Rock 'n' Roll Kids was the Irish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 in Dublin performed by Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan. A simple ballad, it told the story of two older men reflecting on their teenage days back in 1962 and thinking about how times have changed since then.
It was performed third on the night following Finland and preceding Cyprus. At the close of voting, it was declared the winner with 226 points, giving Ireland its third consecutive win and second consecutive title defense on home ground. The song peaked at #2 on the Irish chart, only being held off the top spot by the music from Riverdance.
Lyrics
I remember sixty-two
I was sixteen and so were you
And we lived next door on the avenue
Jerry Lee was big and Elvis too
Blue jeans and blue suede shoes
And we never knew what life held in store
We just wanted to rock 'n' roll forever more
We were the rock 'n' roll kids
Rock 'n' roll was all we did
And listenin' to those songs on the radio
I was yours and you were mine
That was once upon a time
Now we never seem to rock 'n' roll anymore
Now Johnny's in love with the girl next door
And Mary's down at the record store
They don't wanna be around us no more
Golden oldies, but we hardly speak
Too busy running to a different beat
Hard to understand we were once like them
How I wish we could find those rock 'n' roll days again
We were the rock 'n' roll kids
Rock 'n' roll was all we did
And listenin' to those songs on the radio
I was yours and you were mine
That was once upon a time
Now we never seem to rock 'n' roll anymore
I was yours and you were mine
That was once upon a time
Now we never seem to rock 'n' roll
We just never seem to rock 'n' roll anymore
Trivia
- Jerry Lee Lewis (1935—) - American rock and roll pioneer piano player and singer.
- Elvis Presley (1935–1977) - American singer, the King of Rock and Roll.
- This song was the first to win with over 200 points.
- The song was the first winner not to use the orchestra.
- There is a belief among many Eurovision fans that the song was deliberately chosen not to win, as it was performed by a male duo (no male duos had ever won before) and in a very static manner. The pair were also much older than any other winners had been. As the Contest rules require the previous year's winner to host the next edition of the Contest, the argument runs that the Irish broadcaster was not prepared to do this, hence the selection.
- It was also the first song to win out of the third position of the running order since Séverine won for Monaco back in 1971.
Videos
Eurovision 1994 - Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan - Rock 'n' roll kids
EUROVISION Winner 1994 - Rock 'n Roll Kids - Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan
