1984 Sweden: Herreys - Digge loo digge ley - Winner's Performance (1st place at ESC in Luxembourg)

Performed by: Herreys
Music by: Torgny Söderberg
Lyrics by: Britt Lindeborg
Conductor: Curt-Eric Holmquist
Language: Swedish
Placing: 1st (145 points)
Other versions: English

If you want to read thy lyrics of the song please click the "SUBTITLES" button in the video.

"Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 performed in Swedish by a trio of brothers named Herrey's. Lyrics were written by Britt Lindeborg, and the tune by Torgny Söderberg. It was produced by Anders Engberg and Torgny Söderberg.

The song is a perfect illustration of the time period in which it was performed; a very upbeat 1980s-style dance song, performed by three impossibly clean cut young men - fellow Swedish Eurovision participant Tommy Körberg famously dubbed them "the dancing deodorants" in the press, a derogatory nickname that stuck with them for the rest of their career in their home country [1] - and the nonsensical title harking back to previous entries such as "Boom Bang-a-Bang", "Ding-a-dong" and "La, la, la". The song has achieved considerable fame among Eurovision Song Contest fans, with a well-known archive of Contest lyrics using the domain name diggiloo.net, named after it. Despite the reception the song receives today, in the run-up to the Contest it was not an immediate favorite to win; bookmakers Ladbrokes had Ireland's "Terminal 3" and Italy's "I treni di Tozeur" as higher favourites, so the song winning came as a surprise to many.

According to author John Kennedy O'Connor's The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, The Herrey's opened the contest and thus became the third winners of the competition to sing from pole position, following Teach-In in 1975 and Brotherhood of Man in 1976. No song sung first or second has won since.

The song itself deals with the lead singer discovering a pair of golden shoes in the street one day. He puts them on and immediately feels like dancing in the street, entering a "magical world". Thus, he wishes for everyone to have a pair.
The English translation, released some time after the Contest, took much the same theme, titling the song "Golden Shoes".

Richard Herrey, lead singer of the band, performed at the Congratulations special in late 2005. In 2015, all three band members performed the track with a mixture of English and Swedish lyrics at Apollo theatre in Hammersmith, London as part of the BBC's Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits concert to mark the contests 60th anniversary.

The song was succeeded as winner in 1985 by Bobbysocks representing Norway with "La det swinge". The highest chart position the song reached was No. 2, in the Swedish singles chart. The reached No. 46 on the UK Singles Chart.

The three brothers reunited to perform "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" in the intermission of one of the Swedish Melodifestivalen semifinals of 2002. Richard Herrey made an appearance at Congratulations, a 50th anniversary concert, held in Copenhagen, Denmark in October 2005. In February 2006, Richard Herrey released his first solo album, Jag e Kung. They performed at Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits, the 60th anniversary show in 2015. You can watch this performance here:

   • Eurovision's Greatest Hits - 60 Years...  

Lyrics:

Diggi-loo diggi-ley
Blixtar och dunder, magiska under
Plötsligt en dag har det hänt, åh... vilken tur
(Du är en lyckofigur)

En dag i staden, (du gick där och tänkte)
På esplanaden, (då såg du nåt som blänkte)
Det kändes som jag hade vingar
Åh... vilken underbar dröm

Diggi-loo diggi-ley, alla tittar på mig
Där jag går i mina gyllne skor
Jag dansade omkring på gatan
Och hela världen den log

Diggi-loo diggi-ley, himlen öppnade sig
Det är knappt man sina ögon tror
Åh... jag börjar nästan sväva
I mina gyllene skor

Jag har visioner för millioner
Gyllene dojor för dig och lyckan är gjord
(Säg mer, vi tror på ditt ord)

Tänk dig ett hinder, (det flyger du över)
Vingar på skorna (är allt vad du behöver)
Åh... jag kan bli vad jag önskar
I min förtrollade värld

Diggi-loo diggi-ley, alla tittar på mig
Där jag går i mina gyllne skor
Jag dansade omkring på gatan
Och hela världen den log

Diggi-loo diggi-ley, himlen öppnade sig
Det är knappt man sina ögon tror
Åh... jag börjar nästan sväva
I mina gyllene skor

Det var en önskedröm men jag måste medge
Att när jag vaknade vakna' jag med glädje
Jag, en sång och en dansman
Åh... åh...

Diggi-loo diggi-ley, himlen öppnade sig
Det är knappt man sina ögon tror
Åh... jag ville gärna önska
Åt alla gyllene skor

Åh... jag ville gärna önska
Åt alla gyllene skor