A Eurovision song doesn’t need to be groundbreaking. Sometimes, it can just be a lovely song with a story that’s well told. And that’s what the Netherlands is bringing this year with Claude’s C’est La Vie.
Claude, a veteran of Dutch talent competition programmes, moved to the Netherlands as a child with his family. He was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and grew up speaking French. Today, Claude has carved out a career in the Benelux region with Francophone songs, although he also speaks Dutch and English.
C’est La Vie has been criticized by some for being too simple – this is, they argue, French that can be understood by people who barely speak French. But that’s part of the appeal of the song. It’s him recalling a song his mother used to sing to him when he was a child, and as a result, it’s deliberately simple. Most memories are as they fade over time. The essence of the song – the earworm-y snatch of melody – is catchy today because it’s lasted all these years in Claude’s mind.*
What we have also sounds very French. And no, I know the song is in French, but culturally French – the chanson. I had to listen to it several times to make sure there wasn’t an accordion in there, because the spiralling melody that Claude describes is so much like a traditional French song. He even – deliberately or not – makes a La Vie En Rose reference in his lyrics.
Is this going to win Eurovision? Probably not. Is it going to garner a lot of televotes from the French-speaking regions of Switzerland and Belgium, who share the semifinal with Claude? I hope so.
Let me just note – Dutch Eurofans have had an awful year. They entered 2024 with one of the favourites and left Malmo with their act having been disqualified. They aren’t responsible for anything that happened backstage. For their sake, I hope that Claude does very well in Basel. His song and his ability to perform live certainly justifies a good placement.
*All these years being about 15; Claude is 22 years old and my bones are nothing but dust.
dudepoints.fun 