Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#36)
#36: Ruth Jacott -- Vrede (Netherlands 1993)
“We bouwen huizen om orkanen te weerstaan
En maken schepen om in elke storm te varen
Er wordt gesleuteld aan een lamp die nooit kapot zal gaan
Het wil alleen nog niet zo lukken om de vrede te bewaren”
“We build houses to withstand hurricanes
And make ships to sail in every storm
We’re working on a light bulb that never burns out
It only just won’t work to keep peace”
Probably one of the most, if not the cleverest peace songs of all-time! Unlike with Humanahum (#100), which advocates it through a parable, Ruth comments about how human society progresses in technology (Windows 95 was just two years away), how we farm, and how we communicate (five years away from the cell phone), but we can't seem to do anything to keep up peace. And this was four years after Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History".
Curiously, it's the same story today. We have more ways to connect with each other (e.g. the smartphone, social media, etc.), it doesn't necessarily mean that it will create peace. With Facebook recently, for example, we've seen examples on how they have bolstered hate speech and even triggered genocide, specifically in Myanmar. These little spheres also amplified polarization between political parties, especially in the United States. Even when we have more opportunities to connect with each other, we fall further into savagery on the internet.
Vrede not only has a pertinent message, but also music befitting 1993. The horns in the beginning (of the live version--the studio cut has a short, calmer section which repeats in the end) alert to something great, and it shows. With the contemporary backing track, coupled with an awesome string arrangement throughout, we have an absolute bop which springs out of the stage at Millstreet.
And Ruth does a good job with performing this too! She has an engaging stage presence, which highlights the fun in the song, but is quite aware of what's going on in the world. Her backing vocalists also do great, with their strong vocals and jamming alongside Ruth in the background. One thing I do have to nitpick on is her outfit--while not bad, I don't see how it's inspired by the future.
While not as grounded as Sva Bol Svijeta (#55), Vrede is still a powerful peace song, indicating our priorities (and foibles) as human beings. If we can innovate in communication and defense, why can't we uses them for good? It's just as relevant today, when we're debating about climate change and how to mitigate its effects. (I personally keep thinking of how we could develop an energy-efficent plane, for example). Fun and thoughtful, a perfect mix through and through.
P.S. As they share the same writers, why is Vrede frequently neglected compared to Hemel en Aarde (#80)? Asking for a friend.
Personal ranking: 1st/25
Actual ranking: 6th/25 in Millstreet
--1993: A new era begins at Eurovision: with the collapse of Yugoslavia, new countries knock on Eurovision's door, and the EBU would struggle to fit most of them in for the next decade, having to use two relegation systems and an audio-only pre-qualifier to help. Kvalifikacija za Millstreet would cut down seven of them to three (coincidentally, three of the ex-Yugoslav nations), and twenty-five nations would fight it off...in a town of 1,555.
Despite that obvious fault, the contest was still quite good (albeit a bit ballad-noted). There were a number of good songs on there, and they would have awesome orchestrations thanks to the RTE orchestra. Production-wise, it was a bit weaker; the hosting was competent, but the interval act wasn't there, and some of the camera angles were quite bad.
Luxembourg made its last appearance in Millstreet, and Italy also for a time, only participating once between 1994 and 2010 (while I didn't mind Sole d'Europa, they were better off sending his Sanremo winning song, Mistero).
--the Netherlands: Boy, they had an up-and-down journey at Eurovision! They won in 1957, came in joint last the following year, and won again in 1959. They would win twice again, but they had a forty-four year drought before getting their fifth win in Arcade. In between, they had a mix of good and bad eras, with their obvious nadir in the 2000s. (Interestingly, my top three from the country are all from the 1990s, which one can't say about some other countries).
One thing I took out of them is their persistence--they didn't withdraw during that drought, though the public perception of the contest fell. It took Anouk's willingness (#101) to change things around, and they went through it. Some countries need to take note of that; good things will come in the end. 😉
