"I See a Star" (original Dutch title: "Ik zie een ster") was the entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1974 The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 6 April 1974 in the Brighton Dome, Dome in Brighton, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the BBC, ...

, performed in English (the first time the Dutch entry was not entirely in Dutch) by

Mouth & MacNeal Mouth and MacNeal were a Dutch pop duo that enjoyed commercial success in the 1970s. Their recording of " How Do You Do" in 1972 topped the Dutch chart and became a US top ten hit and number 2 in Canada. They represented the Netherlands at the ...

. The song was composed by

Hans van Hemert Hans van Hemert (7 April 1945 – 7 October 2024) was a Dutch record producer and songwriter. Mouth and MacNeal and Luv' are among the pop acts he produced. He won an ASCAP award for the song "How Do You Do" by Mouth and MacNeal. and composed th ...

and written by Gerrit den Braber, a duo with several previous entries to their credit. Lyrically, the song is a love duet, with the singers telling each other that their love has helped them see the world in a new way. The "star" of the title is in other words to be found in one's lover's eyes. Musically it is a simple melody, which is embellished by a number of different instruments, including a

barrel organ A barrel organ (also called roller organ or crank organ) is a France, French mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of organ pipe, pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic ...

with a collection of

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

s on it. The brightly coloured performance has become a favourite among Contest fans, with the song being selected as one of the non-winning "classics" to appear on the double-CD and double-DVD sets produced to support the ''

Congratulations Congratulations may refer to: Film and television * Congratulations (2010 film), an Egyptian film * Congratulations (2023 film), a Gujarati drama film *'' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'', 2005 television programme ...

'' special of late 2005. At one point in the performance, Mouth in fact played the barrel organ himself – something referenced in the Dutch lyrics ( "then I'll add some organ"). Contest historian and author John Kennedy O'Connor argues in his book ''The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History'' that the "antics" involved in the presentation may ultimately have hurt the song's chances of winning. The winning song at this Contest was " Waterloo" by 's

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

. Besides the Dutch and English versions, Mouth & MacNeal also recorded the song in German and French, entitled "Ein goldner Stern" and "L'amour au pas" respectively. The song was performed twelfth on the night, following 's Jacques Hustin with " Fleur de liberté" and preceding 's

Tina Reynolds Philomena "Phil" Tully (née Quinn; born 1949/50), known by the stage name Tina Reynolds or simply Tina, is an Irish singer. Early life Born Philomena Quinn, she has tuberculosis from a young age and grew up in hospitals. Career Tina's career b ...

with " Cross Your Heart". At the close of voting, it had received 15 points, placing third in a field of 17. It was succeeded as Dutch representative at the 1975 contest by

Teach-In A teach-in is similar to a general educational forum on any complicated issue, usually an issue involving current political affairs. The main difference between a teach-in and a seminar is the refusal to limit the discussion to a specific tim ...

with "

Ding-A-Dong "Ding-a-dong" is a song recorded by Dutch band Teach-In, with music composed by Dick Bakker and lyrics written by Will Luikinga and Eddy Ouwens. It in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975, held in Stockholm, winning the contest. It reached numbe ...

Maggie MacNeal Maggie MacNeal (born Sjoukje Lucie van 't Spijker; 5 May 1950) is a Dutch singer. She was a member of Mouth & MacNeal, a pop duet (music), duo from the Netherlands, who are best known for their million-selling recording of "How Do You Do (Mouth ...

returned to the Contest as a solo artist in with "

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Charts

References

* * * {{authority control Eurovision songs of the Netherlands Male–female vocal duets Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Eurovision songs of 1974 English-language Dutch songs Songs written by Hans van Hemert Decca Records singles 1974 singles 1974 songs Mouth & MacNeal songs