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So far, I’ve published a Eurovision review every other day, but the next one might break the pattern. This is because I’ve started having more to say about every song, and the number of songs has increased. And because I’m soon to start a piano teaching side job at a music store.
Introduction
If a country wins Eurovision multiple times in short succession, they often get hesitant to host it again. This happened with Eurovision 1960: the Netherlands declined hosting again due to expense, so the good old dependable BBC filled in, hosting in London, England. In all but one case, the UK swooped in to host an unwilling or unable country. In fact, of the nine times the UK has hosted Eurovision, five were in place of a different winner.
Luxembourg rejoined this Eurovision, and Norway joined for the first time, making a total of 13 countries. To this day, Norway is a Eurovision mainstay that has only missed two Eurovisions, and they have a respectable three victories. However, Luxembourg was a bigger Eurovision powerhouse in the 60’s to 80’s, with an impressive five wins. The winner of this contest repeated history: just like two years ago, France won a year after the Netherlands. By then, a lot of fans must have wished other countries could get a chance. They’d get their wish soon enough.
This was the first Eurovision where jury members got to hear songs in advance, specifically in the rehearsals. I presume it made them more set on winners once it was voting time.
United Kingdom: Looking High, High, High
Artist: Bryan Johnson, brother of last year’s Teddy Johnson
Language: English
Key: C major, D♭ major starting in the last verse
The opener of this contest is similar to the last British entry. It’s about romance, it’s in multiple major keys, it has some whistling (though Teddy did it better), and it finished second place. It tells a story of a man who looked everywhere for a woman he loved and found her where he began. This song heavily uses rhyming and repeated hooks to stick in viewers’ heads. The repeated lyrics “high” and “low” are sung high and low respectively, a perfect example of word painting. This is followed by more rhyming pairs: why, go, I, know, die, so. The song’s composers and writers knew how to use the English language to write something sticky, and this technique is still everywhere in English-language pop music.
In terms of instrumental, it’s a simple piece, but the lyrics are clear and well-written. This is a common pattern with British entries, including “I Wrote a Song” from this year. English lyrics written by native speakers tend to better match the language’s rhythm than those by second-language speakers, and the difference is often recognizable in modern Eurovision.
Sweden: Alla andra får varann
Artist: Siw Malmkvist
Language: Swedish
Key: G major
Another romantic song, the lyrics are about a woman who is too nervous to propose to her boyfriend. The title means “everyone else has each other”, and I think today, the lyrics would better describe a long-distance relationship. This is perhaps the first Eurovision song whose instrumental I would describe as “big band”. It heavily uses brass instruments and double bass, with only a modest amount of other string instruments, and it represents the contest’s evolution beyond just orchestra music.
This song takes a break from singing for almost a full minute, which almost feels like the vocals take a backseat and the instrumental is the real highlight. I know it wasn’t the intention, but the long instrumental break almost makes it seem like the singer wasn’t that interested in singing. Either that, or the break was meant to pad the song to three minutes, since short songs don’t score well. The long break is probably why the song got only four points.
Luxembourg: So laang we’s du do bast
Artist: Camillo Felgen, an actual Luxembourger
Language: Luxembourgish, for the first time
Key: E♭ major, E major
Quick disclaimer on Luxembourgish. The difference between a language and a dialect is subjective, and while it’s understandable to think of Luxembourgish as a unique language, I consider it a dialect of German. My brain parses spoken Luxembourgish like any other regional German dialect, such as the one my mother speaks with some of her friends—with some challenges, but I can understand most words. That said, if you think of Luxembourgish as a separate language, I’m totally fine with that. (EDIT Nov 8, 2024: I’ve changed my mind: I now lean towards thinking of Luxembourgish as a separate language that’s mutually intelligible with German, because it has a separate orthography that looks quite different from standard German, and because it coexists with German in Luxembourg.)
This song was an experiment on Luxembourg’s part: would the country fare well using its national language/dialect? Sadly, it got last place, and they didn’t try again until 1992. Countries like Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Malta show that even in Eurovision’s first two decades, some languages were far better liked than others, and it’s quite a shame. However, given the high results of non-English songs in 2023, especially among televoters, I sense an increase in embracing language diversity.
This is a slow ballad whose title means “as long as you are here”, and that’s basically the theme of the song. One cool thing about it is that the key change comes along with a musical style change. The tone livens up, and a piano is added. That’s the only standout thing about it, and it would have probably scored better in French.
Denmark: Det var en yndig tid
Artist: Katy Bødtger
Language: Danish
Key: E♭ major
The title (It was a lovely time) may suggest it’s a romance song, but unusually for this country and year, it’s not. Instead, it’s a “the good old days were so much more peaceful” type of song. The singer was 27 years old, just old enough that this topic makes sense for her; it’s evident from the mention of battles that she grew up during World War II. But since the lyrics mention lack of cars, obedience to parents, and pastry shops, it sounds more like she’s romanticizing the time when her grandparents were young. The words were a product of their time, but the song’s theme is timeless. You could write a song about how good things were before COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, and it would have the same spirit.
As a piece of music, it feels like something from a nostalgic family movie. It’s old-timey in a charming way. Katy wore a hat and held an umbrella for parts of the song, presumably to match the dreamy childhood feel.
Belgium: Mon amour pour toi
Artist: Fud Leclerc, for the third time
Language: French
Key: F major, though it deviates quite a bit
This is another Belgian love song whose singer we’ve seen twice before. It’s musically complex, with tons of deviations from keys and unexpected chord progressions, but lyrically simple. Compared to Lys Assia’s trilogy of songs, Fud Leclerc’s have little in common. So far, I have had very little to say about every Belgian entry. I hope that’ll change soon!
Norway: Voi Voi
Artist: Nora Brockstedt
Language: Norwegian, which Norway has taken every opportunity not to sing in except 2006
Key: C minor and C major, in alternation
The song’s title, repeated in the lyrics, is a greeting in Northern Sami, but counting that as a usage feels like a stretch. Norway’s entries have an odd pattern of including a language other than Norwegian or English, but only with one repeated phrase.
Nora’s gestures and winter outfit, as well as the stylized mountains in the background, hint at the song’s theme. According to a translation of the lyrics, it’s about a woman who traveled up far north and found a Sami girl singing in search for her love. Knowing this premise, I expected this song to sound slow and mysterious, but instead it’s the kind of mischievous jazzy music you’d hear in a 50’s or 60’s cartoon. I enjoy the alternation between minor and major key a lot, as well as the transitions between them.
This song has a Danish and Swedish version too, which is funny since these three languages are already so similar. These versions make me realize that any song sounds goofier in Danish, and any song sounds more colorful in Swedish.
Austria: Du hast mich so fasziniert
Artist: Harry Winter
Language: German
Key: B♭ major
Both in the old and modern days, a big chunk of Eurovision is just standard songs about romance. There are lots of ways you can describe this topic through music, and this is about a man so in love with someone that nothing else interests him. At least most of these ballads are interesting compositionally, because back then people didn’t make popular music so damn repetitive.
There’s one fact about this song that I think is awesome. It was composed by operetta writer Robert Stolz when he was almost 80 years old! This makes him a rare Eurovision musician born in the 1800s.
Monaco: Ce soir-là
Artist: François Deguelt
Language: French
Key: E minor, and a smooth key change to F minor
Another somber French tune, this one has a simpler instrumental than many others. It strongly uses a plucked string bass and what sounds like bongo drums, and the instrumental often pauses to let the voice take full control. The vocals are in the typical French chanson style, and they’re about an upsetting breakup.
Switzerland: Cielo e terra
Artist: Anita Traversi
Language: Italian
Key: D major, debatably also F major
This sure is a long stretch of romantic songs! Such stretches are a landmark of randomized orders, because when an order is truly random, people will notice peculiar patterns anyway. This song sounds a little more 60’s than 50’s, with a time signature you could call 6/8 or 12/8, and it uses a lot of high repeated piano chords. It plays around with the F major key, whose key signature matches D minor; this makes D and F major an interesting pair of keys. The song even ends on an F major chord. Pianos have gradually gotten more prominent since the first Eurovision, an early step towards modernization.
Netherlands: Wat een geluk
Artist: Rudi Carrell
Language: Dutch
Key: A♭ major, A major
After a strong start in the 1950’s, the Netherlands scored poorly in most of the 1960’s, including this song which finished second last. The truth is, songs in Dutch need to work a little harder than other languages to appeal to mass audiences, and they happened to do it well at first. It doesn’t help that English, French, and especially Italian are put on a pedestal of pristine beauty, making it hard for others to shine. I’m saddened by the stereotype that German and Dutch sound aggressive. I can’t externally describe how German sounds, but I don’t think Dutch sounds that aggressive. In its own way, it sounds kind of cute.
Unfortunately, Rudi Carrell’s singing voice isn’t good. He doesn’t know how to stay on key or be expressive, so his voice sounds flat against the instrumental. It sounds like he didn’t rehearse it much or had little singing experience. I have a hunch this song dented the Netherlands’ reputation in Eurovision, but maybe it’s too soon to say. Shame because I find the instrumental very fun and lively.
Germany: Bonne nuit ma chérie
Artist: Wyn Hoop
Language: German, except the repeated title in French
Key: C minor
This is a song where a man sings good night to his love, but it curiously sticks to a harmonic minor key throughout. This gives either a mischievous or worrisome undertone to this love song, and the lyrics don’t imply his love is dead… at least, I don’t think they do. He does repeat “Ich vergesse dich nie” (I will never forget you) at the end, but nothing else implies as much. Surprisingly, I don’t feel a dissonance between the instrumental and the lyrics. It shows that positive love songs can be in minor key too!
Italy: Romantica
Artist: Renato Rascel
Language: Italian
Key: A minor, B♭ minor
Are those supposed to be stacks of uncooked spaghetti behind Renato? It’s hard to tell in grayscale TV, but I will pretend so because it’s funny. But let’s not get too distracted here. With its slow pace and cinematic instrumentation, this song feels like something that would play two-thirds of the way through a movie or stage play, where all hope seems to be lost. It slowly picks up speed and changes key after a pause, which helps the movie-like feel. It’s super old-school, and I enjoy it.
France: Tom Pillibi (the winner)
Artist: Jacqueline Boyer, at the time the youngest winner at 18 years old
Language: French
Key: D major, E♭ major, E major
This is some mood whiplash after the last song. Sung by a woman in a frilly non-revealing dress, it starts sounding like the cheerful opening song of a 50’s or 60’s movie, but it turns out to tell a story instead. She starts by singing about her friend named Tom Pillibi who professes to be ultra-rich. The song is strategic with key change placement. At the first key change, she reveals she knows two secrets about Tom. When the key changes again, she reveals that Tom Pillibi has one tiny fault, and the song slows down to reveal he’s a big fat liar. Then, Jacqueline sings that she deeply loves Tom anyway.
No song in this contest tells a story quite like this one, and it’s quite a lucky choice for the ender. It tells a story, it’s musically varied, and it’s in French—the perfect storm for an early Eurovision winner.
Jacqueline Boyer recorded this song in two other languages: German and English. The German version is a faithful adaptation with a moderate French accent, which is how alternate language songs should be done… well, preferably minus the accent. But for some reason, the English version describes Tom Pillibi as a seemingly charming guy who turns out to be a deceptive womanizer, and I could only find lyrics of this version online, not the song itself. It’s so much cooler when language covers adapt the lyrics to convey the same meaning, or even add some extra meaning—that takes a lot of skill.
Who’s my favorite?
Hmm, this year is hard. Let’s narrow it down to four that left me the biggest impression: the United Kingdom, Norway, Italy, and France. “Looking High, High, High” is a charming song, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it. “Romantica” is well-composed but feels too much like a musical number that fits into a bigger story. This leaves me conflicted between Norway and France. A jazzy song and a cheerful story tune. I’m hesitant to choose France because it’s boring to agree with two winners in a row, but I’m hesitant to choose Norway because I don’t want to be contrarian to the winner just for the sake of it.
So, as with 1956, I imagined an alternate scenario. This time: what if Norway won instead? In that case, I’d choose them over France in a heartbeat. This makes my first winner of the 1960’s Norway, Voi Voi. I’ve always liked jazzy songs with a mischievous edge. My list now has four countries:
- Germany, 1
- Netherlands, 2
- Norway, 1
- Sweden, 1
- (2 winners)
The streak of Germanic countries has continued!
General thoughts:
The British presenter ended with these words: “On behalf of all of us here, to all of you, wherever you may be: Good night, Europe.” With the phrase “wherever you may be”, it almost felt like she was speaking to whoever might be watching across the seas 63 years later… like me.
I must admit, most of this year’s songs blended together for me, even after listening to each at least twice. Maybe it’s because I’ve bombarded myself with so many old Eurovision songs the past nine days, or maybe it’s because two of the most memorable ones were at the start and end. It could also be the high concentration of songs about romance, but that happens every year. Still, I enjoyed the songs that did stick out, and I could sense some tiny steps towards the style of the 70’s and 80’s—the two decades whose contests I am most excited to watch. Back then, popular music was actually good! Can you even believe that?! (EDIT: Six months later, I now recognize this was a naive and shortsighted thing to say.)
A few miscellaneous remarks: Despite being hosted in London, the video file I watched had Norwegian commentary, so I recognized country names from this year’s Swedish commentary but didn’t understand much else. I’ve been just starting to learn a little Swedish to better understand the commentary on their airings, since theirs are among the easiest to access. Additionally, I hadn’t mentioned some early installment weirdness in the 1957 contest. That year, jury members announced their votes in English, French, and German, but afterwards it’s only English and French.
See you next time as Finland, Spain, and Yugoslavia join the show, and a bias towards late-performing songs becomes apparent.
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