L'oiseau et l'enfant

But for this song, Lynsey de Paul would have added a Eurovision title to her two Ivor Novello Awards. Written by composer Jean-Paul Cara and lyricist Joe Gracy, "L'oiseau Et L'enfant" the French entry for the popular 1977 contest was performed by Portuguese-born Marie Myriam, the last song on the show, capturing the title with 136 points.

Marie Myriam actually recorded it in five languages: French, English ("The Bird And The Child"); German; ("Der Vogel Und Das Mädchen"), Spanish ("El Zagal Y El Ave Azul") and her mother tongue ("A Ave E A Infância"). In the UK it was released in French on the Polydor label with the English version on the B-side; the sheet music was published at 35p, on the front cover of which the English translation was given as "the child and the bird" with English lyrics by Helen Banks.

Although "L'oiseau Et L'enfant" is not a particularly strong song, it is certainly no worse than some of the doubtful ditties that have graced the Eurovision Song Contest since its inception in 1956. That being said, the British public had better taste; the song entered the UK singles chart on May 28, 1977 and spent all of four weeks there, reaching only #42.