Les jardins de Monaco was the Monegasque entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 in Paris, performed by Olivier Toussaint & Caline.
This was Toussaint's second consecutive entry for the principality of Monaco; in 1977 he and his longtime collaborator Paul de Senneville had composed Michèle Torr's Une petite française.
The song is a mid-tempo disco duet, with the singers recalling their innocent childhoods in the titular "gardens of Monaco" and singing about the famous people who could have kept assignations there; Greta Garbo, Brigitte Bardot, Roger Vadim or even Romeo and Juliet. One of the other famous people listed is Charlie Chaplin, himself the subject of the next song performed at that Contest. Caline and Toussaint also recorded the song in English and German, as "The Garden of Monaco" and "Auf Wiederseh'n in Monaco" respectively.
The song was performed fourteenth on the night, following Germany and preceding Greece. At the close of voting, it finished in 4th place with 107 points.
Lyrics[]
La petite fille qui jouait au cerceau
Dis, tu t’en souviens?
Le p’tit garçon qui jouait au ballon
Oui, je m’en souviens
On regardait les voiliers italiens
Oh oui, c’était bien
Y avait un p’tit square, des balançoires
Et tu me donnais la main
Dans les jardins de Monaco
Chaplin aurait pu rencontrer Garbo
Vadim a peut-être embrassé Bardot
Comme toi et moi
Dans les jardins de Monaco
Parmi les fleurs, au milieu des oiseaux
Juliette a dû rencontrer Roméo
Comme toi et moi
La petite fille qui me jetait du sable
Dis, tu t’en souviens?
Le p’tit garçon qui volait des cerises
Moi je l’aimais bien
Il y a longtemps que je t’aime
Et tu sais que rien n’a changé
À la claire fontaine
Il y a toujours un amour à partager
Dans les jardins de Monaco
Chaplin aurait pu rencontrer Garbo
Vadim a peut-être embrassé Bardot
Comme toi et moi
Dans les jardins de Monaco
Parmi les fleurs, au milieu des oiseaux
Juliette a dû rencontrer Roméo
Comme toi et moi
Dans les jardins de Monaco
On écrira un nouveau scénario
Pour toi et moi – ce sera le plus beau
Dans les jardins de Monaco
The little girl who played with a hoop
Say do you remember it?
The little boy who played with a ball
Yes, I remember it
Looking at the Italian sailing ships
Oh yes, it was good
There was a little park with swings
And you gave me your hand
In the gardens of Monaco
Chaplin could have met Garbo
Vadim maybe embraced Bardot
Like you and me
In the gardens of Monaco
Among the flowers, between the birds
Juliet must have met Romeo
Like you and me
The little girl who threw sand at me
Say, do you remember it?
The little boy who stole cherries
I loved him well
I loved you for a long time
And you know that nothing has changed
At the clear fountain
There is always love to share
In the gardens of Monaco
Chaplin could have met Garbo
Vadim maybe embraced Bardot
Like you and me
In the gardens of Monaco
Among the flowers, between the birds
Juliet must have met Romeo
Like you and me
In the gardens of Monaco
We will write a new scenario
For you and me – it’ll be the most beautiful
In the gardens of Monaco
| Eurovision Song Contest 1978 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | |||
 Colm Wilkinson •  Jahn Teigen •  Ricchi e Poveri •  Seija Simola •  Gemini •  Joël Prévost •  José Vélez •  Co-Co •  Carol Vinci •  Jean Vallée •  Harmony •  Nilüfer & Nazar •  Ireen Sheer •  Caline & Olivier Toussaint •  Tania Tsanaklidou •  Mabel •  Baccara •  Izhar Cohen & Alpha Beta •  Springtime •  Björn Skifs
| |||
| Songs | |||
| Born to Sing • Mil Etter Mil • Questo amore • Anna rakkaudelle tilaisuus • Da li dou • Il y aura toujours des violons • Bailamos un vals • Bad Old Days • Vivre • L'amour ça fait chanter la vie • 't Is OK • Sevince • Feuer • Les jardins de Monaco • Charlie Chaplin • Boom Boom • Parlez-vous français? • A-Ba-Ni-Bi • Mrs. Caroline Robinson • Det blir alltid värre framåt natten
| |||
Videos[]
Les jardins de Monaco - Caline & Oliver - Eurovision songs with live orchestra
Caline & Olivier Toussaint - Les jardins de Monaco (Eurovision Song Contest 1978, MONACO) video