Song of the Day – We all have Eurovision songs that we love and listen to regularly. But then there are songs we might only remember because someone posts a link on Facebook or a Forum. In between our rankings we will shuffle through Eurovision history and present a random song each day to bring back memories and give you the chance to discuss songs and years during the “Eurovision drought”. Our song of the day today is the Swedish entry of 1962.
The Melodifestivalen of 1962 was quite different to what we know today. Seven songs had been submitted, one was disqualified. Each song was performed by two different artists, one accompanied by a big orchestra, the other by a small orchestra. After the voting, the song “Sol ochVår” won the competition. The Swedish national broadcaster later decided that it would be Inger Berggren (big orchestra) and not Lily Berglund (small orchestra) who would sing the song at the Eurovision Song Contest.
The song “Sol ochVår” (“Sun and Spring“) tells the story of the 19-year old singer going into the city to do window shopping on the first day of spring. She meets a good-looking and persuasive man, who convinces her to have lunch at an expensive restaurant. After some time the man tells her that he has an urgent phone call to make and leaves. The head waiter tells the narrator, that her “husband” has left with her purse and fur coat. The song thus ends with the phrase: “when it’s sun and spring all the little girls should be locked up”. Berggren performed the song cheekily and during the “instrumental” part of the song she accompanies the instruments seemingly imitating their melodies.
Sweden got 4points, but still came 7th as a total of four countries even got “Nul points”
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A nice, happy and bubbly song that participated in a strong year. 7/12 and 6th place on my list.
My top 3:
1. France (12/12)
2. Yogoslavia (12/12)
3. Norway (9/12)
yeah i love it, it’s great cute kitshy very well sung and performed… yeah 1962 is grand and it fails to be “amazing” but it’s still a nice song to remember, I have France, Monaco and Norway in my top 3 but I like Yugoslavia, Luxembourg and Finland a lot too, and Sweden
At the moment I have Monaco in 7th place but everything might change tonight because I have decided to watch the contest again. Austria is next …
P.S. You are a hopeless sucker for all things Finnish, aren’t you?
I have already listened to ‘Tipi-tii’ and it only got 3/12 from me. I absolutely hate those childish lyrics and all that pseudo chirping and the ‘lalala’ …
i do i do i do i love finland i do i do i do
I’m not a fan of this old song. A way too merry and jolly tune for my taste, even though the lyrics are very clever. Monica Zetterlund should have represented Sweden that year.
My favourites in the final are:
1. France
2. Yugoslavia
3. Switzerland
4. Luxembourg
5. Italy
I will listen to Monica’s song later because I do not want to be biased against the Swedish entry in case I love this song which is pretty likely because I realls like Monica Zetterlund’s work.
I must correct some things in my earlier post. I don’t dislike “Sol och vår” because it’s “too merry and jolly” (I love many merry melodies) but because it has a very annoying tune imo. The live version is even worse, because of all these “barbababapa” Inger does.
And the best song of MF 1962 was not “När min vän”, but “Kärlek och pepparrot”, which was disqualified just a few hours before the final. The reason was that it had been played on radio before, which was a huge loss, because “Kärlek och pepparrot” is one of the very best MF-related songs period. Musically, lyrically (trust me, the lyrics are great) and such a great singing work from, once again, Monica Zetterlund.
@togravus
Can you tell me your complete list of ESC 1962 after you have re-listened to the songs?
well i doubt mine would interest you but I’d like to go on records saying I hate Uk and Germany that year, they should have been last instead of like the 5 songs which got nil…
No way. I’m very interested of each result someone can give with some kind of motivation. I’m not a fan of UK 1962 either. Ronnie Carroll’s two entries were by far the worst from UK during the 60′s imo. And talking about nil points, I have always got a soft spot for “Katinka”. Their facial expressions are so silly, but the song makes me always so happy.
agreed!
I will … but there is a bit of a delay because a friend called. Norway is next, a good one I am looking forward to.
This is what I appreciate most in such ESC-related discussion – to learn of songs from national finals that are (at least to me) much better than some songs that actually competed!
Yes, indeed.
Just like the best song rarely wins ESC, it’s not unusual that the best song wins the national final. During the last months, I have dived into a lot of old national finals and found a great amount of great songs.
*”doesn’t win”, of course.
OK, this is what I have come up with. My two top songs are miles above the rest (both muiscally and lyrically) and will remain in my ESC pantheon.
1 France 12/12 – excellent conmpositional structure that makes a lot of sense if one considers the lyrics, and fantastic lyrics too. Isabelle gave a very strong live performance too. She had the most modern look of the night without becoming superficial in a light entertainment way. We will talk about the UK later.
2. Yugoslavia 12/12 – an excellent composition too and I adore the lyrics. Just imagine someone using cigarettes as the central metaphor of an ESC songs these days. All those health fanatics would cause a great stir. I love the very special Yugoslavian sound of this song too, it is like watching a sunset from a beautiful spot somewhere on the Dalmatian coast.
3. Italy 10/12 – OK, this song should be too melodramatic for my taste but Claudio Villa’s performance is so intense that he gets me nevertheless and against my personality structure. The lyrics are very simple but contain my favorite 1962 line “Il nostro amore, acqua di mare, è diventata sale” and the dramatic “Guardami, guardami” bit sent shivers down my spine. This proves once again that it is possible to love songs in a genre one normally does not care for much.
4. Norway 9/12 – I really like the melody and the jazzy orchestration. Moreover, Inger J. is my favorite vocalist of the 1962 contest. I absolutely adore the dark timbre she sometimes has in her voice. On the other hand, the vocals are a tad too generic to give 10/12.
5. Luxemburg 7/12 – Camillo is my favorite male voice of the 1962 contest and I really like the way this song builds, which is conclusive and not random as in so many other songs. I really like the ambiguity (love / envy / bitterness) conveyed in the lyrics too. Unfortunately, the orchestration is a bit generic.
6. Sweden 7/12 – see above. I agree with Eulenspiegel that there is too much “barbababapa” and the lyrics are a bit questionable too. Locking young girls in? Well, it is ironic, I guess … and all in all I like the story Inger B. tells.
7. Switzerland 7/12 – nothing to write home about but everything is well made and competent. Decent effort.
8. Denmark 6/12 – the song is very restrained and becomes a bit boring towards the end but it still is a sweet little lullaby with well made, straightforward lyrics. Ellen wears my favourite 1962 dress too.
… to be continued in a minute. The telephone is ringing again …
mistake in Norway (typing this while talking on the phone but don’t tell my friend …): the lyrics are a tad too generic, not the vocals …
9. Spain 6/12 – I used to have a strong dislike for this song but this time thought that it was all right. Victor is a good singer and I think that I really payed attention to the lyrics for the first time. They are pretty good.
10. Monaco 6/12 – I know that this song is pretty popular among ESC fans but to my ears and brains it is very conventional and a bit dull. I am no fan of the lyrics either and François’ facial expressions are too corny for my taste, in particular during the first half of the song. Still a decent effort but unfortunately nothing for my taste.
11. Austria 5/12 – what a fantastic vocal performance! Unfortunately, I do not particularly like operettas. Moreover, the lyrics are too much of a tourist commerical for Vienna. Somehow out of place in this contest too. Anyway, celebrate diversity!
12. Germany 4/12 – ‘Zwei kleine Italiener’ still is one of the most popular ESC songs in Germany but I still don’t like it. Yes, Conny is cute and gives a charming performance with good vocals. However, the compositional structure is very simple and I still do not approve of the condescending Gastarbeiter lyrics. Two Little Italians … ??? WTF!? Minus 3 for lyrics!
13. Finland 4/12 – s. comment above
14. Belgium 3/12 – the worst of Fud Leclerc’s ESC songs. (His 1956 has 12/12 on my list.) I do not see the point in this, neither in the composition nor in the lyrics.
15. UK 2/12 – silly lyrics and superficial in every way possible … and this is exactly what is wrong with the UK in the early years in general, at least imo. From the very beginning, the UK tried to bring a lighter note to ESC, more entertainment than art, and that has made ESC a lot more superficial than it should be if I had it my way. Of course they sent a gem like The Allisons once in a while but all in all the UK (together with ever over the top conservative Austria) is my least favorite ESC country of the early years (and unfortunately post 2000 again …). If we compare the musical super powers of the 60s, one might argue that France represented artistic credibility and depth in most years (with some exceptions like 1960 of course) whereas the UK mainly went for very simple stuff (I am deliberately using an euphemism here …) you could sing or tap along to on first listening. I do not have to think twice whom to side with. Still 2/12 because of Ronnie’s professional live performance.
16. Netherlands 1/12 – nothing can save this song for me. I don’t like the melody and I dislike the orchestration … and I utterly detest the mysogynist lyrics. Still, if you put this next to later monstrosities like UK 2007, Czech Rep. 2008 or Estonia 2008, it is impossible to give 0/12. In fact, if you take a historical perspective, it is probably impossible to give 0/12 to any song prior to the mid-70s.
Danke schön!
Nice to see I’m not the only one who loves “Addio addio”.
According to the book “A Song for Europe: Popular Music and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest”, “Katinka” was originally supposed to be performed by an Indo duo named The Padre Twins, who supposedly would have given the song a more modern and rocky version. But they did for some reason withdraw and were replaced by this middle-aged duo De Spelbrekers, who transformed it into a more old-fashioned song. And yeah, two middle-aged guys singing about “kleine kokette Katinka” gets rather awkward, even though I still like this song for some reason.
“Nothing to write home about”, you say about Switzerland. Come on, the song has one of the greatest intros ever!
“Come on, the song has one of the greatest intros ever!”
Exactly, but then it does not live up to it.
So how do you rank the 1962 songs? And why didn’t Morgan post his list???
Coming soon, working on it…
Waiting and biting my nails …
Well then, here’s my list. I’m not gonna give any grades, cause I’m not really good at that.
1. France – A haunting, magic song with excellent lyrics about the nostalgia of the first love encountered in life and the longing back for it. The way the song ends is just magnificent. And Isabelle Aubret is one of my all time favourite singers in ESC.
2. Yugoslavia – A way too mature and daring song for its time. Once again, a wonderfully haunting song with these remarkable lyrics that really knows how to put the right feeling in the song. Jazzy and intense, with a misty aura around it. Great!
3. Switzerland – My love for dark songs doesn’t end yet, do they? As I said, the greatest ESC song intro ever, and I love the rest of the song too. Jean Philippe does a good singing performance, though I feel that he was better with songs like “Oui oui oui oui”.
4. Luxembourg – Elegant French ballad, and this time with a more bittersweet message, about regret and saudade in the autumn of life. And Camillo has such an enchanting voice.
5. Italy – Powerful, dramatic and powerful. Claudio gives everything in this explosion of every soaring feeling.
6. Denmark – A sweet little song with sweet little lyrics. I love the Danish songs of the early 60’s, and this one is no exception.
7. Monaco – A real letdown after the perfect “Ce soir-là”, but this one is still a good French chanson these kind of songs I really love. But in comparison with the other Francophone entries this year, this is quite weak. The lyrics are so-so, though I really like the ending of them.
8. Norway – Completely forgotten in Norway today, which is pity because this is a well-written piece and well-performed by Inger J. Though it of course was way too anonymous to make any larger impact of the juries.
9. Netherlands – Yes, I have always liked this one. I must say it was better in NSF, where the tempo was a bit slower. It fitted the song better. I’ve mentioned the suspect parts of the songs in my earlier post, but I still find the song charming. Mostly because of the old-fashioned but yet effective tune. And their face expressions…gosh.
10. Austria – Yes, Vienna is a lovely city. And this operetta piece works good when trying to make a special Vienna-feeling in a song. There is nothing special about the song, but I enjoy it during the performance.
11. Germany – The most well-known song from ESC 1962. It’s the same thing as with Netherlands; a quite old-fashioned tune with lyrics that probably wouldn’t have been tolerated today. The song is silly, but yet charming and catchy and Conny gives a sympathetic perforamnce.
12. Spain – Spanish trumpets give this song its regional flavour and it is a decent song, but actually way too light-weighted for my taste. I want more strenght from this song, and therefore it passes away rather unnoticed for me.
13. Sweden – My own country did send many uninteresting songs in the early years, and this is one of them. Annoying melody and a rather non-appealing performance, though I like the lyrics.
14. United Kingdom – The second worst UK entry of the 60’s; only the other Carroll song was worse. Light entertainment that doesn’t interest me a bit. Silly and boring at the same time, and if I want an easy-going song from the UK, I prefer their 1960 effort anyday.
15. Finland – Irritating song. From start to finish. How could the follow up a marvellous song like “Valoa ikkunassa” with this?!
16. Belgium – This song does nothing for me. It gives me not a single feeling or thought. And that’s a bad sign, when this is from the First Golden Age of ESC, and almost every song manage to make an impact on me from that time. Boring.
So we basically agree, in particular on the top 2.
Well, we have had our disagreements in the past but once it gets to identifying the real gems, I guess that Morgan is right: it is simple common sense. 
“How could they follow up a marvellous song like “Valoa ikkunassa” with this?!”
‘Valoa ikkunassa’ is still my favourite Finnish ESC song ever. If I had a list of all songs, it would probably be in my top 20 too.
Do you have any nails left?
“Valoa ikkunassa” is in the top together with “Aurinko laskee länteen”, “Sata salamaa” and “La dolce vita” for me. As I’ve said, this special Finnish melancholy does always work for me.
Btw, have you listened to the song from Monica yet? Now I did remember, also Denmark 1962 had a great song in their national final which was disqualified too: “Jeg snakker med mig selv”. What a coincidence that two such great songs from the same year would be disqualified.
Finland 1961, 1965, 1979, 1985 and 1989 are all five worthy of the all time top 30 or so of esc imo (Finland is my winner in 79, 85 and 89 but 61 and 65 are very strong years and Finland did send two masterpieces then) but anyway, I love almost all the Finnish songs, which are more than 30 times in my top 10 (out of 42 participations!)
Thank you, my nails are fine.
Unfortunately, I am not allowed to listen to Monica’s song here in Germany. I will try to find sth I am allowed to listen to tomorrow (= later today). If I don’t succeed, I will write an emergency mail to all my ESC buddies. Perhaps someone owns this song.
Unfortunately, I only love 5 Finnish ESC songs (which, together with Cyprus, makes it the country that helps you to tell who is Morgan and who is me …
…)
1. 1961 12/12
2. 1965 12/12
3. 1979 10/12
4. 2012 9/12
5. 1986 9/12
…..
“Sata salamaa” 7/12
“La dolce vita” 7/12
…….
2006 1/12
1981 & 1992 0/12
i adore finland and deeply hate cyprus in eurovision! it’s incredible that we’re exact opposite on this and agree on everything else! “Elakööm Elämä” is in my all time top 10!
“Eläköön elämä” is another middling one with 7/12 on my list …
Btw, how anyone can hate Cyprus in the 90s (I absolutely adore 91, 92, 94, 95 and 96) is completely beyond me. Next to Poland, Cyprus rules on my list in the mid-90s and Evridiki is among my favourite ESC artists ever (together with Isabelle Aubret, Anne-Marie David, Justyna Steczkowska, Dulce Pontes, Kasia Kowalska, Roger Cicero and Hara Mati Hara …)
I wouldn’t personally say that I love Finland (or Cyprus) in ESC but I really like how they did try s many different styles and songs. Very daring and such things must be praised imo. Some songs were really bad to me: “Pump pump”, “Reggae OK” and “Yamma yamma” for example. But songs like “Kun kello käy” and “Sata salamaa” were really good songs that should have appealed more to the juries (maybe it was the Finnish language fault). “Eläköön elämä” has a great opening, but the rest of the song doesn’t convince me.
P. S. My favourite ESC country of the 90′s is, as I’ve said before, Estonia. I love every song from them in that decade. Followed by Poland and Croatia.
Then, there’s me that likes both Cyprus and Finland in Eurovision.
yes that’s my main idea in eurovision, there is common sense to have… will it be a surprise that my top is sensibly the same than yours? I have France way up there, followed by Monaco and Norway, then Yugoslavia, Luxembourg, Switzerland (based on my rankings, but I didnt take the time tonight to relisten to the songs), Finland, Italy and Spain… Netherlands, Austria and Denmark sit outside my top 10 and I dislike deeply Uk, Belgium and Germany my last. In other words apart from personal taste that makes us like this more than that, we can see distinctively the same “groups” of songs on top and on bottom… common sense I tell you!
Long Live Love … ehm, no! … long live common sense.
happy song, not my taste though!
“Sweden got 4points, but still came 7th as a total of four countries even got “Nul points” this could never happen again.. with only 4 pts means bottom
Probably. But France in televoting prooved this year that even with 43 countries voting you can get the nil ^^
If rumors that Raluka will represent Romania next year are true, I can become ESC fan again!!
If Raluka representing Romania will make you an ESC fan again, we can only hope that she will be chosen soon.
Btw, I love the threads on old ESC songs because everyone behaves in a civilised way and nobody uses those silly thumbs!