| "To nie ja!" | |
|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 1994 entry | |
| Country | Poland |
| Artist(s) | Edyta Górniak |
| Language | Polish |
| Composer(s) | Stanisław Syrewicz |
| Lyricist(s) | Jacek Cygan |
| Conductor | Noel Kelehan |
| Finals performance | |
| Final result | 2nd |
| Final points | 166 |
| Appearance chronology | |
| Sama (1995) ► | |
"To nie ja!" (It wasn't me!) was the Polish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994[1], performed in Polish by Edyta Górniak. This was Poland's debut at the contest, and consequently the first time that Polish had been used in a contest entry.
The song is a dramatic ballad, with Górniak describing herself as having an "easy world" - seemingly one of easy distinctions between good and bad. She sings that she is not Eve, referring to the Biblical character, and asking for her listener not to blame her for the sins of that figure.[2]
Górniak's voice was compared to that of Mariah Carey in its range (a comparison made easier by the fact that she performed in a short white dress, reminiscent of some of Carey's outfits), and many contest fans have argued that if she had been allowed to sing in English (contest rules at the time stipulating that songs had to be in the national languages of the competing countries), she could have achieved victory. The result has stood as the most successful first-time entry in contest history until the ballad "Molitva" performed by Serbian Marija Šerifović went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest 2007; Serbia's first entry as an independent state. Serbia and Montenegro's entry in the 2004 contest also placed second. At the same contest, Hungarian entrant Friderika, making her country's début with "Kinek mondjam el vétkeimet?" placed fourth, presaging the domination of the contest by Eastern and Central European performers in subsequent years.
Somewhat ironically, Górniak was threatened with disqualification after singing the second half of the song in English during the dress rehearsal watched by the national jury members. An English-language version was later recorded, titled "Once In A Lifetime", and featuring Górniak telling her lover that their relationship is a "once in a lifetime" event.
The song was performed twenty-fourth on the night, following Russia's Youddiph with "Vyechniy stranik" and preceding France's Nina Morato with "Je suis un vrai garçon". At the close of voting, it had received 166 points, placing second in a field of twenty five.
It was succeeded as the Polish representative in the 1995 contest by Justyna with "Sama".
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