Cross Your Heart was the Irish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 in Brighton performed by Tina Reynolds.
Tina performed all eight songs in the Irish national heats on RTE's Saturday evening entertainment series The Likes of Mike, where she sang four songs in English and four in Irish. The result was decided, for the first time since 1967, by a public postal vote in which "Cross Your Heart" won by a landslide with 16,686 votes, 11,000 clear of the runner-up "Is Liom É".
The song is moderately up-tempo, with Reynolds using a number of childhood rhymes ("cross your heart and hope to die" and "sticks and stones wouldn't break my bones") to communicate to a would-be lover how serious she is about a potential relationship, with the contrast between the serious intention and the playful nature of the rhymes being drawn out throughout the lyrics. She sings that, although her heart has been broken before, she has no intention of giving up on love now. She also reminds her lover that "so many hearts are broken by one little lie".
The song was performed 13th on the night following the Netherlands and preceding Germany. At the close of voting, it finished in 7th place with 11 points.
Lyrics[]
La lala lala… la lala lala…
La lala lala la…
Cross your heart, say: “I love you”
Cross your heart and hope to die
For a very simple reason, and here’s the reason why:
For so many hearts are broken by one little lie
Cross your heart and hope to die
Sticks and stones wouldn’t break my bones
Though it happened again and again
But I came smiling through, don’t ask me how
Playing at games and calling me names
Never worried me then
But it’s a different game we’re playing now
Cross your heart, say: “I love you”
Cross your heart and hope to die
For a very simple reason, and here’s the reason why:
For so many hearts are broken by one little lie
Cross your heart and hope to die
It wasn’t easy to get up, believe me
To get up again and again
Each time they knocked me down, it hurt a lot
Love’s got to show now, there’s nowhere to go now
This is the end of the line
Because I’m giving this all I’ve got
Cross your heart, say: “I love you”
Cross your heart and hope to die
For a very simple reason, and here’s the reason why:
For so many hearts are broken by one little lie
Cross your heart and hope to die
Lalala la lalala… lalala la lala…
Lalala la lalala… and here’s the reason why:
For so many hearts are broken by one little lie
Cross your heart and hope to die
La lala lala… la lala lala… la lala lala lala…
Lalala la lala lala… la lala lala… la lala lala lala…
Lalala la lala lala… la lala lala… la lala lala la…
| 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 – Ireland – Tina Reynolds – Cross Your Heart
'Cross Your Heart' - Tina Reynolds (IRL) - Eurovision Entry Preview 1974