The Contest has run every year since 1956, growing steadily in numbers over the past decade as the former Soviet Bloc (which had competed in its own "Intervision" contest, as well as other events) have joined the list of entrants. Recent winners have, in fact, hailed predominantly from behind the former Iron Curtain.
Each competing country must first be a member of the European Broadcasting Union, which requires meeting a number of requirements, in order to send one song per year to the event, which is always held in the winning country from the previous year. This requirement has occasionally been waived, as occurred when Monaco (then the smallest entrant) won in the 1970s and had no suitable venue, or when Israel won for the second consecutive year and could not afford the expense. In these situations, the United Kingdom has stepped in to host, although it is feasible for any other large nation to do so.
Competing countries perform their songs, which are then voted upon by the viewing public. Each country then awards points to the songs its population voted for the most - with 12 (always translated into French as "douze points", one of the signature phrases of the Contest) being the highest. The winning entry is the one which receives the most points.
In recent years, the growth of the competition has required the introduction of complex qualifying rules, which were subsequently replaced with a semi-final and then the final. Further growth in entrant numbers has necessitated two semi-finals, a system which debuted at the 2008 Contest in Belgrade, Serbia.
Eurovision entries are traditionally light pop songs with broad appeal - moving from the French "chanson" style in the early years of the Contest to a "Eurodisco" sound in the modern event. There have been exceptions to this rule, however, with heavy metal (Finland's Lordi), traditional folk music (Ireland's Dervish) and a variety of other styles making appearances. Many entrants have either gone onto great success or capped their careers with a performance on the Contest stage.
Waterloo
ABBA Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
At Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender
Oh yeah
And I have met my destiny in quite a similar way
The history book on the shelf
Is always repeating itself
Waterloo, I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo, promise to love you forevermore
Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you
Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo, finally facing my Waterloo
My, my
I tried to hold you back but you were stronger
Oh yeah
And now it seems my only chance is giving up the fight
And how could I ever refuse?
I feel like I win when I lose
Waterloo, I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo, promise to love you forevermore
Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you
Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo, finally facing my Waterloo
So how could I ever refuse?
I feel like I win when I lose
Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you
Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo, finally facing my Waterloo, ooh
Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you
Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo, finally facing my Waterloo, ooh
Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you
The lyrics to ABBA's song "Waterloo" depict a narrative of surrender and realization of destiny. The song opens with a reference to the historical event of the Battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon suffered defeat in 1815. The singer then draws a parallel between their own life and the event, having met their "destiny in quite a similar way." This line emphasizes the idea of fate and how the events that transpire in life often mimic those that have occurred before.
As the song continues, the singer reveals their defeat in a personal battle of love, using the metaphor of Waterloo to convey their surrender to their lover. They promise to love them forevermore, knowing that they cannot escape their fate of being with them. The chorus emphasizes this surrender, stating that the singer cannot escape even if they wanted to, finally facing their own Waterloo in the form of love.
The verse following the chorus acknowledges the singer's attempt to resist their fate, but ultimately admits defeat. They win when they lose, recognizing that giving up the fight and surrendering to love is their only chance at happiness.
Overall, the lyrics to "Waterloo" convey a message of surrender to fate, both in the historical context of the Battle of Waterloo and in personal relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
My, my
Opening line expressing surprise
At Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender
Referencing the historical event where Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
Oh yeah
Exclamation of excitement
And I have met my destiny in quite a similar way
Comparing the singer's personal experience to Napoleon's surrender
The history book on the shelf
Referring to the repetitiveness of history
Is always repeating itself
Pointing out that history tends to repeat
Waterloo, I was defeated, you won the war
The singer has been defeated by their love interest
Waterloo, promise to love you forevermore
Making a promise to love their partner forever
Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to
Feeling unable to escape from their love for their partner
Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you
Accepting that their fate is to be with their partner
Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo, finally facing my Waterloo
Repeating the song title and suggesting the singer has finally found their final challenge in their love interest
I tried to hold you back but you were stronger
Acknowledging the other person's strength in the relationship
And now it seems my only chance is giving up the fight
Admitting that the singer can only win by surrendering
And how could I ever refuse?
Expressing confusion over why they would refuse their love interest
I feel like I win when I lose
Feeling like they still gain from losing to their love interest
Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to
Feeling captive to their love for their partner
Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you
Acknowledging their destiny to be with their partner
Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo, finally facing my Waterloo, ooh
Repeating the song title and once again suggesting that the singer has found their final challenge
Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you
Accepting their destiny to be with their love interest
Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo, finally facing my Waterloo, ooh
Repeating the song title and ending with the repeated suggestion of their final challenge being faced
Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you
Final line reiterating the singer's acceptance of their fate
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Benny Goran Anderson, Bjoern K. Ulvaeus, Stig Erik Leopold Anderson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@VexSG
Oh you must be new to notice this trend,
See, in Eurovision you can have
An Estonian Opera Song sang in Italian
A Turkish dentist singing for San Marino
Greta Thunberg’s mother singing opera
German people speaking Gibberish
A Norwegian song sang in Swahili
Flo Rida representing San Marino
An Irish kids TV show Character representing Ireland
An Azeri woman singing about Cleopatra
An Israeli woman making chicken noises
Russian Grandmas baking bread on stage
Darude representing Finland and not even qualifying for the grand final
Polish girls churning butter on stage
And much more
@ommsterlitz1805
British : aHaH Waterloo Trafa-
Napoléon :
Montenotte
12 avril 1796
Mondovi
21 avril 1796
Lodi
10 mai 1796
Borghetto
30 mai 1796
Castiglione
5 août 1796
Bassano
8 septembre 1796
Arcole 🛡
15-17 novembre 1796
Rivoli
14-15 janvier 1797
La Favorite
16 janvier 1798
Campagne d'Egypte (1798-1799)
Pyramides
21 juillet 1799
Mont-Thabor
16 avril 1799
Aboukir
25 juillet 1799
Héliopolis
20 mars 1820
Deuxième campagne d'Italie et Hohenlinden (1800)
Montebello
9 juin 1800
Marengo 🛡
14 juin 1800
Hohenlinden
3 décembre 1800
Campagne d'Allemagne (1805)
Elchingen
14 octobre 1805
Ulm
17 novembre 1805
Austerlitz 🛡
2 décembre 1805
Campagne de Prusse (1806)
Auerstaedt
14 octobre 1806
Iéna (Jena)
14 octobre 1806
Campagne de Pologne (1807)
Eylau 🛡
8 février 1807
Friedland
14 juin 1807
Guerre D'espagne (1808-1814)
Somosierra
30 novembre 1808
Saragosse
20 février 1809
Ocaña
19 novembre 1809
Arapiles
22 juillet 1812
Vitoria
21 juin 1813
Campagne d'Autriche
Eckmühl
22 avril 1809
Essling (Aspern)
21 et 22 mai 1809
Wagram
5 et 6 juillet 1809
Smolensk
17 août 1812
La Moskowa (Borodino)
7 septembre 1812
La Bérézina
27-28 novembre 1812
Campagne de Saxe (1813)
Lützen
2 mai 1813
Bautzen
20-21 mai 1813
Dresde
26-27 août 1813
Leipzig (Bataille des Nations)
16-19 octobre 1813
Hanau
30 octobre 1813
Campagne de France (1814)
La Rothièrer
1er février 1814
Champauber
10 février 1814
Montmira
11 février 1814
Château-Thierry
12 février 1814
Vauchamps
14 février 1814
Montereau
18 février 1814
Craonne
7 mars 1814
Laon
9-10 mars 1814
Reims
13 mars 1814
Arcis-sur-Aube
20 mars 1814
Fère-Champenoise
15 Août 1814
Campagne de Belgique (1815)
Ligny
16 juin 1815
Quatre-Bras
16 juin 1815
@violathames
My, my, at Waterloo Napoleon did surrender
Oh yeah, and I have met my destiny in quite a similar way
The history book on the shelf
Is always repeating itself
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - Promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo
My, my, I tried to hold you back but you were stronger
Oh yeah, and now it seems my only chance is giving up the fight
And how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - Promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo
So how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose -
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo
@ps4455
Historical Fact: Napoleon willingly surrendered in order to be included in an ABBA song. He reportedly had no regrets.
@osloisabel03
😆😆😆😆😆
@aussiejezza
Wellington was very happy to accommodate this
@sofiarou7603
Source: just trust me bro
@osloisabel03
😆😆😆😆waterloo”i was defeated ,you won the war!”.i can imagine Napoleon saying that to Wellington!😆😆😆😆😂😂
@Error-vt2hw
The most underrated comment😂👁👁
@flawlesssock8153
Wonder how napoleon would feel knowing one of his most iconic defeats was turned into a hit pop song.
@kellygorton-smith208
They didn’t get any points from France in Eurovision for it!
@zuzanaliscinskaa
@@kellygorton-smith208 hahah
@fmoralesable
Ask the French 🤣🤣🤣👀