Cross Your Heart

Republic of Ireland "Cross Your Heart"
Eurovision Song Contest 1974 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Philomena Reynolds
As
Language
Composer(s)
Ted O'Neill (AKA) Paul Lyttle
Lyricist(s)
Ted O'Neill (AKA) Paul Lyttle
Conductor
Colman Pearce
Finals performance
Final result
7th
Final points
11
Appearance chronology
◄ "Do I Dream" (1973)   
"That's What Friends Are For" (1975) ►

"Cross Your Heart" was the Irish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974, performed in English by Tina.

Tina performed all eight songs in the Irish national heats on RTE's Saturday evening entertainment series The Likes of Mike, where she sang four songs in English and four in Irish. The result was decided, for the first time since 1967, by a public postal vote in which "Cross Your Heart" won by a landslide with 16,686 votes, 11,000 clear of the runner-up "Is Liom É".

The song is moderately up-tempo, with Reynolds using a number of childhood rhymes ("cross your heart and hope to die" and "sticks and stones wouldn't break my bones") to communicate to a would-be lover how serious she is about a potential relationship, with the contrast between the serious intention and the playful nature of the rhymes being drawn out throughout the lyrics. She sings that, although her heart has been broken before, she has no intention of giving up on love now. She also reminds her lover that "so many hearts are broken by one little lie".

The song was performed thirteenth on the night (following the Netherlands' Mouth & MacNeal with "I See A Star" and preceding Germany's Cindy & Bert with "Die Sommermelodie"). At the close of voting, it had received 11 points, placing 7th in a field of 17.[1]

It was succeeded as Irish representative at the 1975 Contest by The Swarbriggs with "That's What Friends Are For".

References

  1. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 1974". http://www.eurovision.tv''. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011.