Merci, Chérie

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

"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—despite the French words of the title. It is an earnest ballad in which the singer, as he leaves her, thanks his lover for good times and positive memories.

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".

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

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 Columbia Records, Hill reached #36 in the UK Singles Chart with it in June 1966.^[4]
• 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.

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 search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 253. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.