Rock 'n' Roll Kids

"Rock 'n' Roll Kids"
Eurovision Song Contest 1994 entry
Country	Ireland
Artist(s)	Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan
Language	English
Composer(s)	Brendan Graham
Lyricist(s)	Brendan Graham
Conductor	None
Finals performance
Final result	1st
Final points	226
Appearance chronology
◄ "In Your Eyes" (1993)
"Dreamin'" (1995) ►

"Rock 'n' Roll Kids" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, composed by Brendan Graham and performed for Ireland by Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan. The song was Ireland's sixth overall victory, and represented an unprecedented third consecutive time that the same country had won the Contest.

There is a belief among many Eurovision fans that the song was deliberately chosen not to win, as it was performed by a male duo (no male duos had ever won before) and in a very static manner. The pair were also much older than any other winners had been. As the Contest rules require the previous year's winner to host the next edition of the Contest, the argument runs that the Irish broadcaster was not prepared to do this, hence the selection.

The song, however, won the contest and is generally considered one of the Contest's better entries - being performed in part by McGettigan and Jakob Sveistrup at the Congratulations special in late 2005. It was the first winning song ever to be performed without orchestral accompaniment, as McGettigan's guitar and Harrington's piano were the only instruments needed. It was also the first time in the contest when a song scored over 200 points.

Lyrically, the song is a lament for the singers' lost youths. They remember growing up and listening to the popular music of the time (Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley) and generally being trendy. The song then moves forwards to the present, where both men are "too busy running to a different beat" to even stay in close contact with each other - while their children "don't wanna be around us no more".

The song was performed third on the night, following Finland's CatCat with "Bye Bye Baby" and preceding Cyprus' Evridiki with "Ime Anthropos Ki Ego". At the close of voting, it had received 226 points, placing 1st in a field of 25.

The song was succeeded as winner in 1995 by Secret Garden representing Norway with "Nocturne". It was succeeded as Irish representative at the 1995 Contest by Eddie Friel with "Dreamin'".

See also

• A Song For Europe referenced the idea that RTE would pick a song that would lose on purpose.