The Wages of Love was the Irish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 in Madrid performed by Muriel Day backed by the group The Lindsays.
The song is an upbeat number, in the style of many pop songs of the time. Day cautions her listeners that "when you fall in love, you pay/The wages of love". In other words, while love is a great thing to experience, "there will be bridges to be crossed/And there'll be teardrops to be lost", and one must be aware of that at the outset of a relationship.
Day performed the song in a bright green dress, made by Northern Irish dress designer Alice Campbell, taking full advantage of the then-innovation of colour broadcasting at the Contest. A brief excerpt from the performance was shown in a montage at the Congratulations special in late 2005.
The song was performed 5th on the night following Monaco and preceding Italy. At the close of voting, it finished in 7th place with 10 points.
Lyrics[]
Look before you leap right into love, my friend
It cannot be bought so very cheap, my friend
Love that makes you laugh, love that makes you cry
Before you really understand it
It can make you live, it can make you die
There will be bridges to be crossed
And there’ll be teardrops to be lost
Or you will have to pay the cost
Just wait and see, oh yeah
There are many rainbows on the way
Days are maybe bright or maybe grey
So when you fall in love, you pay
The wages of love, the wages of love, the wages of love
Just take my advice, don’t be a fool, my friend
When you fall in love, you go to school, my friend
Lessons must get learned, fingers must get burned
Before you really understand it
Love is very nice if you pay the price
There will be bridges to be crossed
And there’ll be teardrops to be lost
Or you will have to pay the cost
Just wait and see, oh yeah
There are many rainbows on the way
Days are maybe bright or maybe grey
So when you fall in love, you pay
The wages of love, the wages of love, the wages of love
There will be bridges to be crossed
And there’ll be teardrops to be lost
Or you will have to pay the cost
Just wait and see
There are many rainbows on the way
Days are maybe bright or maybe grey
So when you fall in love, you pay
The wages of love, the wages of love, the wages of love
| Eurovision Song Contest 1969 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | |||
 Ivan & 4M •  Romuald •  Salomé •  Jean Jacques •  Muriel Day •  Iva Zanicchi •  Lulu •  Lenny Kuhr •  Tommy Körberg •  Louis Neefs •  Paola del Medico •  Kirsti Sparboe •  Siw Malmkvist •  Frida Boccara •  Simone de Oliveira •  Jarkko & Laura
| |||
| Songs | |||
| Pozdrav svijetu • Catherine • Vivo cantando • Maman, Maman • The Wages of Love • Due grosse lacrime bianche • Boom Bang-a-Bang • De troubadour • Judy, min vän • Jennifer Jennings • Bonjour, Bonjour • Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli • Primaballerina • Un jour, un enfant • Desfolhada portuguesa • Kuin silloin ennen
| |||
Videos[]
1969 Muriel Day & The Lindsays - The Wages Of Love
ESC 1969 05 - Ireland - Muriel Day - The Wages Of Love