Music Monday
This week's theme: Songs from the Eurovision Song Contest in honor of its 65th anniversary.
I'm only vaguely aware of the Eurovision contest, it has never been something I watch. So this was a tough one for me.
But I really liked one of this year's contestants, Eden Alene
Dana International won the contest in 1998 and launched a very successful international career. (And yes, she is transgender.)
A sample of the lyrics in translation:
There is a woman who is larger than life
There are senses that only she possesses
There is magic and there are hard days
And a stage that is all hers
To the angels Diva is an empire
On the stage Diva is hysteria
She is all a love song
Netta won in 2018.
Shiri Maymon placed 4th in 2005.
"HaSheket SheNish'ar" (Hebrew: השקט שנשאר /haˈʃeket ʃeniˈʃ(ʔ)aʁ/, lit. The Silence that Remains) The song deals with Maimon's realisation that her lover has been unfaithful and her decision to leave him as a result. She seems unsure about what to do next and muses on "the silence that remains".
Izhar Cohen won in 1978.
The song deals with the way in which children relate to love. Cohen sings that, growing up, "we loved secretly/Who were we nice to? — Just uncles and aunts" and that love was conducted secretly and "We whispered only in the Bet language". He compares this to adulthood, where he realises that "Love is a beautiful word" and that humanity should "speak in a language of love", instead of the language of secrecy. For this reason, the song uses the Bet language - a children's language game where each syllable of the word is repeated with a bet preceding the consonant. Thus, the Hebrew "a-ni o-hev o-tach" (Hebrew: אני אוהב אותך - I love you) becomes "a-ba-ni-bi o-bo-he-be-v o-bo-ta-ba-ch".
Milk and Honey, the 1979 winners
What can I say, it was the 70's...
A sample of the lyrics:
Hallelujah, sing a song
Hallelujah, we’ll follow along
With a simple word, a single word
We bless the sky, the tree, the bird
And we fill our heart with joy, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, sounds of love
Hallelujah, the sunshine above
Hallelujah, the bells will go ringin’
And dingin’ from dawn till night, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, we’ll follow along
With a simple word, a single word
We bless the sky, the tree, the bird
And we fill our heart with joy, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, sounds of love
Hallelujah, the sunshine above
Hallelujah, the bells will go ringin’
And dingin’ from dawn till night, Hallelujah
We will close it out with Nadav Guedj, who placed 9th in 2015.
Fun facts inspired by your post- I was intrigued by the fact that both Israel (which is geographically in Asia) and Australia (its own continent) can participate in Eurovision. I found that Israel has participated in so many European organizations, including the EBU (European Broadcasting Union), which is responsible for Eurovision. Australia is a more complex issue - in fact, if they win Eurovision they will not host the competition the following year, although Israel can (and has). You featured some beautiful song lyrics.
ReplyDeleteI didn't finish my thought about Israel and why it's in Eurovision. As a EBU member, Israel is allowed to compete and host the event the following year if it wins. Australia was a special invite originally for the 60th anniversary as the competition is so loved there, and if they win, they would have to host the next year in a European country. Forgot to give you my name, too. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com.
DeleteIt’s all so very interesting. I wasn’t really familiar with the contest until now.
ReplyDeleteYou did a nice job with this! Not bad for not knowing anything about it!
ReplyDeleteRobin,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see we're not tripping over ourselves with the same contestants with this week's theme. You have an interesting arrangement of artist. I really enjoyed sampling Shiri Maymon song you shared. I'm definitely going to check out more of her music. I have not watched ESC. Is it available to view in the states? Alana says there is going to be an American version to air next year which sounds exciting. Thanks for joining the 4M crew on the dance floor, darlin'. Have a boogietastic week!
We like Shiri Maymon's song best, Songbirdie, for us it is a songcontest song above all the others. It has changed so much the last 20/30 years. Pawkisses for a Happy Week ahead🐾😽💞
ReplyDelete