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Un banc, un arbre, une rue

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"Un banc, un arbre, une rue"
Single by Séverine
from the album Un banc, un arbre, une rue
LanguageFrench
B-side"Viens"
Released1971
GenreBubblegum pop[1]
LabelPhilips
Composer(s)Jean-Pierre Bourtayre
Lyricist(s)Yves Dessca [fr]
Eurovision Song Contest 1971 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Josiane Grizeau
As
Language
Composer(s)
Jean-Pierre Bourtayre
Lyricist(s)
Yves Dessca
Conductor
Finals performance
Final result
1st
Final points
128
Entry chronology
◄ "Marlène" (1970)
"Comme on s'aime" (1972) ►

"Un banc, un arbre, une rue" (French pronunciation: [œ̃ bɑ̃ œ̃n‿aʁbʁ yn ʁy]; "A Bench, a Tree, a Street") is a song recorded by French singer Séverine, with music composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and French lyrics written by Yves Dessca [fr]. It represented Monaco in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest held in Dublin, resulting in the country's only win in the contest.

Background

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Conception

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"Un banc, un arbre, une rue" was composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre with French lyrics by Yves Dessca [fr]. It is a classic French ballad, with lyrics focusing on the loss of childhood innocence and people following their dreams. The opening lines of the chorus translate as "we all have a bench, a tree, a street / Where we cherished our dreams / a childhood that has been too short". Séverine recorded the song in four languages: French, English (as "Chance in Time"), German ("Mach' die Augen zu (und wünsch dir einen Traum)"), and Italian ("Il posto").[2]

Eurovision

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Télé Monte-Carlo (TMC) internally selected "Un banc, un arbre, une rue" as its entry for the 16th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.[3]

A promotional video was released showing Séverine singing the song in the empty square of Monte Carlo. It depicts her walking to a bench, sitting while performing the middle verses, and then walking away out of focus at the end.[4]

On 3 April 1971, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, hosted by RTÉ and broadcast live throughout the continent. Séverine performed "Un banc, un arbre, une rue" third on the evening, accompanied by four teenage male backing singers. She followed Malta's "Marija l-Maltija" by Joe Grech and preceded Switzerland's "Les Illusions de nos vingt ans" by Peter, Sue & Marc. Jean-Claude Petit conducted the event's live orchestra for the Monegasque entry.[5]

By the close of voting, the song had received 128 points, placing it first out of eighteen entries and winning the contest. It received the then maximum score of 10 points from six voting nations. The song holds the record for receiving the most 10-point scores from this voting era.[6] It was succeeded as contest winner in 1972 by "Après toi" by Vicky Leandros for Luxembourg. It was succeeded as the Monegasque representative the following year by "Comme on s'aime" by Peter McLane and Anne-Marie Godart.

After 1971

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Séverine performed the song in the Eurovision twenty-fifth anniversary show Songs of Europe held on 22 August 1981 in Mysen.[7]

Chart performance

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Despite an English version existing, the original French version reached the UK Top 10, a rare non-Anglophone hit in that market.

Weekly charts

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Chart (1971) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[9] 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 10
France (IFOP)[11] 4
Germany (Media Control) 23
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 15
Norway (VG-lista)[14] 2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 5
UK Singles (OCC)[16] 9

Legacy

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Paul Mauriat released an instrumental version of the song on his 1971 LP of the same title. His version was adapted in 1973 by Television Broadcasts Limited as the theme tune for their Miss Hong Kong Pageant, and has since been familiar to generations of Hong Kong residents.[17] Also in 1971, Carola Standertskjöld recorded a Finnish version, "Penkki, puu ja puistotie". Siw Malmkvist recorded a Swedish version, "På en gammal bänk" ("On an old bench"). Kirsti Sparboe recorded a Norwegian version as "På en gammel benk" (On an old bench), and Heli Lääts and Liilia Vahtramäe recorded an Estonian version "Tänav, pink ja puu" ("A Street, a Bench and a Tree").

References

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  1. ^ Petridis, Alexis (March 28, 2024). "Sex, Mozart and chanting monks … the 20 best Euro-pop UK hits – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  2. ^ ""Un banc, un arbre, une rue" lyrics and detailed info". The Diggiloo Thrush.
  3. ^ "National Selections: 1971". Eurovisionworld.
  4. ^ "Severine - Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue (Videoclip)". YouTube. 5 June 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1971". Eurovision Song Contest. 3 April 1971. RTÉ / EBU.
  6. ^ "Official Eurovision Song Contest 1971 scoreboard". Eurovision Song Contest.
  7. ^ "Songs of Europe". Eurovision Song Contest. 22 August 1981. NRK / EBU.
  8. ^ "Séverine – Un banc, un arbre, une rue" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  9. ^ "Séverine – Un banc, un arbre, une rue" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  10. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Severine". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 231. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  11. ^ "InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste - S". Infodisc. Select "Severine" from the artist drop down menu and click OK
  12. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Un banc, un arbre, une rue". Irish Singles Chart.
  13. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Severine" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  14. ^ "Séverine – Un banc, un arbre, une rue". VG-lista.
  15. ^ "Séverine – Un banc, un arbre, une rue". Swiss Singles Chart.
  16. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  17. ^ Eurovision Song Contest 1970-79 Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine
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Preceded by Eurovision Song Contest winners
1971 		Succeeded by
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