Helena is a 1970 song by Flemish

kleinkunst Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or ...

singer

Hugo Raspoet Hugo Raspoet (2 November 1940 – 3 October 2018) was a Flemish kleinkunst singer and guitarist. He is most famous for his signature song "Helena" (1970) and the controversial song " Evviva Il Papa" (1969), which was banned from the radio for crit ...

. It's considered his

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

and his most famous song, alongside '' Evviva Il Papa''. In 2012 the song was inaugurated in Radio 2's ''De Eregalerij'', a gallery for best Dutch-language songs.

Lyrics

''Helena'' is a reflection of a man on his female partner. He observes that they love one another, but that their personalities are just too different to continue their relationship. Raspoet was inspired by his own past relationships and named the song after

Helen of Troy Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...

, since she was the

archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ot ...

of all women. He wrote five years on the song.

Cover versions

''Helena'' has been covered by Mama's Jasje in 1997 and by Kries Roosse in 2003. In 2006 ''Helena'' was covered by

Rocco Granata Rocco Granata (born 16 August 1938) is an Italian-Belgian singer, songwriter, and accordionist. Granata was born in Figline Vegliaturo, Calabria, southern Italy; but his parents immigrated to Belgium when he was aged ten. Rocco's father was a ...

Sources

{{authority control Belgian folk songs Belgian pop songs 1970 songs Dutch-language Belgian songs Songs about heartache