Merci, Chérie

"Merci, Chérie" ("Thank you, darling") was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966. Performed for Austria by Udo Jürgens with lyrics in German and partially in French. It is an earnest ballad in which the singer, as he leaves her, thanks his lover for good times and positive memories.

"Merci, Chérie"
Eurovision Song Contest 1966 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
Composer(s)
Udo Jürgens
Lyricist(s)
Udo Jürgens, Thomas Hörbiger
Conductor
Hans Hammerschmid
Finals performance
Final result
1st
Final points
31
Entry chronology
◄ "Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen" (1965)   
"Warum es hunderttausend Sterne gibt" (1967) ►

The song was performed ninth on the night, following Portugal's Madalena Iglésias with "Ele e ela" and preceding Sweden's Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson with "Nygammal vals". The final points tally for "Mercie, Chérie" was 31, securing it first place at the head of an 18-entry field.

The song was succeeded as contest winner in 1967 by Sandie Shaw singing "Puppet on a String" for the United Kingdom, and as Austrian entry in that year by "Warum es hunderttausend Sterne gibt", performed by Peter Horten.

This was also the only time that Austria would win the Eurovision Song Contest until 2014 when Conchita Wurst won with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix".

Jürgens was the last solo male pianist to win the contest until Duncan Laurence won in 2019 with "Arcade"

Udo has recorded the song also in French, Japanese (メルシー・シェリー), English, Italian (Merci(Merci Cherie)) - Italian adaptation by Vito Pallavicini - and Spanish (adapted by Arturo Kaps-Schönfeld).

Chart performance
Chart (1966) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[1] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[2] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[3] 14
West Germany (Official German Charts)[4] 4

Cover versions
  • The song was covered by the English singer Vince Hill. Baker Cavendish wrote the English lyrics, with musical arrangement by Johnny Arthey. Released on EMI Columbia, Hill reached #36 in the UK Singles Chart with it in June 1966.[5]
  • Matt Monro (who had competed against Jürgens in the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest and who had a major hit with the English version of Warum nur, warum?) included an English version of the track on his 1966 album This Is The Life, releasing the track as a single that failed to chart.
  • Gunnar Wiklund with Nisse Hansén's orchestra recorded it for the Swedish market in 1966. Al Sundström wrote the Swedish lyrics but kept the French title. The song was released on the EP Sjunger Eurovisionsschlager 1966 on His Master's Voice.
  • In 1967, Bent Fabric released an instrumental version of the song on his album Operation Lovebirds.
  • In 2007, American pop star Belinda Carlisle recorded a French version of the song and included it on her album of standards, Voila.
  • Violinst Lidia Baich, winner of the Eurovision Young Musicians 1998, performed an excerpt of the song live on stage during the opening act of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 held in Vienna.[6]

References
  1. "Austriancharts.at – Udo Jürgens – Merci, Cherie" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  2. "Ultratop.be – Udo Jürgens – Merci, Cherie" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  3. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Udo Jürgens" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  4. "Offiziellecharts.de – Udo Jürgens – Merci, Cherie". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 253. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. "Conchita Wurst & a magical bridge to open the Eurovision Final". eurovision.tv. 29 April 2015.
Preceded by
"Poupée de cire, poupée de son" by France Gall		 Eurovision Song Contest winners
1966		 Succeeded by
"Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw



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