Catherine (song)
"Catherine" was the Luxembourgish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, performed in French by French singer Romuald (who had previously represented Monaco at the 1964 Contest with "Où sont-elles passées" and would represent that country again).
 | |
|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 1969 entry | |
| Country | |
| Artist(s) | Romuald Figuier |
| As | Romuald |
| Language | |
| Composer(s) | Paul Mauriat, André Borgioli |
| Lyricist(s) | André di Fusco |
| Conductor | Augusto Algueró |
| Finals performance | |
| Final result | 11th |
| Final points | 7 |
| Entry chronology | |
| ◄ "Nous vivrons d'amour" (1968) | |
| "Je suis tombé du ciel" (1970) ► | |
The song is a ballad, in which Romuald reminisces about a girl he went to kindergarten with called Catherine. He sings that he was already in love with her then, and while they have lost touch since that time, he retains his feelings for her. The song ends with his question as to whether she has found love herself, and it is unclear whether he wants her to have done so. Romuald recorded the song in four languages; French, German, Spanish and Italian.
The song was performed second on the night (following Yugoslavia's Ivan & M's with "Pozdrav svijetu" and preceding Spain's Salomé with "Vivo Cantando"). At the close of voting, it had received 7 points, placing 11th in a field of 16.
It was succeeded as Luxembourgish representative at the 1970 Contest by David Alexandre Winter with "Je suis tombé du ciel". Romuald returned to the Contest in 1974, singing "Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va".
An English version of the song was recorded by The Bachelors as the B side to their UK single When The Blue Of The Night (Meets The Gold Of The Day). The English lyric was written by Keith Potger, founding member of the Australian pop/folk group The Seekers though the writer credits do not show this. The English lyric tells of a love between a boy and his darling Caterina. At the end of the song the listener realises that the boy is blind but knows that his true love is Caterina.
A version in French and Japanese was recorded by Daniele Vidal. A Swedish Version was recorded by Jan Malmsjö.
Sources and external links
- Official Eurovision Song Contest site, history by year, 1969.
- Detailed info and lyrics, The Diggiloo Thrush, "Catherine".