Vi maler byen rød

Vi maler byen rød
General Information
Performed by	Birthe Kjær
Composer(s)	Søren Bundgaard
Lyricist(s)	Keld Heick
Language(s)	Danish
Eurovision
Year	1989
Country	Denmark
Conductor	Henrik Krogsgaard
Semi-Final Position	--
Semi-Final Points	--
Final Position	3rd
Final Points	111
Preceding and Following Songs
Preceding	Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'?
Following	Hallo Hallo

Vi maler byen rød ("Let's Paint the Town Red") was the Danish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 in Lausanne performed by Birthe Kjær.

"Vi maler byen rød" is an evocation of good times, with Kjær describing the fun that can be had by "painting the town red". Musically, it is something of a throwback to an earlier time as well, sounding like a more unabashed vocal performance than the more modern numbers starting to achieve success at the Contest at the time.

It was performed 12th on the night, following Luxembourg and preceding Austria. At the close of voting, it finished in 3rd place with 111 points.

Since then, it was considered one of the stronger Danish entries, and was part of a plot of a 2009 Danish musical of the same name.

Lyrics

• Danish
• Translation

Du hænger lidt med ho’det, syn’s du alt er gråt i gråt?
Ja, jeg kender jo turen, det’ klart, du ved det godt
Men glem det et sekund, lad det fordufte i det blå
Grib din egen palet, for nu ska’ vi lægge farverne på

Vi maler byen rød og himlen hvid af stjerneskær
Det grå og triste får en ekstra farveklat
Så gi’r vi nattens tøj et penselstrøg og gerne fler’
Og først når solen si’r godmorgen og ta’r fat
Si’r vi godnat

De briller, du har på, kan farve tingene, der sker
Så ka’ du ikke få øje på glæder, andre ser
Men du må låne mine et par timer, hvis du vil
Tag og se dig omkring, luk øjnene op, spring ud og slå til

Vi maler byen rød og himlen hvid af stjerneskær
Det grå og triste får en ekstra farveklat
Så gi’r vi nattens tøj et penselstrøg og gerne fler’
Og først når solen si’r godmorgen og ta’r fat
Si’r vi godnat

Sidder du stadig derinde
Ruller gardinerne ned
Glæderne, dem skal man finde
Bare hæng i og ta’ med
(Bare hæng i og ta’ med)

Vi maler byen rød og himlen hvid af stjerneskær
Det grå og triste får en ekstra farveklat
Så gi’r vi nattens tøj et penselstrøg og gerne fler’
Og først når solen si’r godmorgen og ta’r fat…

Ja, først når solen si’r godmorgen og ta’r fat
Si’r vi godnat

You’re a bit down in the mouth, do you think everything’s all grey?
Yes, I know how it is, of course, you know it
But forget it for a second, let it disappear into the air
Grab your palette, because now we’ll put on the colors

We’re painting the town red and the sky white of star gleam
All that is grey and boring gets an extra patch of color
Then we give the clothes of night a brush-stroke or more
And only when the sun says good morning and gets to work
We’ll say goodnight

The glasses you’re wearing can color the things that happen
So you don’t see the joys others see
But you can borrow mine for a couple of hours if you like
Have a look around, open your eyes, come out and hammer away

We’re painting the town red and the sky white of star gleam
All that is grey and boring gets an extra patch of color
Then we give the clothes of night a brush-stroke or more
And only when the sun says good morning and gets to work
We’ll say goodnight

Are you still sitting inside
Rolling down the blinds
The joys have to be found
Just keep at it and come along
(Just keep at it and come along)

We’re painting the town red and the sky white of star gleam
All that is grey and boring gets an extra patch of color
Then we give the clothes of night a brush-stroke or more
And only when the sun says good morning and gets to work

Yes, only when the sun says good morning and gets to work
We’ll say goodnight

Videos

Vi maler byen rød - Birthe Kjær