If ever there was a song which defies the Eurovision stereotype most people thrust upon the television show. You might listen to this for the first time and think "What the bloody hell is this nonsense?"
This "nonsense" was the song which won for Luxembourg in 1965, sung by a 17 year-old understated glamour-puss France Gall and written by none other than Mr Serge Gainsbourg himself.
I always forget that all important fact - the composer's name. So whenever I'm reminded I nearly always end up thinking it's hardly surprising the song sounds as unusual musically as it does.
The racing rhythm section is daring for a pop song, so too the relatively short verse. Look at the entire song and you'll see it only last two minutes eighteen seconds (a full forty seconds short of the three minute limit imposed on all composers for their songs in the Contest) - if you're looking to make an impression on judges you'd think everyone would want to maximise all of the time available to them.
The sound is evocative, the lyrics ironic. But perhaps the most striking thing to me looking at it now is the way that Gall doesn't have to leap around the stage in order to make a distinct impression. This is intense musical writing delivered by a girl with a sparkle in her eyes. Like Dansevise, Poupee de cire poupee de son gave Eurovision an unexpected musical integrity even if it wasn't immediately obvious then or still perceptable now.
2 comments:
The 1965 Contest as a whole certainly dragged the Eurovision out of what I call the "champagne music" of its first nine stagings well and truly into the swinging 60s. This typically clever effort from Serge Gainsbourg led the charge and I can see why it won.
However, France Gall's performance is terrible. Although the deadpan nature of her expressions is actually called for by the lyrics, I find it uncomfortable to watch because she never seems to be giving it her all and couldn't care less.
For that reason, this song is not one of my favourite winners. But it did mark a turning point for the Eurovision, and as such is worthy of mention.
Another zeitgeist moment - for me this is the Eurovision song that most evokes the spirit of the swinging 60s. A very lively instrumentation fronted by a gorgeous but static singer a la Mary Quant - she's very much "in charge" of the show. A real fun song, great to sing along to.
And a big up for M. Gainsbourg, writer of my all-time favourite Eurovision song (not this one). I always put a pebble on his grave at Montparnasse cemetery whenever I'm in Paris.
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