coupled with heavy smoking and drug abuse during the 1970s. "Broken English" received positive reviews from music critics who praised Faithfull's new musical direction as well as the political theme of the song. Despite the positive reception, it failed to chart in both United Kingdom and the United States. However, it managed to peak inside the top forty in other countries, such as Germany, New Zealand and Sweden.

No accompanying music video was filmed for "Broken English", although it was used along with the songs "Witches' Song" and "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" in a promotional short film for the album directed by Derek Jarman. Faithfull performed the song on Saturday Night Live in February 1980. During the infamous performance her voice cracked and she seemingly strained to even vocalize at times. The song was featured in the film The Outsider (1980) and was covered by a number of artists, such as English band Sunscreem, The Mars Volta, and Japanese group Schaft.

Composition

"Broken English" is a rock song with a strong influence of new wave music. The song is set in the simple time signature of 4/4, with a tempo of 122 beats per minute.

Critical reception

"Broken English" received positive reviews from music critics. Dave Thompson from AllMusic praised Faithfull's vocals but criticized the electronic production of the song.[1] Pitchfork included the song on their "The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s" list at #200.[2]

Live performances

Faithfull performed the song on Saturday Night Live in February 1980.[3]

Track listings and formats

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[8]

Charts
Chart (1980) Peak
position
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 25
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 17
West Germany (Official German Charts)[11] 36

Notes
  1. Thompson, Dave. "Broken English - Marianne Faithfull". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  3. O'Dell 2013, p. 16
  4. Broken English (UK 12" vinyl liner notes). Marianne Faithfull. Island Records. 1980. 12WIP 6542.CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. Broken English (UK 7" vinyl liner notes). Marianne Faithfull. Island Records. 1980. WIP 6542.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. Broken English (US 7" vinyl liner notes). Marianne Faithfull. Island Records. 1980. IS 49121.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. Broken English (European 12" vinyl liner notes). Marianne Faithfull. Island Records. 1982. 12MF 100.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. Broken English (LP). Marianne Faithfull. Island Records. 1979. M1.CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. "Charts.nz – Marianne Faithfull – Broken English". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  10. "Swedishcharts.com – Marianne Faithfull – Broken English". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Marianne Faithfull – Broken English". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
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References
  • O'Dell, Cary (2013). June Cleaver Was a Feminist!: Reconsidering the Female Characters of Early Television. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786493296.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hodkinson, Mark (2013). Marianne Faithfull: As Years Go By. Music Sales Group. ISBN 978-0857129932.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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