"Gente di mare" ("People of the sea") was the entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1987 The Eurovision Song Contest 1987 was the 32nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Brussels, Belgium, following the country's victory at the with the song "J'aime la vie" by Sandra Kim. Organised by the European Broadc ...

, performed in

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 ...

Umberto Tozzi Umberto Antonio Tozzi (; born 4 March 1952) is an Italian pop and rock singer and composer. Over the course of his career, he has sold over 70 million records in different languages internationally, and his biggest international hits are: "Stel ...

Raf The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. The song is a blues-influenced ballad, in which the singers describe the qualities of the "people of the sea". They describe themselves as "people of the plain", who are "prisoners of this city", while contrasting that with the freedom of the people of the sea "who leave hingsbehind". The song was performed seventh on the night, following 's

Lotta Engberg Anna Charlotte "Lotta" Engberg (born Pedersen; 5 March 1963) is a Swedish singer. She represented Sweden in Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with " Boogaloo" after winning Melodifestivalen 1987. She also tried many times in Melodifestivalen in 1984 ...

with "

Boogaloo Boogaloo or bugalú (also: shing-a-ling, Latin boogaloo, Latin R&B) is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly among teenage African Americans and Latinos ...

" and preceding 's

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

with "

Neste barco à vela Neste Oyj (international name: Neste Corporation; former names Neste Oil Corporation and Fortum Oil and Gas Oy) is an oil refining and marketing company located in Espoo, Finland. It produces, refines and markets oil products, provides en ...

". At the close of voting, it had received 103 points, placing 3rd in a field of 22. While not winning the contest, the song achieved considerable popularity, becoming a Top 10 hit in most parts of Continental Europe and Scandinavia in the summer of 1987 (#7 in Switzerland, #8 in Austria, #6 in Sweden)Swiss charts.com
/ref> and was included on the compilations of ''Winners and Classics'' produced to coincide with the ''

Congratulations Congratulations may refer to: Film and television *'' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'', 2005 television programme to commemorate its fiftieth anniversary Music Albums * ''Congratulations'' (album), an album by ...

'' special in late 2005. It was succeeded as Italian representative at the 1988 contest by

Luca Barbarossa Luca Barbarossa (born 15 April 1961, Rome) is an Italian singer-songwriter who has released 12 albums since 1981, and is known for his participation in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Early career In 1980, Barbarossa won the Castrocaro Music ...

with "

Vivo (Ti scrivo) Vivo or VIVO may refer to: Companies * Vivo (technology company), a Chinese consumer electronics company * Vivo (telecommunications company), a Brazilian mobile phone company * Vivo Class, a British company that sells a web-based rewards syste ...

Dutch-language covers

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

satirists

Henk Spaan Hendrik Gerardus Maria Spaan (born 30 September 1948) is a Dutch sports journalist, television presenter, author, and columnist. Spaan is best known for a series of Dutch-language TV programs he developed in collaboration with Harry Vermeegen bet ...

and

Harry Vermeegen Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

performed the song in 1988 on their successful TV show ''Verona'' as "Ach, laat maar waaien". A Dutch reworked version, called "Alles kwijt" was done by

Marco Borsato Marco Roberto Borsato (; born 21 December 1966) is a Dutch singer. Born in Alkmaar, North Holland, he started performing in Italian before switching to Dutch in 1994. He has consistently been one of the most successful and biggest grossing arti ...

Charts

References

External links

"Gente di mare" audio on YouTube
{{authority control Eurovision songs of Italy Eurovision songs of 1987 Songs written by Umberto Tozzi Songs written by Raf (singer) Songs written by Giancarlo Bigazzi 1987 songs