Ey Sham

"Ey Sham" (Hebrew script: אי שם‎, English translation: Somewhere) is a song by Israeli singer Ilanit, written in Hebrew by Ehud Manor and composed by Nurit Hirsh. The song represented Israel at the 1973 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, as the country's debut entry in the contest.

"Ey Sham"
Eurovision Song Contest 1973 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Hanna Drezner-Tzakh
As
Ilanit
Language
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Ehud Manor
Conductor
Finals performance
Final result
4th
Final points
97
Entry chronology
"Natati La Khayay" (1974) ►

Lyrics

The song is a dramatic ballad, with Ilanit singing about coming to the sudden realisation of what she must do with her lover. She suggests that they "go now", in the hope that "Somewhere – there together we'll find the garden/The garden of love". With the lyrics "There - I saw a rainbow...the morning rises in white" and "We fly beyond the clouds...we'll ask for the azure gardens", she alludes to a heavenly garden. From the tone of the performance, it appears that this is a hope that the pair can be themselves without pressure from others.

Eurovision Song Contest

The song is Israel's debut entry in the annual Eurovision Song Contest, and the first occasion on which a country from outside geographical Europe had competed in the contest. This apparent anomaly is explained by the fact the contest is open to all members of the European Broadcasting Union, an organisation which extends beyond Europe. Written by Ehud Manor and composed by Nurit Hirsh, at the contest the song was also conducted by Hirsh. The two musicians also collaborated to produced the 1978 edition's winning Israeli entry, with Manor producing overall six more Israeli entries.

At the contest the song was performed seventeenth and last (following France's Martine Clémenceau with "Sans toi"). At the close of voting, it had received 97 points, placing 4th in a field of 17, which for the next 20 years held a record for the highest placed debut for a competing country in the contest.

Despite this achievement, Ilanit stated she feels the song could have placed higher, as she discussed an argument she had over her desire for a composition which "attacks" the listener by starting with the refrain, exploiting the three-minute limitation rule of the contest's entries, against composer Hirsh decision to arrange the intro as "something artistic and mysterious".[1]

Ilanit recorded an English-language version of the song entitled "All Make Believe", an Italian version called "Lei" and a German version, entitled "Weit so weit der Regenbogen reicht".

The song was succeeded as Israeli representative at the 1974 Contest by Poogy with "Natati La Khayay".

With the song being Israel's first-ever Eurovision entry, Ilanit performed the first part of it during the opening segment of the Grand Final of the 2019 Contest in Tel Aviv.

References
  1. Hamerman, Josh. "Ilanit looks back". Ynetnews.com. Retrieved 11 December 2006.
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