"The Wages of Love" was the Irish

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,...

 entry in 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...

, performed in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 by Muriel Day

Muriel Day

Muriel Day is an Irish singer. Born in Newtownards, County Down, she was the first singer from Northern Ireland to represent the Republic of Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest. She was also the first woman to perform for Ireland, which had been competing since 1965...

 with backing vocals by The Lindsays.

The song is an upbeat number, in the style of many pop songs of the time. Day cautions her listeners that "when you fall in love, you pay/The wages of love". In other words, while love is a great thing to experience, "there will be bridges to be crossed/And there'll be teardrops to be lost", and one must be aware of that at the outset of a relationship.

Day performed the song in a bright green dress, made by Northern Irish dress designer Alice Campbell, taking full advantage of the then-innovation of colour broadcasting at the Contest. A brief excerpt from the performance was shown in a montage at the Congratulations

Congratulations (Eurovision)

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest was a television programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union to commemorate the Eurovision Song Contest's fiftieth anniversary and to determine the Contest's most popular entrant of its fifty years. It took place at Forum,...

 special in late 2005.

The song was performed fifth on the night, following 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 Jean Jacques

Jean Jacques

Jean Jacques is a French singer.He represented Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 with the song "Maman, Maman", at the time just 12 years old. With 11 points, he came in 6th position....

 with "Maman, Maman

Maman, Maman

"Maman, Maman" was the Monegasque entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, performed in French by French singer Jean Jacques, at the time just 12 years old....

" and preceding Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

's Iva Zanicchi

Iva Zanicchi

Iva Zanicchi is an Italian pop singer.Iva Zanicchi's career began in 1962 at the Castrocaro Festival of New Voices, where she gained third place. She won the Sanremo song festival in 1967 with Non pensare a me, in 1969 with Zingara and again in 1974 with Ciao cara, come stai?...

 with "Due grosse lacrime bianche

Due Grosse Lacrime Bianche

"Due grosse lacrime bianche" was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, performed in Italian by Iva Zanicchi. The song was performed sixth on the night, following Ireland's Muriel Day with "The Wages of Love" and preceding the United Kingdom's Lulu with "Boom Bang-a-Bang"...

". At the close of voting, it had received 10 points, placing 7th in a field of 16.

It was succeeded as Irish representative

Republic of Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Ireland first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest at the 1965 Contest in Naples, participating in every subsequent Contest but two: the 1983 Contest in Munich and the 2002 Contest in Tallinn...

 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 Dana with All Kinds of Everything

All Kinds Of Everything

"All Kinds of Everything" is a song written by Derry Lindsay and Jackie Smith which as performed by Dana won the Eurovision Song Contest 1970. "All Kinds of Everything" represented a return to the ballad form from the more energetic performances which had dominated Eurovision the previous years...

.