Elle était si jolie


"Elle était si jolie" was the entry in the Eurovision [Song Contest 1963], performed in French by Alain Barrière.
The song was performed eleventh on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 25 points, placing 5th in a field of 16.
The song is a ballad, with Barrière reminiscing about a girl he used to know and how pretty she was. Her beauty was apparently so much that he could not love her. Barrière also recorded the song in German and Italian, as "Du gingst fort ohne Abschied" and "Era troppo carina" respectively. The song was well received in Latin America, particularly in Chile.
It was succeeded as French representative at the 1964 contest by Rachel with "Le Chant de Mallory".

Dragan Stojnić version

, a Yugoslav chanson singer, released a cover version of the song in 1965 with lyrics in Serbo-Croatian, entitled "Bila je tako lijepa". The song was released on the EP of the same name, becoming a major hit in Yugoslavia.

Pekinška Patka version

Yugoslav punk rock band Pekinška Patka recorded a cover of Dragan Stojnić's version, releasing it on a 7-inch single in 1980, with "Bumba, rumba" as the B-side. The release was the band's third and last 7-inch single.
Track listing
  1. "Bila je tako lijepa"
  2. "Bumba, rumba"

Other versions

n punk rock band Hladno Pivo released a cover of Pekinška Patka version on their 1995 album G.A.D.. German punk rock band Autozynik released a cover of Pekinška Patka version on their 2000 album Bing.
Israeli singer Daklon recorded a cover version of the song in Hebrew, called "Benativ Meurpal", in 1998. Israeli singer Rika Zarai also recorded a cover of the song. Israeli poet David Avidan wrote a parody based on the Hebrew version, performed by Arik Lavie, with lyrics about a prostitute and her pimp.
In Vietnamese, the song is known as "Em Đẹp Như Mơ".