Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mig
Encyclopedia
"Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mig" ("It's Beginning to Look Like Love, Damn It") was the Swedish
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968
, performed in Swedish
by Claes-Göran Hederström
, the winner of Melodifestivalen 1968
. Composer Peter Himmelstrand, who incidentally also wrote the two songs that finished in shared third place in the 1968 pre-selections, "Gå och göm dig, Åke Tråk" and "Du vet var jag finns", would go on to write fifteen Melodifestivalen entries as well as a large number of other popular Svensktoppen
hits all through the 60s and 70s.
"Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mig" was performed eight on the night, following the Monaco
's Line & Willy with "À chacun sa chanson
" and preceding Finland
's Kristina Hautala
with "Kun kello käy
". At the close of voting, it had received 15 points, placing 5th in a field of 17.
The song is widely considered a schlager
classic in Sweden, mainly because of its - for the genre - highly unconventional title, its use of onomatopoetic expressions and slang
and Peter Himmelstrand's humorous lyrics, including phrases like:
The day before yesterday I suddenly turned down the guys, when they invited me to a party and instead I spent a whole evening conversating with your mother, being polite.
Last night I went with you and watched a tearjerker, although I wanted to watch "bang bang". And then I sat listening to a string quartet - me, I only used to like "twang twang".
It's beginning to look like love, damn it. The kind of thing you read about in books, imagine that. I just don't get it, I guess I'm a little stupid. But by all means, I could be wrong...
The song was succeeded as Swedish representative
in the 1969 contest
by Tommy Körberg
, singing "Judy, min vän
".
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....
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968
Eurovision Song Contest 1968
The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th Eurovision Song Contest. The contest was won by the Spanish song "La, la, la", performed by Massiel....
, performed in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
by Claes-Göran Hederström
Claes-Göran Hederström
Claes-Göran Hederström is a Swedish singer. He made his musical debut on Swedish television in 1967. In 1968 he represented Sweden in the Eurovision song contest with Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mej placing 5th...
, the winner of Melodifestivalen 1968
Melodifestivalen 1968
Melodifestivalen 1968 was the selection for the 10th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the ninth time that this system of picking a song had been used. 2233 songs were submitted to SVT for the competition...
. Composer Peter Himmelstrand, who incidentally also wrote the two songs that finished in shared third place in the 1968 pre-selections, "Gå och göm dig, Åke Tråk" and "Du vet var jag finns", would go on to write fifteen Melodifestivalen entries as well as a large number of other popular Svensktoppen
Svensktoppen
Svensktoppen is a record chart at Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982-1985. Svensktoppen airs once a week...
hits all through the 60s and 70s.
"Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mig" was performed eight on the night, following the Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
's Line & Willy with "À chacun sa chanson
À Chacun Sa Chanson
"À chacun sa chanson" was the Monegasque entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968, performed in French by the duo Line & Willy.The song is a duet about the power of music itself...
" and preceding Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
's Kristina Hautala
Kristina Hautala
Kristina Hautala was a top pop music star in Finland in the late 1960s.-Beginnings/ stardom:Born in Stockholm of Finnish descent, Hautala was still living in her native city when she made her recording debut with "En koskaan" a Finnish rendering of "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" recorded May...
with "Kun kello käy
Kun Kello Käy
"Kun kello käy" was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968, performed in Finnish by Kristina Hautala.Written by Esko Linnavalli and lyricist Juha Vainio, "Kun kello käy" was introduced by Hautala on an YLE TV2 broadcast on February 10 1968 on which Hautala and five other singers:...
". At the close of voting, it had received 15 points, placing 5th in a field of 17.
The song is widely considered a schlager
Schlager
Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...
classic in Sweden, mainly because of its - for the genre - highly unconventional title, its use of onomatopoetic expressions and slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
and Peter Himmelstrand's humorous lyrics, including phrases like:
The day before yesterday I suddenly turned down the guys, when they invited me to a party and instead I spent a whole evening conversating with your mother, being polite.
Last night I went with you and watched a tearjerker, although I wanted to watch "bang bang". And then I sat listening to a string quartet - me, I only used to like "twang twang".
It's beginning to look like love, damn it. The kind of thing you read about in books, imagine that. I just don't get it, I guess I'm a little stupid. But by all means, I could be wrong...
The song was succeeded as Swedish representative
Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
Sweden has participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 51 times since their debut in 1958. Since 1959, the Swedish representative has been chosen through an annual televised competition, known since 1967 as Melodifestivalen. Three times – 1964, 1970, and 1976 – Sweden didn't participate...
in the 1969 contest
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...
by 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...
, singing "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...
".