EUROPEAN POP LYRICS
This year it’s the fiftieth anniversary of ABBA’s famous win at Eurovision. For my fantasy version I’ve retained ABBA and the other two acts who placed in the top three. However, there are plenty of new acts as well as some unexpected countries.
01: United Kingdom: Queen – Killer Queen
Eurovision and glam rock seems like a natural combination in retrospect, so I’ve invited Queen to start the party.
02: France: Dani – La Vie à 25 ans
Dani was one of the coolest yé-yé girls in the 1960s. In 1974 she was due to perform this song at Eurovision, but France withdrew from the contest when President Pompidou died. To make up for this she was scheduled to perform in 1975, singing the Serge Gainsbourg song “Comme un boomerang”. However, it was banned for being too raunchy and she missed out again. Dani died in 2022, having never performed at Eurovision.
03: West Germany: Udo Lindenberg – Jonny Controlletti
Moving away from their customary schlager, Germany send in Udo Lindenberg, who was the first person to really sell rock records singing in German.
04: Spain: Morena Y Clara – No Llores Mas
The actual Spanish entry this year (by Peret) had a bit of a flamenco flavour, but this track is much cooler. In 1976 Morena y Clara entered the selection contest to represent Spain at Eurovision, but they weren’t chosen. After this indignity they faded from view.
05: Italy: Gigliola Cinquetti – Si
This is from the actual contest and it finished second. Cinquetti had already won Eurovision, back in 1964 aged just 16. This song was banned in her home country as people though it might influence a referendum on divorce.
06: Ireland: Horslips – Dearg Doom
Folk rock was also popular at this time, so it would have been cool if the Irish had sent in Horslips. NB The original single release was in 1973.
07: East Germany: Nina Hagen – Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen
This year I’ve spiced things up by having both East and West Germany compete. Hagen would get a lot wilder later on, but here she is reasonably Eurovision friendly.
08: Netherlands: Mouth & MacNeal – I See a Star
From the original contest. They were favourites to win but ended up in third place.
09: Portugal: Raul Seixas – Gita
The Portuguese recruit the Brazilian singer Raul Seixas. He was into mysticism at this time, and the title is a reference to Hinduism. Plus, he’s wearing a Santa outfit!
10: Andorra: Jeanette – Porque te vas
Here Jeanette represents Andorra (well, I had to get another Spanish language song into the contest somehow). This Eurovision friendly song could give ABBA a run for their money.
11: Belgium: Michel Polnareff – Tibili
Here the legendary Polnareff represents Belgium. He’s rocking that glam look and singing Eurovision friendly gibberish lyrics won’t harm his chances.
12: Poland: Anna Jantar – Tyle słońca w całym mieście
Poland must have crept under the iron curtain when in I let East Germany in. The title translates as ‘So Much Sun in the Whole City’.
13: Greece: Demis Roussos – Forever & Forever
This was the first year that Greece took part in the contest. Here they send in Roussos, already an international star. NB The song was originally released in 1973.
14: Sweden: ABBA – Waterloo
It seems natural to end with ABBA. Can they win both the real and fantasy contests?
NB Seven of these artists have previously featured on this blog and translations of four of the songs are available (in red).
Spanish Pop Lyrics 