L'oiseau et l'enfant

Infobox ESC entry
song = flagicon|France L'oiseau et l'enfant


caption =
year = 1977
country = France
artist = Miriam Lopes
as = Marie Myriam
language = French
languages =
composer = Jean-Paul Cara
lyricist = Joe Gracy
conductor = Raymond Donnez
place = 1st of 18
points = 136
place_semi =
points_semi =
lyrics = [http://www.diggiloo.net/?1977fr from Diggiloo Thrush]
clip =
prev = Un, deux, trois
prev_link = Un%2C_Deux%2C_Trois
next = Il y aura toujours des violons
next_link = Il_Y_Aura_Toujours_Des_Violons“L’oiseau et l'enfant” (English: “The Bird and the Child”) was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 performed in French by the Portuguese singer Marie Myriam, who represented France. The song was composed by Jean-Paul Cara and written by Joe Gracy.

The song was the eighteenth and final song performed on the night (following Belgium’s Dream Express with “A Million in One, Two, Three”). At the close of voting, it had received 136 points, coming first in a field of eighteen. It is considered one of the best Eurovision performances.

The song's lyrics are based on the extended metaphor that the "bird" of the title is the singer’s lover, while the "child" is the singer herself. The song is noted for its lyrical hooks, in which the last word of each verse would start the next verse. (e.g. "Vois comme le monde, le monde est beau/Beau, le bateau, dansant sur les vagues...")

During Preview Week, Myriam's music video showed her performing the song in an open-air atmosphere, in a section of the Square René Viviani in Paris. This preview video is notable for the prominent presence of the gendarmes having to restrain the crowd, some of whom having climbed the noted "oldest tree in Paris" to catch a glimpse of the singer. On the Contest night, she performed in a floor-length orange gown while her five backup singers were clad in black.