"Merci, Chérie" (; "Thank you, darling") was the winning song in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1966 The Eurovision Song Contest 1966 was the 11th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, following the country's victory at the with the song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" by France Gall. ...

, performed for by

Udo Jürgens Udo Jürgens (born Jürgen Udo Bockelmann; 30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014) was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close ...

with lyrics in German and partially in French. It is an earnest

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

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 's

Madalena Iglésias Madalena Lucília Iglésias do Vale de Oliveira (born Madalena Lucília Iglésias Doval; 24 October 1939 – 16 January 2018) was a Portuguese actress and singer. She represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, with the song " Ele ...

with " Ele e ela" and preceding 's

Lill Lindfors Maj Lillemor "Lill" Lindfors (born 12 May 1940) is a Swedish singer who has performed in Scandinavia since the 1960s. Career She was born in Helsinki, Finland, and made her debut as a revue actress in Uddevalla in 1960. The following year s ...

and

Svante Thuresson Svante Thuresson (7 February 1937 – 10 May 2021) was a Swedish jazz musician. He started his career as a drummer before joining the band Gals and Pals in 1963. Svante won the national selection and represented Sweden in the Eurovision song c ...

with "

Nygammal vals Sweden competed in Eurovision Song Contest 1966 with the song "Nygammal vals" performed by Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson. It was written by Bengt-Arne Wallin and Björn Lindroth. Much thanks to Scandinavian neighbours, Sweden took their b ...

". 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 by

Sandie Shaw Sandie may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Sandie Clair (born 1988), French professional racing cyclist * Sandie Fitzgibbon, Irish former camogie player * Sandie Jones (1950/1951–2019), Irish singer * Sandie Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker (187 ...

singing " Puppet on a String" for the United Kingdom, and as the Austrian entry in that year by " Warum es hunderttausend Sterne gibt", performed by . This was also the only time that Austria would win the Eurovision Song Contest until when

Conchita Wurst Thomas Neuwirth (born 6 November 1988) is an Austrian singer and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst (or simply Conchita). Neuwirth came to international attention after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as with t ...

won with the song "

Rise Like a Phoenix "Rise Like a Phoenix" is a pop song performed by Austrian singer Conchita Wurst, and the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Selected to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest in Denmark, its official release on 18 March 2014 w ...

". Jürgens was the last solo male pianist to win the contest until

Duncan Laurence Duncan de Moor (; born 11 April 1994), known professionally as Duncan Laurence, is a Dutch singer and songwriter. He represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with his song "Arcade" and went on to win the competition, gi ...

won in with "

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

". Udo has recorded the song also in French, Japanese ( ''Merushī sherī''), English, Italian (adapted by Vito Pallavicini) and Spanish (adapted by Arturo Kaps-Schönfeld).

Chart performance

Cover versions

* The song was covered by the English singer

Vince Hill Vincent Hill (born 16 April 1934) is an English traditional pop music singer and songwriter who is best known for his recording of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune "Edelweiss" (1967), which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart (staying ...

. Baker Cavendish wrote the English lyrics, with musical arrangement by Johnny Arthey. Released on EMI Columbia, Hill reached number 36 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

with it in June 1966. * 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 Lars Gunnar Wiklund (17 August 1935 – 29 September 1989) was a Swedish singer. He scored several Svensktoppen hits, and participated in Melodifestivalen four times. Early life Lars Gunnar Wiklund was born on 17 August 1935 in Luleå, Sweden, ...

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 His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

. * In 1967,

Bent Fabric Bent Fabricius-Bjerre (7 December 1924 – 28 July 2020), better known internationally as Bent Fabric, was a Danish pianist and composer. Biography Bent Fabricius-Bjerre was born in Frederiksberg, Denmark. He started a jazz ensemble after ...

released an instrumental version of the song on his album ''Operation Lovebirds''. * In 2007, American pop star

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

recorded a French version of the song and included it on her album of standards, ''Voila''. * Violinist Lidia Baich, winner of the

Eurovision Young Musicians 1998 The Eurovision Young Musicians 1998 was the ninth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at Konzerthaus in Vienna on 4 June 1998. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), ...

, performed an excerpt of the song live on stage during the opening act of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

held in Vienna.

References

Songs about parting Eurovision songs of Austria Eurovision songs of 1966 Songs written by Udo Jürgens Eurovision Song Contest winning songs Disques Vogue singles 1966 singles 1966 songs 1966 in Austria {{Eurovision-stub