1984 Finland: Kirka - Hengaillaan (9th place at Eurovision Song Contest in Luxembourg)

1984 - Finland
Performed by: Kirka
Music by: Jukka Siikavire
Lyrics by: Jussi Tuominen
Conductor: Ossi Runne
Language: Finnish
Placing: 9th (46 points)
Other versions: English

Kirill "Kirka" Babitzin (22 September 1950 – 31 January 2007) was one of the most commercially successful Finnish musicians. His career spanned from the late 1960s until his death in 2007.

Previously associated with Ilkka Lipsanen's The Islanders band, Kirka went on to record a wide array of rock and pop music. Some of his most famous songs include Hetki Lyö (Beat the Clock), Leijat (Kites) and Varrella virran (Down by the River). His 1988 album Surun Pyyhit Silmistäni (The Sadness in Your Eyes) went on to be one of the best sold records in Finnish history. He also represented Finland in the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest.

Kirill Babitzin was born in Helsinki in 1950 to a Russian family. His father, Leon Babitzin was from St. Petersburg and fled to Finland in the aftermath of the October Revolution. His mother, Elizaveta Babitzin (née Zarubina) was partially of German-Russian descent and was born in Lappeenranta. He first got into music at the age of five when his grandmother gave him an accordion. He won an accordion competition at the age of ten.

His first band was The Creatures, which he joined in 1964 assuming stage name Kirka.

Kirka began attaining fame when he joined the band The Islanders in 1967. Originally led by Ilkka "Danny" Lipsanen, the band became hugely popular. Kirka also recorded with Blues Section. Kirka used his fame to launch into a solo career soon-after. Kirka cited his 1960's breakthrough Hetki lyö (orig. Beat The Clock composed by Gottehrer-Stroll, a 1968 Elfstone B side) with The Islanders as his greatest achievement. Despite his initial success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Kirka suffered from money-troubles through the late 1970s.

Kirka represented Finland in Eurovision Song Contest 1984, finishing a strong ninth with the song Hengaillaan. Four years later, he got his greatest chart success with Surun pyyhit silmistäin, a melancholic pop-schlager.

Babitzin was awarded the Emma award for best male singer twice, first in 1984 and then in 2000. He died suddenly on 31 January 2007 at his home due to a ruptured aortic aneurysm. His widow Paula Nummela is a jewellery designer.

Kirka Babitzin released 78 singles and almost 60 albums, including 15 collections. Kirka's album Surun pyyhit silmistäni (1988) became the biggest selling album in Finnish history; it has now been relegated to all-time third place.

LYRICS:

Hengaillaan

Kakskytkaks ja nelkytviis on juna mennyt viimeinen
Mut siitä viis, raide kaks
Jo puolikuus, on aamulla taas lähdössä uus

Tää yö nyt ollaan vaan ja hengaillaan
Ei mennä nukkumaan
Asemalla soitellaan ja svengaillaan
Kun junaa odotetaan

Se viimene juna mun laukun vei
Junilla on kiire mulla ei
Elämän junaan aina mennä mukaan saa

Nolla kaks jo kello käy
Me asemalla kahden vain, ei muita näy
Tunnin kaks on soinut blues
Ja aamuun aikaa on ikuisuus

Tää yö nyt ollaan vaan ja hengaillaan
Ei mennä nukkumaan
Asemalla soitellaan ja svengaillaan
Kun junaa odotetaan

Se viimene juna mun laukun vei
Junilla on kiire mulla ei
Maailman kuvaa muutenkin voi laajentaa

Raide kaks ja aamu uus
Nyt myöhästyttiin uudestaan on kello kuus
Tuonnemmaks kun matka jää, niin jatkuu meidän tunnelma tää

Tää päivä ollaan vaan ja hengaillaan
Koko päivä soitellaan ja svengaillaan

Tää päivä ollaan vaan ja hengaillaan
Ei mennä nukkumaan
Koko päivä soitellaan ja svengaillaan
Kun junaa odotetaan
Kun junaa odotetaan

TRANSLATION:

Let's hang around

The last train left at 22.45, but who cares
At 5.30 in the morning from track 2
Another train's going to leave

Let's just hang around tonight
And not sleep at all
At the station we'll play and swing around
While we wait for the train

The last train took my bag away
The trains are busy, not me, no way!
You can catch the train of life anytime!

It's 2 a.m.
And we're all alone at the station
We've been playing blues an hour or two
And it's still an eternity till morning

Let's just hang around tonight
And not sleep at all
At the station we'll play and swing around
While we wait for the train

The last train took my bag away
The trains are busy, not me, no way!
You can expand the concept of the world in other ways too

Track 2 it's morning
We're late again it's six o'clock
As our trip moves further, our mood just goes on

Let's just hang around all day
We'll just play and swing around all day

Let's just hang around all day
And not sleep at all
Let's just play and swing around all day
While we wait for the train
While we wait for the train