Best Last Place – 90 songs have come last or shared last at the Eurovision Song Contest. Over the last weeks hundreds of our readers have voted for their favorites. Each voter submitted his personal Top 5. In the next days we will reveal your Top 15. Today, we continue with a folk band from Ireland.
In 2007, Ireland sent the traditional folk band Dervish to Helsinki. The band performed in this composition since 1991 and released several albums receiving critical acclaim and success on folk music charts around the world. Their 2007 entry “They Can’t Stop The Spring” is a song against oppression and for a united Europe. The song makes reference to the Eurovision Song Contest: “And from Lisadell to Latvia, we’re singing as one clan. The curtain has been raised, and Europe’s all one stage“ and to the end of the Cold War: “And the archipelagic icicles have melted like the cage”. The song celebrates the power of the people: “They might scare the blackbird But they cannot stop him sing They may steal the honey But they’ll never steal the sting”. The band performed with Irish instruments and lead singer Cathy Jordan wore a traditional Irish dress. Unfortunately she was seemingly pretty nervous, some compared her to someone “high on weed” as she danced rather statically and had some vocal problems. In the end, Ireland came last with just 5 points (all from the Albanian jury). This marks the first and to date only last place for the Emerald Island.
Ah, i waited for this song to appear. Great that it made it that high on this list.
This was actually on of my favourites in 07 and i was so furious when Malta gave 12 points to that horrible act from UK and made this wonderful song last. Yes, i have a faible for irish folk and the presentation of this song was not that good, but this was not a last place. Not at all.
My personal #1 last place.
Even without Malta giving 12 to the U.K. Ireland would have finished last…
I loved this song in 2007 surprised it didnt do better.
OK, first: I LOVE Irish folk music, so I’m already biased.
But then, there’s not so much more to say. The melody is nothing special, the lyrics are rather silly (referring to the political changes in Europe 1968?) and the performance was weak with even weaker vocals. And why does an Irish folk music group calling themselves Dervish? It’s as if a country & western group would call themselves Ded Moroz or something…
So overall, not that bad. Just quite weak and generic. Didn’t deserve last place in 2007 but didn’t deserve to finish this high in the poll either.
Great song, meaningful lyrics, my favourite entry in 2007. It’s a real pity how Eurovision encourages Ireland to send stuff like Jedward over this… I guess it’s just not fit for the contest – at least not as fit as Ukraine’s entry that year
I really liked her singing, and did like the song (though “It’s for you” was intensely better in the NF) and thought it was a bit more genuine than the typical Irish entries like 2004-2006 entries. I didn’t think it would be last but didn’t see it much higher than 20th so not a big surprise, but indeed a bit sad, it’s among the better 2007 entries (id say in my top 15) and one of the best 00s last places so I’m glad it’s here instead of Czech Republic 2009 but it’s a bit too high as #6, hyped by it’s more recent participation
This song is quite nice actually
Didn’t deserve to come last. United Kingdom or Turkey should have been last if anyone.
Oh dear, Dervish. This song for me is only surpassed by Dustin for recent Irish cringe. She just couldn’t sing, and she shouldn’t have been allowed near that stage. There is always a section of Irish voters who will want that Celtic sounding song. Usually these come second last in the N.F.. Obviously this one won for a change. We’ve had better Celtic songs for selection.
Anyway I think its great people think positively about our entries, I just don’t understand liking this one.
By the way didn’t Chris Doran come last for Ireland as well??
UP DONEGAL FOR THE ALL IRELAND???????????????????
Hi J K F Irish!
No, Chris Doran didn’t come last in Eurovision 2004. Norway did. Ireland shared a 22nd place with 7 points with the Belgian entry “One life” by Xandee.
Greets
Nicky
Thanks for the clarification. I think Chris’s entry was our worst up to that point. He was very upset after.
Was never a big fan of this entry but it sure as hell didn’t deserve last place with the likes of Scooch in the contest but there you go. Thanks Albania for preventing it from getting the dreaded ‘nul points’ While Cathy did seem quite off in the final her 2nd rehearsal seemed much better so not sure what happened and I preferref the background in the rehearsal too.
@JFK – Chris Doran came jt22nd in 2004 with Belgium while Norway cam last with Knut Anders Sorum singing ‘High’
Totally with you on the All Ireland front – C’mon Donegal!
FInally another Gold (no.5) for Ireland in the Paralympics tonight, Delighted.
Ah sure aren’t we a great wee country.
I voted for this one as my #1 BLP, but didn’t really think it would get a good place from the fans. A pleasant surprise to see this underrated entry gaining some sort of recognition.
I have never been a fan of this song and the live performance in the final was a bit disappointing too. However, irrespective of my personal taste, I fully acknowledge the qualities Ireland 2007 has. Consequently, I am not angry this time and don’t go LOL or ROFL either. I wouldn’t have put this one so high on this list but I can perfectly live with it being where it is. Finally, I expect “They Can’t Stop the Spring” to be miles above any of the top 5 songs … but perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised … although I do not think so.
Charming song indeed but it looked and sounded like a disaster live.Of course last place should have gone to UK imo…
My ranking for the 2007 Final :
1)Serbia , 2)Bulgaria , 3)Georgia , 4)BiH , 5)Russia
6)Moldova , 7)Lithuania , 8)Slovenia , 9)Armenia , 10)Belarus
11)Ukraine , 12)France , 13)Finland ,14)FYROM , 15)Latvia
16)Romania , 17)Hungary , 18)Germany , 19)Spain , 20)Turkey
21)Greece , 22)Ireland , 23)Sweden , 24)UK
Eastern Europe provided us with some very good stuff in 2007 , really! ( The first entry from the West that I liked that year was the French one and it wasn’t even in my top 10! )
2007 most overrated entries :
1)Turkey
2)Greece
3)Ukraine
4)Andorra ( in semi )
5)Hungary
2007 most underrated stuff :
Lithuania
Israel ( in semi )
Czech R. ( in semi )
Estonia ( in semi )
France
Georgia
PS : Iceland , Estonia and Israel should should have been in the Final over Turkey , Latvia and Hungary…( but I can deal with the last two anyway… )
Germany rocked in 2007 … but perhaps you have to be German to understand that …
1. Serbia
2. Germany
3. Bulgaria
4. Andorra
5. Hungary
6. Georgia
7. BiH
8. Moldova
9. Israel
10. Lthuania
11. Sweden
12. Armenia
13. Russia (love it in studio version)
14. Iceland
15. Albania
I love those 15 songs.
And I also like Cyprus, Czech Rep., Romania and Finland
Horrors: Latvia, Poland, Switzerland, Denmark and UK.
P.S. In general I agree that Eastern Europe rocked in 2007.
2007 is one of my favorite years because of the sheer variety in the entries. It’s also one of the few years where I would rather listen to the live than the studio of more than 3/4 of the songs. There were some great performances!
In alphabetic order, the songs I love are (8/12 or higher):
Andorra, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.
The songs I like are (5/12 – 7/12):
Albania, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece (*blush*), Iceland, Israel, Latvia, Montenegro, Norway, Portugal, Romania, and Russia (love in studio).
Horrors (0/12 – 2/12):
Belgium, Croatia, Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, and Turkey
to me there are only three songs i really care for in 2007: Georgia, Sweden and Bosnia & Herzegovina, that’s very all
To sum up : all 3 of us love Georgia and BiH ! :p
yes, Sweden was my favorite before hand because of MF, where it was an instant love and seeing actually for ONCE my favorite win (the only year since Ive watched MF in 2003) but the live was underwhelming, Bosnia was a second favorite, but the dress and the live, well it just wasnt “lejla” good, Georgia was always a great song but her NF live was the underwhelming one so I had it only 3rd before the contest, the amazing live made it my winner now!
Agreed ! However , “Rijeka bez imena” is a better song than “Lejla” imo…
“Lejla” is an absolute perfect song and its live was just as incredibly amazing. I am a huge “Lejla” fan lol (written by the same guy than Bosnia 93, my all time #3 and Zeljko’s best esc song, even if “Oro” is my 2008 winner too, and both his own songs are my #3 of their years)
BiH is my 2006 winner too and Zeljko’s 2nd best contribution imo !
“I am a huge “Lejla” fan lol (written by the same guy than Bosnia 93, my all time #3 and Zeljko’s best esc song, even if “Oro” is my 2008 winner too, and both his own songs are my #3 of their years)”
Yes. Fahrudin Pecikoza-Peca is one of my favourite ESC lyricists. Just imagine if Bosnia had sent “Starac i more” in 1999, also written by him. 1999 would then have got three songs I love.
i dont love any 99 songs
Agree. Somehow “Rijeka bez imena” seems to me a much more sincere song then “Lejla”.
As for Serbia ’07, I can’t get over the fact that Marija was a huge supporter for the Serbian far right party.
how can a copycat be more sincere?
I don’t think it is a copycat.
You don’t care for ‘Molitva’, which was among the 3 best live performances in ESC ever imo???
*paralyzed from shock*
On the other hand, BiH had a fantastic song but a ridiculous live performance. That dress … as if poor Marija had been caught in seaweed. Minus three for styling on my list …
that live made Serbia in my top 10 now almost all serbian songs are in my top 10, only 2009 isnt but 2009 was great and I do like Serbia 2009 (in my top 20 but missing out on the top 10) but I still dont like “molitva” as a song much… the second weakest serbian esc song :p
Regarding Serbian entries :
In my books :
1)Lane moje : 12/12
1)Molitva : 12/12
3)Caroban : 10/12
4)Oro : 9/12
5)Nije ljubav stvar : 8/12
6)Ovo je Balkan : 7/12
7)Cipela : 3/12
Great esc country with an average of 8,71 in my statistics and the winner out of the bunch !
it’s so far my #3 best esc country behind unbeatable (or almost) Bosnia&Herzegovina and France, second, but very close to Serbia now, however it has a longer history… then come Finland, Italy, Luxembourg…
BiH is very high on my list as well but their 2005 , 2004 !!!, 2003 , 2002 , 2001 and 1997 contributions drag their average quite a bit…Perhaps I should say Bosnia has been great every year since 2006 and in 1999
France is respectable as well and way above every other Big 4…
Bosnia is: my #1 in 1993, my #8 in 94, my #2 in 95 my #10 in 1996, my #2 in 97, my #2 in 99, my #3 in 01, my #3 in 02, my #7 in 03, my #10 in 94 (it’s not good, not bad, but i hate most songs that year, and it’s saved for my bf of the time trying to be “more slutty than deen” in bed with me lol), my #35 in 05 (god god god their one mistake, but that helped get back on track), #1 in 06, #3 in 07, #4 in 08, #3 in 09, #12 in 2010, #1 in 2011 and #6 in 2012! Almost a perfect clear history!
in comparison: Serbia is my #3 in 2004 (i dont count 2005 as Serbia but as Montenegro, and there is no Serbia-Montenegro in my book, id hate a country with only two awesome entries to screw everything, i think ti’s a common and agreed thing to have 04 as serbia and 05 as montenegro), #9 in 2007, #1 in 2008, #18 in 2009, #3 in 2010, #4 in 2011 and #3 in 2012 again! Cheers!
Re BiH :
2012 : 9/12 and #6/42
2011 : 8/12 and #8/43
2010 : 6/12 and #23/39 ( Great performance though ! )
2009 : 9/12 and #4/42
2008 : 8/12 and #10/43
2007 : 10/12 and #4/42
2006 : 12/12 and #1/37
2005 : 3/12 and #31/38
2004 : 1/12 and #35/36 ( definitely the WORST )
2003 : 4/12 and #22/26
2002 : 3/12 and #19/24
2001 : 5/12 and #14/23 ( English part sucked )
1999 : 9/12 and #3/23
1997 : 4/12 and #21/25
For the rest I have to rewatch 1993 to 1996…
Wouldn’t that be an interesting voting, too? Our favourit ESC-Country? I guess, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina would be high on my list, too. Along with Moldova and Iceland.
“Oro” … 12/12 and my favorite Serbian ESC song ever.
Serbia in my book:
1. Oro 12/12
2. Lane moje 12/12
3. Nije ljubav stvar 10/12
4. Ovo je Balkan 8/12
5. Cipela 8/12
All in all my favorite ESC country.
Good night!
Oops … I forgot “Čaroban” … 12/12 and 3rd place on my Serbian list.
You still forgot “Molitva” which will be even higher on your Serbian list
Serbia is going up up up up now !
Goodnight !
I am working too much ….
My ranking of the Serbian entries:
1) Caroban 12/12
2) Oro 12/12
3) Molitva 12/12
4) Nije ljubav stvar 10/12
5) Cipela 8/12
6) Lane moje 8/12
7) Ovo je Balkans 6/12 (a 7/12 with a single point deduction for poor live vocals)
Wow, just 8/12 for “Lane moje”. In comparison with most ESC fans, it would probably mean that you hate it.
That’s how it feels sometimes. Lol
I just can’t get into it like many fans seem to be able to. It’s a good, maybe even a great song, that was well performed, but I don’t feel any magic.
“That dress … as if poor Marija had been caught in seaweed.”
Our commentator Kristian Luuk said that Marija had dressed into a leek. That was probably the only time I laughed at his jokes.
And yes, I fully agree that B&H 2007 was a really enchanting song, though it couldn’t top “Molitva”.
Ah, Ireland 2007 is the perfect example of a decent to good song that was completely ruined by its live performance. While I understand the like for the song, I cannot get over how horrible her live voice was that night. Not only was the singing off-tune, but the words were slurred to the point of being unrecognizable. I make a joke that she must have been nervous and had a couple drinks to calm down… before having more and more and more. One of the worst songs (at least on the night of the finals) of 2007 for me and a deserved last place.
The days before Jedwood
the last place was well deserved. she is probably the only irish woman who can’t sing.
When I saw an amazing trad band like Dervish and a great sean-nos singer like Cathy Jordan finishing last I lost my faith in eurovision.
I like it!Ok.It wasn’t the best live performance and her voice is rather annoying but it’s very Irish and i like the title.