"Elle était si jolie" (; "She Was So Pretty") was the entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1963 The Eurovision Song Contest 1963 was the eighth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in London, United Kingdom. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporat ...

, performed in French by

Alain Barrière Alain Barrière (; born Alain Bellec; 18 November 1935 – 18 December 2019) was a French singer, who was active from the 1950s until his death and was known for participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963. Early life After growing up ...

. The song was performed eleventh on the night (following 's

Esther Ofarim Esther Zaied, better known by her married name Esther Ofarim ( he, אסתר עופרים; born June 13, 1941), is an Israeli singer. She came second in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest with the song " T'en va pas", representing Switzerland. Aft ...

with " T'en va pas" and preceding 's

José Guardiola José Guardiola Díaz de Rada, (22 October 1930 – 9 April 2012) was a Spanish singer of popular music who sang in Spanish and Catalan. Guardiola was born in Barcelona. He performed and recorded mostly Spanish versions of foreign songs and re ...

with " Algo prodigioso"). At the close of voting, it had received 25 points, placing 5th in a field of 16. The song is a ballad, with Barrière reminiscing about a girl he used to know and how pretty she was. Her beauty was apparently so much that he could not love her. Barrière also recorded the song in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, as "Du gingst fort ohne Abschied" and "Era troppo carina" respectively. The song was well received in Latin America, particularly in Chile. It was succeeded as French representative at the 1964 contest by

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

with " Le Chant de Mallory".

Dragan Stojnić version

Dragan Stojnić Dragan (, sr-Cyrl, Драган) is a popular Serbo-Croatian masculine given name derived from the common Slavic element '' drag'' meaning "dear, beloved". The feminine form is Dragana. People named Dragan include: Politicians and office holde ...

, a Yugoslav

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic so ...

singer, released a cover version of the song in 1965 with lyrics in Serbian, entitled "Bila je tako lijepa". The song was released on the EP of the same name. This version was a great hit in all former Yugoslavia.

Pekinška Patka version

"Bila je tako lijepa", a cover version of the Dragan Stojnić version of the Alain Barrière song "Elle était si jolie", was the third and last single by the

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

n punk rock band

Pekinška Patka Pekinška Patka (Serbian Cyrillic: Пекиншка Патка; trans. ''Peking Duck'') is an eminent Serbian and former Yugoslav punk rock band from Novi Sad. Their debut album, '' Plitka poezija'', released in 1980, is considered the first pu ...

, released in 1980. Track listing # "Bila je tako lijepa" ( A. Barrière, B. Stojadinović, N. Čonkić) (3:24) # "Bumba, rumba" (N. Čonkić, S. Kovačević) (2:24)

Other versions

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n punk rock band Hladno Pivo recorded a cover version of the song, mainly relying on the Pekinška Patka version. *

punk rock band Autozynik recorded in 2000 a cover version of the Pekinška Patka 1980 version. * In

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

, the song is known as "Em Đẹp Như Mơ". * Israeli singer

Daklon Daklon (born Joseph Levy; 6 April 1944) is an Israeli singer. He was born in Tel Aviv's Kerem Hateimanim neighborhood, the son of Jewish immigrants from the Shar'ab region in Yemen. Daklon explains the source of his nickname: "In those days ...

recorded a cover version of the song in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, called Benativ Meurpal (On a Foggy Path), in 1998. * Israeli poet

David Avidan David Avidan (Hebrew: דוד אבידן) (February 21, 1934 – May 11, 1995) was an Israeli "poet, painter, filmmaker, publicist, and playwright" (as he often put it). He wrote 20 published books of Hebrew poetry. Biography and literary career ...

wrote a parody based on the song in

, performed by

Arik Lavie Arik Lavie ( he, אריק לביא; 9 March 1927 – 29 June 2004) was an Israeli pop-rock-folk singer and actor. Early life Lavie was born to a Jewish single mother named Edith Aubin, who gave birth to him at the age of 19. His father was a me ...

. The parody is about a prostitute and her pimp. * Israeli Singer Rika Zarai recorded a cover version of the song.

References

External links

Official Eurovision Song Contest site, history by year, 1963

Detailed info & lyrics, The Diggiloo Thrush, "Elle était si jolie".

Pekinška Patka single
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

* EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960-2006, Janjatović Petar; {{DEFAULTSORT:Elle etait si jolie Eurovision songs of France Eurovision songs of 1963 French-language songs Jugoton singles 1980 singles 1963 singles RCA Victor singles 1963 songs