Song for Europe (Father Ted)

Infobox Television episode
Title = A Song For Europe
Series = Father Ted


Caption = "...polish your hooves every single day, and bring you to the horse dentist..."
Season = 2
Episode = 5
Airdate = 3 April, 1996
Production =
Writer = Graham Linehan, Arthur Mathews, Neil Hannon ("My Lovely Horse" lyrics)
Director = Declan Lowney
Guests = Peter Caffrey (Charles Hedges), Jon Kenny (Fred Rickwood), Maurice O'Donoghue (Father Dick Byrne), Don Wycherley (Father Cyril McDuff)
Episode list = List of Father Ted episodes
Season list = Father Ted Series 2
Prev = The Old Grey Whistle Theft
Next = The Plague

"A Song For Europe" was the 5th episode of the second season of the Channel 4 television sitcom "Father Ted".

Synopsis

Dougal has "Eurosong fever", even though the competition (obviously based on the Eurovision Song Contest) isn't on until May. After initially rejecting Dougal's suggestion that they write a song to represent Ireland in the competition, Ted discovers his arch-nemesis Dick Byrne also has plans to enter a song. Ted decides if Dick Byrne can write a song, he and Dougal can write a better one. After working all night, their best effort is "My Lovely Horse", a tuneless dirge with ridiculous lyrics. Disillusioned, they are about to give up when Ted discovers the lyrics fit a tune by "Nin Huguen and the Huguenotes", an obscure Norwegian Eurosong entry from the 1970s.

At the Dublin theatre where "A Song For Ireland" is being hosted, Ted and Dougal listen to Dick Byrne's entry, "The Miracle Is Mine". It is extremely impressive, with a full choir, huge band and a passionate performance from Byrne. Ted is worried and goes backstage for a smoke, where he hears the Norwegian tune first being whistled by a maintenance worker, then playing in a lift. He is horrified, realising that the song is well-known, and he and Dougal are forced to adopt "Plan B": singing the dreadful original version.

Despite their poor performance, and against the evident wishes of the audience, Irish Eurosong boss Charles Hedges awards "My Lovely Horse" first place. This is apparently because he wants to guarantee Ireland lose the main competition, since it is too expensive for Ireland to host the competition every year. (Ireland won the real Eurovision Song Contest in 1992, 1993 and 1994, and so had to host it in 1993, 1994 and 1995.) The episode closes at the Eurosong contest, with Ted, Dougal, Jack and Mrs. Doyle listening to every country awarding them "nul points".

Trivia

Jack does not have a single line in this episode, though he does have a memorable moment when he destroys Ted's guitar with a sawn-off shotgun after the initial performance of "My Lovely Horse".

Steve Coogan was intended to play "compère" Fred Rickwood, but couldn't make it so Irish comic Jon Kenny stepped in.

The music in the episode is written and, in the case of "Nin Huguen and the Huguenotes", performed by Neil Hannon who also wrote and recorded the title music.

Ted mentions that there was a priest called Father Benny Cake who scored a number 1 hit single in England, and who changed his name so that nobody would know he was a priest. He reveals that the song's name is Vienna, which presumably refers to Father Benny Cake being Midge Ure of Ultravox.

ong for Ireland 1996

*The entries for "Song for Ireland 1996" were: (only songs 1 & 2 are shown; the names of 3 to 6 are seen on a sign)
**1 "The Miracle is Mine" by Fr. Dick Byrne and Fr. Cyril McDuff
**2 "My Lovely Horse" by Fr. Ted Crilly and Fr. Dougal McGuire "(winner)"
**3 "If I could wear my Hat like my Heart" by The Grand Girls
**4 "You Dirty English Bastards" by The Hairy Bowsies
**5 "The Drums of Africa are calling me home" by Sean O'Brien
**6 "Sha la la la la la la la la la la la" la by Death Pigs
*The Hairy Bowsies are a real band featuring Paul Woodfull (aka Paul Wonderful), a comedian friend of Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews. Their songs are traditional Irish ballads, with over-the-top republican lyrics.

Inspired by real events?

It's been widely claimed that this episode is loosely based on real events surrounding Ireland's selection of its entry for the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest. Faced with the daunting (and financially crippling) task of hosting its third consecutive Eurovision, RTE were said to have chosen an inferior quality song over vastly superior ones in order to prevent the possibility of an unwanted fourth victory. The chosen song also became the centre of controversy when it was accused of being plagarized.

Declan Lowney, who directed most Father Ted episodes, was also director of the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest.

"My Lovely Horse"

According to the writer's commentary, the video for "My Lovely Horse" was based on a 1975 lifestyle video for "That's What Friends are For" by The Swarbriggs which was Irelands entry for the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest, which they claim is the funniest music video of all time. Some of the shots are even copied down to every last detail.

Goofs

* When Dougal plays the record, he puts the needle on and music plays, but it's clear the turntable is not moving.
* In the music video, Ted's chest hair is still dry when they are in the swimming pool. This is one of the references to the "That's What Friends are For" video.

External links

*imdb title|0578517|A Song For Europe