"'n Beetje" was composed by Dick Schallies [nl] and Dutch lyrics by Willy van Hemert.[2] It is more up-tempo than the previous winners had been, as well as being somewhat less serious. It is sung from the perspective of a young woman being asked by her lover if she is "true" and "faithful", to which she answers "A little bit". This unusual admission is then justified by the comment that "everyone is in love at least once", hence nobody can be said to be entirely faithful to anyone. Befitting the lyrics, the music has a lilt to it which had been missing from the previous winners.[3]
Eurovision
On 17 February 1959, "'n Beetje" performed by both Teddy Scholten –with a full orchestra– and John de Mol –in a more pared-down style– competed in the 4th edition of the Nationaal Songfestival, the national final organized by the Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS) to select its song and performer for the 4th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition so it became the Dutch entrant for Eurovision. The expert jury chose then Scholten with the full orchestra version of the song.[4]
Scholten recorded it in Dutch, German –as "Sei ehrlich"–, French –"Un p'tit peu"–, Italian –"Un poco"–, and Swedish –"Om våren"–. She sang an English version for the BBC as "The Moment".[3]
By the close of voting, it had received 21 points, placing it first in a field of eleven, winning the contest.[6] The song was succeeded as Dutch representative in 1960 by "Wat een geluk" by Rudi Carrell, and as Contest winner by "Tom Pillibi" by Jacqueline Boyer for France.
Reception
Teddy Scholten arriving at Schipol Airport just after winning Eurovision.
"Een beetje"'s Eurovision performance was called "excellent" and "surprisingly fresh" in an article published a few days after the contest by Dutch newspaper Eindhovens Dagblad, which added that its mid-show timing, after four entries with six more to go, already showcased it as standing out in the field and predicted to get a decent score. With that, it viewed that for some time it looked as though Switzerland and then the United Kingdom will swoop the win, while pointing that Italy was given the best chance to win prior to the evening; and as part of the article's big-lettered title, reviewed that the United Kingdom was a "tough competitor". In addition it opined that the entry's musical director, Dutch conductor Dolf van der Linden, didn't seem very enthusiastic with the melodic execution, by France's RTF orchestra.[7]
DutchNews.nl described the song as having a "charming performance" by Scholten, a lively rhythm and lyrics peppered with wordplay which "added to the song’s musicality – even for those who did not speak Dutch", and altogether as the reasons the entry "won over everybody". However, it adds that Scholten was a "surprising winner" since the "growing army of Eurovision pundits put their bets on the UK entry" performed by Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, whom it viewed as a potential "English equivalent" of Scholten and her fellow artist husband Henk.[8]
Comparing the song to the previous 1956–1958 contests winners, entertainment website Screen Rant reviewed it in 2021 as having "a bit more innocuous" lyrics, reflecting the writers' "inherently self-effacing nature", a "faster pace" music and noting "energy" in Scholten's performance. It concludes those to "prove" the entry as "among the most influential Eurovision songs to date" as well as the first Eurovision entry to "hint at what the identity of the contest would come to be"; bearing ingredients of the contest's styles and popularity celebrated nowadays.[9]
References
^Catalog of Copyright Entries Library of Congress. Copyright Office - 1962 -- Page 339 "THE MOMENT 'n Beetje. Original lyrics by Willy van Hemert, English lyrics by Johnny Lehmann, m Dick Schallles. Great Britain"
