Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va was the Monegasque entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 in Brighton performed by Romuald.
This was Romuald's third Eurovision entry, he had first entered the Contest in 1964 representing Monaco with "Où sont-elles passées" and the second time in 1969, then singing "Catherine" for Luxembourg.
The song is sung from the perspective of a man whose lover has just ended their relationship. Romuald sings that there is always one half of a relationship who "stays" - that is, the person who does not do the breaking up - and the other half who "goes" - by doing the breaking up. He compares the fates of both people, and sings that while he is not angry with his former lover, he wants her to realise the situation for what it is.
The song was performed tenth on the night, following Luxembourg and preceding Belgium. At the close of voting, it finished in 4th place with 14 points.
Lyrics[]
À la fin d’un amour, celui qui reste est le perdant
Celui qui part sait déjà que quelqu’un l’attend
À la fin d’un amour, à l’instant du dernier regard
Il y a toujours, toujours sur terre quelque part
Celui qui reste et celui qui s’en va
Celui qui parle et celui qui n’ose pas
Celui qui pleure, celui qui baisse les yeux
Il y a toujours, toujours à l’instant d’un adieu
Celui qui reste et celui qui s’en va
Celui qui triche et celui qui ne sait pas
Celui qui va très bientôt trouver l’oubli
Et l’autre qui restera seul toute sa vie
Toute sa vie
Bien sûr je te comprends, il fallait en arriver là
Tu as la force de partir, je ne l’ai
Bien sûr que je comprends, bien sûr que je ne t’en veux pas
Mais déjà ‘nous’ voilà devenus ‘toi et moi’
Celui qui reste et celui qui s’en va
Celui qui parle et celui qui n’ose pas
Celui qui pleure, celui qui baisse les yeux
Il y a toujours, toujours à l’instant d’un adieu
Celui qui reste et celui qui s’en va
Celui qui triche et celui qui ne sait pas
Celui qui va très bientôt trouver l’oubli
Et l’autre qui restera seul toute sa vie
Celui qui reste et celui qui s’en va
At the end of a love affair, the one who stays is the loser
The one who leaves already knows somebody is waiting
At the end of a love affair, at the moment of the last glance
There’s always, always on earth somewhere
The one who stays and the one who leaves
The one who talks and the one who doesn’t dare
The one who cries, the one who lowers his eyes
There’s always, always a moment of farewell
The one who stays and the one who leaves
The one who cheats and the one who doesn’t know it
The one who very soon is to be forgotten
And the other who will stay alone all his life
All his life
Of course I understand you, things had to happen this way
You have the power to leave, I don’t have it
Of course I understand, of course I’m not mad at you
But lo and behold, ‘we’ already became ‘you and me’
The one who stays and the one who leaves
The one who talks and the one who doesn’t dare
The one who cries, the one who lowers his eyes
There’s always, always a moment of farewell
The one who stays and the one who leaves
The one who cheats and the one who doesn’t know it
The one who very soon is to be forgotten
And the other who will stay alone all his life
The one who stays and the one who leaves
| Eurovision Song Contest 1974 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | |||
 Carita •  Olivia Newton-John •  Peret •  Anne-Karine Strøm ft. Bendik Singers •  Marinella •  Poogy •  Korni •  ABBA •  Ireen Sheer •  Romuald •  Jacques Hustin •  Mouth & MacNeal •  Tina Reynolds •  Cindy & Bert •  Piera Martell •  Paulo de Carvalho •  Gigliola Cinquetti
| |||
| Songs | |||
| Keep Me Warm • Long Live Love • Canta y sé feliz • The First Day Of Love • Krasi, thalassa kai t'agori mou • Natati La Khayay • Moja generacija • Waterloo • Bye Bye I Love You • Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va • Fleur de liberté • I See A Star • Cross Your Heart • Die Sommermelodie • Mein Ruf nach dir • E depois do adeus • Sì
| |||
Videos[]
Eurovision 1974 - Monaco - Romuald - Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va
Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va - Romuald - ESC 1974