Eurovision Top 100, #71: Voorgoed voorbij (The Netherlands, 1956)

The number 71 song on our Eurovision Top 100 list is “Voorgoed voorbij,” one of the first Dutch Eurovision entries, sung by Corry Brokken.

We just want to make it crystal clear to all visitors: The Euro Yard is a Corry Brokken fan-site.  Not the fan-site, as we are not affiliated with her or her estate, but fans of hers for sure.

She would become one of the more notable figures in the formative era of the Eurovision Song Contest.  At this point, however, she was just a Dutch singer hoping to make her country proud on the international stage.  We would like to think she did just that in all three of her Eurovision appearances, including this one in 1956.

Vital Information: “Voorgoed voorbij”

What I Liked

Brokken had the kind of singing voice that I would have been all about in 1956.  Her singing was clear, she had range, and she could put some oomph into it.  Corry did that in this number, back when vocals were at a premium.  Look at some of the other performers she had to keep up with in her prime.

The composition also had some grandeur to it.  “Majesty” is another word I would use.  (Slaps hood) They don’t make songs like this one anymore.

Other Facts

• 1956 was the only year where each country submitted two entries.  This, therefore, was technically the second Eurovision song in Dutch history.  “De vogels van Holland” by Jetty Paerl was the first song ever performed at the contest.
• As mentioned, Brokken would return two more times in 1957 and 1958.  The following year, she would win the contest.
• Brokken performed eighth in the running order, as each’s country’s second entry was perfectly spaced out from their first.  She was directly followed by another Eurovision legend, Lys Assia, and her winning song “Refrain.”
• There are only rumors as to how this song did at the contest, since the scores were never preserved or announced.

Listen to “Voorgoed voorbij”

Note: We said listen, not watch, because there was no video.