This one usually provokes a deep sigh from most eurofans. Too slow. Too long. Boring and depressing. Pathetic and pretentious. It's not that I don't see what they mean.
Christina Simon - Heute in Jerusalem (Austria 1979)
It is indeed too slow to be a hit in Eurovision. Had this been a bike, it would fall over before the first verse is over, due to the lack of speed.
And sending a song to Jerusalem, urging for peace, trying to be the voice of reason? Rather a cheap trick, isn't it?
But I can't help being very touched by the whole thing. I think Christina Simon is sincere, I think she means what she is singing. And she sings it beautifully. There is an air of honesty and dignity around the whole thing that the juries ignored completely.
To add insult to injury, it wasn't only shared last with Belgium, it was also beaten by at least one truly awful song. (If that was the best Monaco could cough up in 1979, they did us all a favour by withdrawing.)
But in many ways it is better to be last than 16th out of nineteen. You are more visible in the history books if you end in last place. And time has been kind to Christina and her song. If you like them too, please say so in a comment.
