¿Quién maneja mi barca? was the Spanish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 in Munich performed by Remedios Amaya.
Musically the song is in the late 70s - early 80s genre 'flamenco-rock', also referred to as New Flamenco, which fused Spain's Arabic, Andalusian, Sephardic and Gypsy heritage with contemporary Anglosaxon pop and rock instrumentation, in this case from 80s synthpop; with the exception of bass and electric guitar the studio recording of "¿Quién maneja mi barca?" has a soundscape predominantly made up of drum machines, synthesizers and vocoders. When performed live at Eurovision in Munich these were however replaced by live drums, brass and woodwind.
Lyrically the song mirrors the music's dramatic nature, focusing on emotions of love, passion and jealousy by posing a series of metaphorical questions. The central theme is: "Who sails my boat? It's drifting me away. Tell me, who sails my boat?" and in the verses: "Your mother's braids, tell me, who braids them?". In the bridge Amaya confesses: "Whatever you ask of me, I'll give it to you." and then returns to the song's central question; "Who sails my boat?".
The singer, Remedios sang barefoot, and during the song, the camera zooms into her feet once she unhides her feet from her dress.
The song was performed seventh on the night following Turkey and preceding Switzerland. At the close of voting, it finished in joint last place with the dreaded Nul Points.
In a poll, it was voted the song least deserving of getting no points.
Lyrics[]
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca?
Que a la deriva me lleva
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca?
Que a la deriva, que allí me lleva
Las trenzas de tu madre, anda y dime quién
Que dime quién se las peina, dime quién
Que dime quién se las peina
Voy a pedirle que me trence, anda y sí
Tu cabeza, mi cabeza, anda y sí
Tu cabeza, mi cabeza
Por mucho que tú me pidas, yo te lo doy
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca?
Que a la deriva me lleva
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca?
Que a la deriva, que allí me lleva
El verde de tus ojos verdes, mírame
Que mira que yo te mire, mírame
Que mira que yo te mire
El verde como cualquier verde, mírame
Que es verde que me persigue, mírame
Que es verde que me persigue
Por mucho que tú me pidas, yo te lo doy
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca?
Que a la deriva me lleva
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca?
Que a la deriva, que allí me lleva
Por mucho que tú me pidas, yo te lo doy
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, ¿quién maneja mi barca, quién?
Que a la deriva me lleva, ¿quién?
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
Ay, who sails my boat?
It drifts me away
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me, it takes me away
Your mother’s braids, come on, tell me who
Tell me who braids them, tell me who
Tell me who braids them
I’m going to ask him to braid mine, yes I will
Your head, my head, yes I will
Your head, my head
Whatever you ask me, I’ll give it to you
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
Ay, who sails my boat?
It drifts me away
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me, it takes me away
The green of your green eyes, look at me
Look at me, so I can look at you, look at me
Look at me, so I can look at you
A green like every green, look at me
It’s a green that pursues me, look at me
It’s a green that pursues me
Whatever you ask me, I’ll give it to you
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
Ay, who sails my boat?
It drifts me away
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me, it takes me away
Whatever you ask me, I’ll give it to you
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
Ay, who sails my boat, who?
It drifts me away, who?
| Eurovision Song Contest 1983 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | |||
 Guy Bonnet •  Jahn Teigen •  Sweet Dreams •  Carola •  Riccardo Fogli •  Çetin Alp & The Short Waves •  Remedios Amaya •  Mariella Farré •  Ami Aspelund •  Christie Stasinopoulou •  Bernadette •  Danijel •  Stavros & Constantina •  Hoffmann & Hoffmann •  Gry Johansen •  Ofra Haza •  Armando Gama •  Westend •  Pas de Deux •  Corinne Hermès
| |||
| Songs | |||
| Vivre • Do Re Mi • I'm Never Giving Up • Främling • Per Lucia • Opera • ¿Quién maneja mi barca? • Io così non ci sto • Fantasiaa • Mou les • Sing Me a Song • Džuli • I agapi akoma zi • Rücksicht • Kloden drejer • Hi • Esta balada que te dou • Hurricane • Rendez-vous • Si la vie est cadeau
| |||
