It’s Eurovision weekend, and we can only wish the very best of luck to Britain’s entry ‘You’re Not Alone’, performed by Joe and Jake.
But with all due respect to the lads – as well as to other Eurovision legends like Abba, Bucks Fizz and Katrina & The Waves – one song in particular will never be displaced as JOE’s all-time favourite.
That song is ‘My Lovely Horse’, which was the centrepiece of the classic Father Ted episode ‘A Song For Europe’ that aired 20 years ago this spring.
(Yep, 20 YEARS AGO).
The episode revolved around Ted (Dermot Morgan) and Dougal (Ardal O’Hanlon) trying to compose an entry for the song contest that will send the winning track to represent Ireland at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Needless to say, the two fellas are not naturally gifted songwriters – and the best they can come up is a tuneless ditty about a horse that just so happens to be lovely.
As their dreams – quite literally – look set to be dashed, and after some competitive goading from that smug git Father Dick Byrne, Ted convinces gormless Dougal to go along with a scam where they steal the melody from an obscure Eurovision entry to give some polish and class to their own song-writing effort.
Sure enough, the whole plan falls apart, as only it can for poor Ted, and the lads end up having to perform their original turkey, much to the merriment of Dick Byrne and the silent astonishment of the Song Contest audience.
(They still end up “winning”, but that’s a whole other matter).
Dougal’s “dream version” of ‘My Lovely Horse’ was, in reality, written by show creators Graham Linehan, Arthur Mathews, and singer Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy.
Those who asked, 'My Lovely Horse': lyrics by Arthur Mathews and myself. Music by Neil Hannon.
— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) May 16, 2009
The cringe Horse video was inspired by the promo for this song, ‘That’s What Friends Are For’, performed by The Swarbriggs, which was Ireland’s Eurovision entry in 1975.
https://twitter.com/Mumbler3/status/518108184108879872
Here’s that full video:
The Swarbriggs didn’t win with that tune alas (they lost to ‘Ding-a-Dong’ from the Netherlands), and not many people today would be familiar with either song.
But ‘My Lovely Horse’ has proved to be imperishable. Two years ago, a petition in Ireland called upon the powers-that-be to send the song as Ireland’s real entry for the Eurovision (it was rejected, sadly).
Just today, Channel 4 sent this cheeky message to Ireland’s Nicky Byrne, who failed to qualify for this weekend’s final:
Sad that @NickyByrne is out of #Eurovision. Bet Ireland wished they'd gone with their Plan B…https://t.co/Q6Up54h1Uq
— Channel 4 (@Channel4) May 13, 2016
It’s a half-joke not lost on other Irish Eurovision observers:
Ireland would have got through if they'd played this ! Father Ted | My Lovely Horse | Channel 4 https://t.co/FZt9wF54N4 via @YouTube
— Jason Edge 💙 🇺🇦 (@jasonedge1) May 13, 2016
Right lads, can we just get Ardal O'Hanlon to do My Lovely Horse next year #Eurovision
— Emma Kelly (@TooManyEmmas) May 12, 2016
Indeed, #mylovelyhorse was trending in Ireland after the country’s disappointing semi-final performance:
https://twitter.com/CarrieHLloyd/status/730853270428749824
Co-composer Neil Hannon has embraced the song’s legacy too – here he is performing it for the BBC a few years ago:
He also broke it out at a music festival last year:
Hannon even named a charity EP after his famous creation:
Neil Hannon & Duke Special duet on My Lovely Horse Rescue EP | Music | News | Hot Press https://t.co/jkIU63yzYC via @sharethis
— ollie hamilton (@hamiltoo) April 28, 2016
So for the weekend that’s in it, play the song at the highest volume and sing along:
Via Pinterest.
