L'Oiseau et l'Enfant

"L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" (French pronunciation: [lwazo e lɑ̃fɑ̃]; "The Bird and the Child") was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 performed in French by Marie Myriam, who represented France. The song was composed by Jean-Paul Cara and written by Joe Gracy.[1] This is currently the last song to have won for France.

France "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant"
Eurovision Song Contest 1977 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Miriam Lopes
As
Language
English
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Joe Gracy
Conductor
Finals performance
Final result
1st
Final points
136
Entry chronology
◄ "Un, deux, trois" (1976)
"Il y aura toujours des violons" (1978) ►

The song was the eighteenth and final song performed on the night, following Belgium's Dream Express with "A Million in One, Two, Three". At the close of voting, it had received 136 points, coming first in a field of eighteen. Myriam recorded the song in five languages; French, English (as "The Bird and the Child"), German ("Der Vogel und das Mädchen"), Spanish ("El zagal y el ave azul") and her mother tongue Portuguese ("A ave e a infância").

During Preview Week, Myriam's music video showed her performing the song in an open-air atmosphere, in a section of the Square René Viviani in Paris. This preview video is notable for the prominent presence of the gendarmes having to restrain the crowd, some of whom having climbed the noted "oldest tree in Paris" to catch a glimpse of the singer. On the contest night, she performed in a floor-length orange gown while her five backup singers were clad in black.

It was succeeded as French representative at the 1978 contest by Joël Prévost with "Il y aura toujours des violons".

Covers

In 2016, the UNICEF project Kids United covered the song in their second album Tout le bonheur du monde. The song also appeared on SNEP singles charts in August 2016.[2] A cover of the song was used in an advertisement for IKEA in Canada in 2021.[3]

Charts performance
Chart (1977) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 15
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 6
France (IFOP)[6] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] 23
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[8] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] 2
West Germany (Official German Charts)[10] 19

Sources

References
  1. Mogui, Jean-Pierre (9 May 1977). "Victoire à Wembley". Le Figaro (in French). p. 30. ISSN 0182-5852. OCLC 1367314267.
  2. KIDS UNITED - L'OISEAU ET L'ENFANT page
  3. "IKEA aide à changer le monde un petit monde à la fois".
  4. "Marie Myriam – L'oiseau et l'enfant" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  5. "Marie Myriam – L'oiseau et l'enfant" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  6. "Tous les titres par artiste - M". InfoDisc. Retrieved 20 February 2023., sélectionnez « Marie MYRIAM » dans le menu et cliquez sur « OK ».
  7. "Marie Myriam – L'oiseau et l'enfant" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  8. "Marie Myriam – L'oiseau et l'enfant". Singles Top 100.
  9. "Marie Myriam – L'oiseau et l'enfant". Swiss Singles Chart.
  10. "Offiziellecharts.de – Marie Myriam – L'oiseau et l'enfant" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
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