For the first ever contest, it sure produces some enduringly strong entries.
01 The Netherlands-1 De Vogels Van Holland
B: It’s not often you get lines like “Chinese vogels zingen tudeludelu” in a Eurovision song, and to be honest I’m not surprised it hasn’t been repeated since the contest’s inaugural number. Is ‘gras zo vol dauw’ a euphemism? Is the whole song?
A: Lovely if slightly cliched arrangement, given the personification many of the instruments are employed for. There’s something about Ms Paerl’s voice which keeps this from sounding too prim.
02 Switzerland-1 Das Alte Karussell
B: Talk about euphemisms! “Die Kleinen und Großen / Sie ziehen und stoßen / Und so geht es im Kreise herum” although “Man muss es einmal schmier’n”! Could have been written by Enid Blyton. I’m sure it went right over the heads of the audience. I’d love to see the delightful Ms Assia performing it Little Britain style, surrounded by sex toys.
A: The pim-pom of the double bass here and the way the strings and brass are used are just as predictable as the way the instruments were used in the last number, although the composition does exhibit some unexpected diversity in its closing minute.
03 Belgium-1 Messieurs Les Noyés De La Seine
B: Our Fud clearly learned his lesson: why give the audience bloated corpses being pulled out of the river on boat hooks when, two years later, you could give them My Little Pussy instead? Beautifully tortured lyrics though. But does Belgium have no rivers? Why sing about Paris? Then again, I suppose Messieurs Les Noyés De Le Mannequin Pis wouldn’t have quite the same ring to it.
A: Third song in a row where the music and lyrics go hand-in-glove. This comes across to me as four minutes from one of those ’50s musical films. This one would have had a painted backdrop of the Eiffel Tower and far too much fog. [Addendum] I know he’s depressed, but he does go on a bit.
04 Germany-1 Im Watersaal Zum Grossen Glück
B: Fantastic, complex lyrics.
A: The fact that virtually every line is half-spoken should irritate me, but it doesn’t. The twists and turns of the composition shouldn’t irritate me, but they do. It surprises me for sounding so conceited and condescending where there should be empathy. Still, it stands out either way.
05 France-1 Le Temps Perdu
B: As ever, the French turns a rather banal set of lyrics into something utterly romantic.
A: The music doesn’t do much either, but it works, especially when combined with Ms Altéry’s enchanting hummingbird vocals. The occasional touch of French horn (or whatever it is) is a highlight.
06 Luxembourg-1 Ne Crois Pas
B: Ms Arnaud has an impressively long neck. I love the fact that her first entry is a 1950s “you ain’t all that” directed at the vanity of men.
A: For much of this there’s an edge of disdain and impatience to the delivery that I really like. It fair kicks along, as it should, and just stops, having said what it had to say, without any fanfare. Brilliant.
07 Italy-1 Aprite Le Finistre
B: The first ever Italian entry sets at least a couple of precedents for many songs of the era, and indeed beyond. I suppose the arrival of spring is something to sing about in countries where it actually heralds the arrival of weather to get excited about.
A: Perfectly charming. I’ve rarely heard a ‘la la la’ that is less successful in getting me to want to sing along, but as a whole the song shows a canny knack for having figured out from the off what a Eurovision song is meant to be about.
08 The Netherlands-2 Voorgoed Voorbij
B: More violets and the scent of spring. “Ach, waarom is er ieder jaar een nieuwe mei?” our future winner asks. Tsk: clearly only because they need a month for Eurovision!
A: Attractive arrangement, and Ms Brokken makes the Dutch sound pretty attractive too, which doesn’t happen all that often.
09 Switzerland-2 Refrain
B: Our first winner certainly feels sorry for itself.
A: You can tell it’s sold itself to the juries within the first 30 seconds – it just has that sound about it. Clever arrangement for the orchestra: subtle in parts and swollen in others.
10 Belgium-2 Le Plus Beau Jour De Ma Vie
B: Ding dong, ding dong. Where’s the punchline about their impending divorce?
A: The Belgians were clearly going for Edith Piaf lite with their second entry. The music works well with the lyrics, but is it unfeeling of me not to want to listen to three and a half minutes of someone banging on about how great their wedding day was?
11 Germany-2 So Geht Das Jede Nacht
B: Pleasingly twisted take on ‘anything you can do I can do better’, this. Basically it’s saying “I never expected you to be the dirty stopout you are and I bet you never expected me to be a total manwhore either”. Love the fact that we have a Japanese version!
A: One of the most obvious contenders for a plagiarism award in Eurovision’s history. I suppose it had to be imported from the less staid United States to get away with the subject matter. Completely different from anything else on offer, but not actually good.
12 France-2 Il Est Là
B: Ms Dauberson may have herself a stalker here, or a psychosis. Or both.
A: Could be either when you listen to it, although I’m leaning towards the latter. The music’s certainly very expressive. Gets a bit too slapstick for me in parts.
13 Luxembourg-2 Les Amants De Minuit
B: People have clearly been cruising forever. I love the line “Les amants désapprennent leurs noms et leurs amours”.
A: There’s a certain resonance between Ms Arnaud’s two entries – and a knowingly underplayed coquettishness to this – that I like. It’s amazing how layered with meaning that final chime is.
14 Italy-2 Amami Se Vuoi
B: There’s no guardedness to these lyrics, and I have a great deal of respect for them.
A: I’m too removed from this era for the treatment the song gets to sit entirely comfortably with me: it seems overly demure. I admire the arrangement though, and you’ve got to look at these things in context. It’s still a great song.
B: It’s not often you get lines like “Chinese vogels zingen tudeludelu” in a Eurovision song, and to be honest I’m not surprised it hasn’t been repeated since the contest’s inaugural number. Is ‘gras zo vol dauw’ a euphemism? Is the whole song?
A: Lovely if slightly cliched arrangement, given the personification many of the instruments are employed for. There’s something about Ms Paerl’s voice which keeps this from sounding too prim.
02 Switzerland-1 Das Alte Karussell
B: Talk about euphemisms! “Die Kleinen und Großen / Sie ziehen und stoßen / Und so geht es im Kreise herum” although “Man muss es einmal schmier’n”! Could have been written by Enid Blyton. I’m sure it went right over the heads of the audience. I’d love to see the delightful Ms Assia performing it Little Britain style, surrounded by sex toys.
A: The pim-pom of the double bass here and the way the strings and brass are used are just as predictable as the way the instruments were used in the last number, although the composition does exhibit some unexpected diversity in its closing minute.
03 Belgium-1 Messieurs Les Noyés De La Seine
B: Our Fud clearly learned his lesson: why give the audience bloated corpses being pulled out of the river on boat hooks when, two years later, you could give them My Little Pussy instead? Beautifully tortured lyrics though. But does Belgium have no rivers? Why sing about Paris? Then again, I suppose Messieurs Les Noyés De Le Mannequin Pis wouldn’t have quite the same ring to it.
A: Third song in a row where the music and lyrics go hand-in-glove. This comes across to me as four minutes from one of those ’50s musical films. This one would have had a painted backdrop of the Eiffel Tower and far too much fog. [Addendum] I know he’s depressed, but he does go on a bit.
04 Germany-1 Im Watersaal Zum Grossen Glück
B: Fantastic, complex lyrics.
A: The fact that virtually every line is half-spoken should irritate me, but it doesn’t. The twists and turns of the composition shouldn’t irritate me, but they do. It surprises me for sounding so conceited and condescending where there should be empathy. Still, it stands out either way.
05 France-1 Le Temps Perdu
B: As ever, the French turns a rather banal set of lyrics into something utterly romantic.
A: The music doesn’t do much either, but it works, especially when combined with Ms Altéry’s enchanting hummingbird vocals. The occasional touch of French horn (or whatever it is) is a highlight.
06 Luxembourg-1 Ne Crois Pas
B: Ms Arnaud has an impressively long neck. I love the fact that her first entry is a 1950s “you ain’t all that” directed at the vanity of men.
A: For much of this there’s an edge of disdain and impatience to the delivery that I really like. It fair kicks along, as it should, and just stops, having said what it had to say, without any fanfare. Brilliant.
07 Italy-1 Aprite Le Finistre
B: The first ever Italian entry sets at least a couple of precedents for many songs of the era, and indeed beyond. I suppose the arrival of spring is something to sing about in countries where it actually heralds the arrival of weather to get excited about.
A: Perfectly charming. I’ve rarely heard a ‘la la la’ that is less successful in getting me to want to sing along, but as a whole the song shows a canny knack for having figured out from the off what a Eurovision song is meant to be about.
08 The Netherlands-2 Voorgoed Voorbij
B: More violets and the scent of spring. “Ach, waarom is er ieder jaar een nieuwe mei?” our future winner asks. Tsk: clearly only because they need a month for Eurovision!
A: Attractive arrangement, and Ms Brokken makes the Dutch sound pretty attractive too, which doesn’t happen all that often.
09 Switzerland-2 Refrain
B: Our first winner certainly feels sorry for itself.
A: You can tell it’s sold itself to the juries within the first 30 seconds – it just has that sound about it. Clever arrangement for the orchestra: subtle in parts and swollen in others.
10 Belgium-2 Le Plus Beau Jour De Ma Vie
B: Ding dong, ding dong. Where’s the punchline about their impending divorce?
A: The Belgians were clearly going for Edith Piaf lite with their second entry. The music works well with the lyrics, but is it unfeeling of me not to want to listen to three and a half minutes of someone banging on about how great their wedding day was?
11 Germany-2 So Geht Das Jede Nacht
B: Pleasingly twisted take on ‘anything you can do I can do better’, this. Basically it’s saying “I never expected you to be the dirty stopout you are and I bet you never expected me to be a total manwhore either”. Love the fact that we have a Japanese version!
A: One of the most obvious contenders for a plagiarism award in Eurovision’s history. I suppose it had to be imported from the less staid United States to get away with the subject matter. Completely different from anything else on offer, but not actually good.
12 France-2 Il Est Là
B: Ms Dauberson may have herself a stalker here, or a psychosis. Or both.
A: Could be either when you listen to it, although I’m leaning towards the latter. The music’s certainly very expressive. Gets a bit too slapstick for me in parts.
13 Luxembourg-2 Les Amants De Minuit
B: People have clearly been cruising forever. I love the line “Les amants désapprennent leurs noms et leurs amours”.
A: There’s a certain resonance between Ms Arnaud’s two entries – and a knowingly underplayed coquettishness to this – that I like. It’s amazing how layered with meaning that final chime is.
14 Italy-2 Amami Se Vuoi
B: There’s no guardedness to these lyrics, and I have a great deal of respect for them.
A: I’m too removed from this era for the treatment the song gets to sit entirely comfortably with me: it seems overly demure. I admire the arrangement though, and you’ve got to look at these things in context. It’s still a great song.
And so to the points...
1 point goes to Belgium-1
2 points go to the Netherlands-2
3 points go to France-2
4 points go to Germany-1
5 points go to France-1
6 points go to Luxembourg-1
7 points go to Luxembourg-2
8 points go to Italy-2
10 points go to Switzerland-2
and finally...
12 points go to...
1 point goes to Belgium-1
2 points go to the Netherlands-2
3 points go to France-2
4 points go to Germany-1
5 points go to France-1
6 points go to Luxembourg-1
7 points go to Luxembourg-2
8 points go to Italy-2
10 points go to Switzerland-2
and finally...
12 points go to...
Italy-1!
The wooden spoon is awarded to Germany-2.
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