Another week of escXtra Picks! Opening this week is Nick with a song from the old days, this time with a language he just can’t stop listening to…
Luxembourg 1960: Camillo Felgen – So Laang We’s Du Do Bast (13th place)
I miss Luxembourg in Eurovision. It’s odd that I miss them, because I wasn’t alive in the times when Luxembourg were still in the Eurovision Song Contest, as I was born a year after their withdrawal, in 1994. Still, Luxembourg is one of my favourite countries in the Eurovision Song Contest.
It’s not only in Eurovision though. In a few days, I’ll be off to the southwest of Germany and we’ll surely be making another trip to Luxembourg (only half an hour from there), like we so often do and I just love the country, the Luxembourgish people and the language they speak.
It’s a language they are proud of: Every person in Luxembourg is raised to speak Luxembourgish and only at school they learn to speak German and French on a native basis – quite an accomplishment if you think about that. French was the language they always used on the Eurovision stage. That’s what did well for them, all their classics are in French: Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son, Après Toi, Tu Te Reconnaîtras and the list goes on and on. But for me, this is a true classic as well. Elegant, classy and just what I like.
The three times they sang in their Luxembourgish (1960, 1992 and a verse in 1993) didn’t end particularly well for RTL. Camillo Felgen here scored just 1 point, Marion Welter in 1992 scored 10 and the highlight was Modern Times’ one verse in Luxembourgish: 11 points. You can’t blame them for not trying more often, but I feel the language is worth more attention. It just has a beautiful sound and the fact that Luxembourg is so proud of this language is fully understandable.
Luxembourg, if you’re reading, please consider joining us back in Eurovision in 2017. Maybe even with a song in your beloved Luxembourgish. The language deserves it.
