Dschinghis Khan (song)
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Dschinghis Khan (English translation: "Genghis Khan") was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, performed in German by Dschinghis Khan.
The song was performed ninth on the night (following Switzerland's Peter, Sue & Marc & Pfuri, Gorps & Kniri with "Trödler und Co" and preceding Israel's Gali Atari & Milk & Honey with "Hallelujah"). At the close of voting it had received 86 points, coming fourth in a field of nineteen.
The song was written and composed by the prolific duo of Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger, and owes a considerable debt to disco music, specifically of the Boney M tradition. As the name suggests, it is in praise of the titular Mongol warrior, with verses extolling his military ("And about his enemies he only laughed/Because nobody could resist his strength") and sexual ("And each woman, that he liked/He took into his tent/They said, a woman who did not love him/Did not exist anywhere in the world/He fathered seven children in one night") prowess. Indeed, the entirety of his band are the subjects of this paean, being described as exceptional drinkers with a devil-may-care attitude to life ("And the devil gets us early enough").
The performance was in a similarly flamboyant style, with one member of the band (Louis Hendrik Potgieter) dressed as a caricature of the warlord himself and capering about the stage, seducing the female members of the band and laughing as appropriate.
The song makes many appearances in medleys and best-of collections of the Contest. As an example of the latter, it was featured prominently on the commemorative CDs produced to coincide with the "Congratulations" special in late 2005. Prior to the 2006 Contest, it was performed as part of a medley — one of only two non-winning songs to earn this honour.
It was succeeded as German representative at the 1980 Contest by Katja Ebstein with "Theater".
In more recent years, the song has featured as the theme song for Czech-born ice hockey-player Petr Prucha, based on the similarity of his surname to the distinctive "Hoo-Haa" of the refrain. The song is also used at the end of Peelander-Z's live shows. The band dances to it before going offstage.
