"De oude muzikant" was the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973

Eurovision Song Contest 1973

The Eurovision Song Contest 1973 was the eighteenth Eurovision Song Contest and was held in Luxembourg. The language rule forcing countries to enter songs sung in any of their national languages was dropped, so performers from some countries sang in English....

, performed in Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 by Ben Cramer.

The song is a ballad, with Cramer describing the titular "old musician", who lives in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. He explains that the character had once been famous and wealthy, but that he is now reduced to the life of an anonymous street musician - with even his friends deserting him. Cramer also recorded the song in English (as "The Old Street Musician"), French ("Pour être vraiment sincère") and German ("Der alte Musikant").

The song was performed thirteenth on the night, following Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

's Nova with "You're Summer

You're Summer

"You're Summer" was the Swedish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973, performed in English by Claes af Geijerstam and Göran Fristorp as Nova....

" and preceding Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

's Maxi

Maxi (singer)

Maxi is an Irish radio disc-jockey and producer; actor, journalist, and singer. Her real name is Irene McCoubrey. She was nicknamed Maxi in school because of the McC letters in her name. She came to fame as part of the popular girl band, Maxi, Dick and Twink, in Ireland in the late 1960s.She...

 with "Do I Dream

Do I Dream

Do I Dream, or with a question mark Do I Dream? as it states the Eurovision official website, was the Irish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973, performed in English by Maxi....

". At the close of voting, it had received 69 points, placing 14th in a field of 17.

It was succeeded as Dutch representative

Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest

The Netherlands was one of the seven countries competing in the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. It has missed only four contests so far...

 at the 1974 Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1974

The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in the seaside resort of Brighton on the south coast of the United Kingdom...

 by Mouth & MacNeal

Mouth & MacNeal

Mouth & MacNeal was a pop duo from the Netherlands. They are best known for their million selling recording of "How Do You Do".-Career:They were formed in 1971 when record producer Hans van Hemert brought together the solo talent of Mouth and Maggie MacNeal...

 with "I See A Star

I See a Star

"I See a Star" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974, performed in English by Mouth & MacNeal....

".