"De troubadour" sung 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 Lenny Kuhr

Lenny Kuhr

Lenny Kuhr is a Dutch singer-songwriter.In 1967 she started a singing career in the Netherlands, performing songs in the French chanson tradition. In 1969 she represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest with her own composition De Troubadour...

 representing the Netherlands

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...

, was – together with "Boom Bang-a-Bang

Boom Bang-a-Bang

"Boom Bang-a-Bang" was the United Kingdom entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1969It was sung by Lulu, and was co-written by Alan Moorhouse and Peter Warne aka Michael Julien, the latter of who also wrote "Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me" for Shirley Bassey....

", "Un jour, un enfant

Un Jour, Un Enfant

"Un jour, un enfant" was one of four winning songs in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, this one being sung in French by Frida Boccara representing France...

", and "Vivo cantando

Vivo Cantando

"Vivo cantando" was one of four songs which tied for first place in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969. Performed in Spanish by Salomé for Spain, the song was joint winner with the United Kingdom's "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Lulu, "De troubadour" by Lenny Kuhr representing the Netherlands, and...

" from, respectively, the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 – one of the four winners of the Eurovision Song Contest 1969

Eurovision Song Contest 1969

The Eurovision Song Contest 1969 was the 14th in the series. It was the first time that the contest resulted in a tie for first place, with four countries each gaining 18 votes. Since there was at the time no rule to cover such an eventuality, all four countries were declared joint winners...

.

In a ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

 inspired both musically and lyrically by folk-song traditions, Kuhr sings about a troubadour

Troubadour

A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....

 of the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, describing the impact the music has on his audiences. Kuhr also recorded the song in English (as "The troubadour"), French ("Le troubadour"), German ("Der troubadour"), Italian ("Un canta storie") and Spanish ("El trovador"). The 1969 Contest was controversially held in Madrid, Spain during Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...

's dictatorship

Dictatorship

A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...

; 5 years after the Contest, Kuhr also recorded the song with revised Dutch lyrics, then retitled "De generaal" ("The general"), which was a homage to the dutch national socker coach Rinus Michaels, who was called "De Generaal" by the players of the dutch team.

The song was performed eighth on the night, following the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's Lulu

Lulu (singer)

Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...

 with "Boom Bang-a-Bang

Boom Bang-a-Bang

"Boom Bang-a-Bang" was the United Kingdom entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1969It was sung by Lulu, and was co-written by Alan Moorhouse and Peter Warne aka Michael Julien, the latter of who also wrote "Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me" for Shirley Bassey....

" and preceding 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 Tommy Körberg

Tommy Körberg

Bert Gustav Tommy Körberg is a Swedish singer, actor, and musician. In 1969, he won Swedish Recording Industry Award Grammis in a category Best Debut Performance. English-speaking audiences know him best for his role in the Benny Andersson–Björn Ulvaeus–Tim Rice musical Chess...

 with "Judy, min vän

Judy, min vän

"Judy, min vän" was the Swedish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, performed in Swedish by Tommy Körberg, the winner of Melodifestivalen 1969...

". By the close of voting, it had received 18 points, placing it equal first in a field of 16. The Netherlands thus achieved the rare feat of going from (equal) last to (equal) first in the space of one year.

It was succeeded as the Netherlands 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 1970 contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1970

The Eurovision Song Contest 1970 was the 15th Eurovision Song Contest, held on 21 March 1970 at the RAI Congrescentrum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Amsterdam contest is regarded as one of the most significant in Eurovision history for a number of reasons....

 by Hearts of Soul

Hearts of Soul

Hearts of Soul was formed by three Harderwijkse sisters: Bianca, Stella and Patricia Maessen.They worked in the late 1960s as session singers for, among other things, Dusty Springfield, until 1968, when they were discovered....

 with "Waterman

Waterman (song)

"Waterman" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1970, performed in Dutch by Hearts of Soul, a trio consisting of the Dutch sisters Patricia, Bianca and Stella Maessen....

".