A song can be a bridge

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A song can be a bridge
Joy Fleming
publication 1975
length 3:31
Genre (s) Pop , Schlager
Author (s) Michael Holm , Rainer Pietsch

A song can be a bridge was the German contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 , which was sung by Joy Fleming . It was sung by her at the competition in German with an English verse. Today it is often considered the “cult song of the ESC” and the “German Grand Prix anthem par excellence”. Besides the Neckarbrückenblues and Halbblut titles , it is also one of Fleming's successful titles .

Music and lyrics

The pop / hit song with soul influences alternates between the calm verses sung in a medium pitch and the chorus performed in a high pitch with lots of tremolo . The text describes how the ice between people can be broken through a song: "And every note is like a stone / it makes you strong and firm / you can walk over it / understand others ..." Jan Feddersen described it as "a three-minute one A cascade of nervously arranged tones, 180 seconds of tension, momentum and speed - enough space between the melody lines of the song to give the Fleming space, for example to really unpack the tube for the final chorus. "

Origin and reception

The song was written by Michael Holm with Rainer Pietsch . Peter Kirsten was the producer . The single, published by Atlantic in 1975 , reached number 32 in Germany and was charted for six weeks. Pietsch put the song together "in months of meticulous work on the mixer." Joy Fleming also recorded the song in English as Bridge of Love . At the time of publication, Fleming did not appear in the ZDF hit parade with the song; however, she sang it in the program Die Superhitparade from the ZDF TV Garden 1974–1978 on September 4, 1994.

Song contest

Fleming won the preliminary round “A Song for Stockholm” just ahead of Peggy March , but she had some good chances ahead of her. In the majority, however, skepticism prevailed; only eleven of the 31 German show journalists surveyed in advance expected that Ein Lied may be a bridge would be among the top five in the competition.

A song can be a bridge was listed in fourth place in the Song Contest (after Nicole Rieu from France with Et bonjour à toi l'artiste and before Geraldine Branagan from Luxembourg with Toi ). The conductor was Rainer Pietsch, whose performance later attracted media attention due to its rhythmic stamping and loud counting at the beginning of the song. At the end of the voting, the song had received 15 points and finished 17th in a field of 19. Fleming was accompanied by three background singers: Madeline Bell from Blue Mink and the duo Sue and Sunny .

Jan Feddersen later wrote that Fleming deserved to win the competition. The Spiegel wrote in an obituary in 2017: "The Eurovision Song Contest rarely had as much soul as in 1975, when Joy Fleming sang A song can be a bridge ." heard and saw the defeat at the competition from the perspective of the “non-hit people”, as it came from the “new music” itself, partly as an award. She later cut the green dress she wore that evening. Nevertheless, she benefited from taking part and took part in the preliminary round three more times.

The song became a fan favorite; he was also in the EBU telecast Congratulations: 50 Years of the Euro Vision Song Contest played on October 22 of 2005.

Cover versions

A song can be a bridge has also been covered a number of times, including by:

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.eurovision.de/teilnehmer/Deutschland-Joy-Fleming,joyfleming109.html
  2. ↑ a b c d e f https://www.eurovision.de/feddersens_kommentar/Nachruf-auf-Soul-Gigantin-Joy-Fleming,joyfleming122.html
  3. ↑ a b c d https://hitparade.ch/song/Joy-Fleming/Ein-Lied-kann-eine-Bruecke-sein-28129
  4. ^ A b Siegfried Schmidt-Joos: POPMUSIK: Everything too late? In: Der Spiegel . No. 17 , 1975, p. 146 ( online ).
  5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDf9XX_p1mA
  6. ^ A b Felix Bayer: Joy Fleming: To the death of the German soul singer. In: Spiegel Online . September 28, 2017, accessed May 15, 2020 .
predecessor Office successor
The summer melody
from Cindy & Bert 		Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest
Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest
1975 		Sing Sang Song
from Les Humphries Singers