It’s a new week so it’s time to start all over with our editors’ favourite songs from Eurovision history. Today Liam is back with his top pick from the first two decades of the contest.
Finland 1966: Ann Christine Nyström – Playboy (10th place)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2cfWHkBdw0
Yes yes, I realise how predictable I must seem given that this is my third time doing one of these and the third time I am picking a song in a Finno-Ugric language, but I can’t help who I am.
For me this is my absolute favourite song from the 1966 contest by far and I think much of the enjoyment of this song comes from looking up the lyrics. The song is Ann Christine telling a slick young guy who she refers to as a playboy that she won’t fall for his tricks.
My favourite line is in the third verse and is one of my favourite song lyric insults that I know:
You say your name is linked to 007
Zeroes could be there, but I leave out the seven.
Damn, such a sweet burn! The rest of the lyrics are also pretty scathing and clearly Ann Christine is having absolutely none of this bloke’s nonsense.
Combine that with the fact that this song was the first song conducted by legendary Finnish conductor, Ossi Runne, who conducted every Finnish until 1989 (except 1981) and was even written by the man himself.
In fact I once remember hearing a story about Ossi and Ann Christine. Just before they went on stage, Ann Christine confessed to Ossi that she was so petrified she would forget the words to the song. Without missing a beat Ossi cheerfully replied “Don’t worry darling, we’re Finnish! Nobody can understand us anyway!”.
