My Lovely Horse
| "A Song for Europe" | |
|---|---|
| Father Ted episode | |
| Episode no. |
Series 2 Episode 5 |
| Directed by | Declan Lowney |
| Written by | |
| Produced by | Lissa Evans |
| Featured music | The Divine Comedy |
| Cinematography by | Chris Owen |
| Editing by |
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| Original air date | 5 April 1996 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"A Song for Europe" is the fifth episode of the second series of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the 11th episode overall. It originally aired in April 1996 and has since been recognised as one of the most popular episodes of the show.
The episode is based on Ireland's winning streak at the Eurovision Song Contest during the 1990s. The plot centres around Ted and Dougal trying to write a song for it (though the episode does not refer to that name directly) in order to settle a rivalry with Dick Byrne. The pair unsuccessfully write their own tune, before deciding to steal a former entry they believe nobody remembers. This backfires and they have to play the original tuneless song, but controversially win the contest anyway. The music was composed by The Divine Comedy.
The episode begins when Dougal has "Eurosong fever", weeks ahead of the competition. After initially rejecting Dougal's suggestion that they write a song to represent Ireland in the competition on the grounds that they are not skilled in songwriting, Ted discovers his nemesis Dick Byrne does have plans to enter a song. Ted decides that if Dick Byrne can write a song, he and Dougal can write a better one. After working all night, they come up with "My Lovely Horse", a tuneless dirge with ridiculous lyrics lasting less than a minute. After trying the song out on Mrs Doyle and Father Jack, Jack is so infuriated he shoots Ted's guitar. Disillusioned, they are about to give up when Ted discovers the lyrics fit a tune by "Nin Huguen and the Huguenotes", an obscure B-side for an entry from Norway's Eurosong preselection from the 1970s. Ted thought that because the whole band died in a plane crash, including all the record company staff and everyone involved in the copyright, they would get away with stealing it.
At the Dublin theatre where "A Song for Ireland" is being hosted, Ted has some trouble talking to the Judge as he finds he is gay, which the Catholic Church is against. 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. In the original version, Ted even says near the end when changing chord for the only time during the song, "Hang on, I can do this bit", while Dougal uses what looks like an old Casio keyboard.
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