1973 Spain: Mocedades - Eres tu (2nd place at Eurovision Song Contest in Luxembourg)

Performed by: Mocedades
Music by: Juan Carlos Calderón
Lyrics by: Juan Carlos Calderón
Conductor: Juan Carlos Calderón López De Arroyabe
Language: Spanish
Placing: 2nd (125 points)
Other versions: Basque, English, French, German, Italian

This song was chosen as Spain's entry in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. After the song reached the second place in the contest, it was released as a single.

This song also has an English version entitled "Touch the Wind" with lyrics by Mike Hawker.

The 1973 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest took place on 7 April 1973 and was held at Luxembourg, the capital of Luxembourg. The song was performed seventh on the night, following Monaco's Marie with "Un train qui part" and preceding Switzerland's Patrick Juvet with "Je vais me marier, Marie". Composer Juan Carlos Calderón himself conducted the live orchestra. At the close of voting, the song had received 125 points, placing 2nd in a field of 17, after Luxembourg's own Anne-Marie David with "Tu te reconnaîtras" with 129 points. The United Kingdom's Cliff Richard with "Power to All Our Friends" finished third with 123 points. "Eres tú" was succeeded as Spanish representative at the 1974 Contest by Peret with "Canta y sé feliz".

In 1974, "Eres tú" became one of the few Spanish language songs to reach the top 10 in the United States, peaking at #9 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart and also reaching the top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In the United States, the song is still heard on Adult Standards and Easy Listening radio. The B-side of the single was the English-language version of the song entitled "Touch the Wind", which actually featured a completely different set of lyrics, rather than a translation of the original Spanish lyrics; either way, radio stations preferred to play the original A-side version. There were also several cover versions of the tune in both English and Spanish, only one of which ("Touch the Wind" by Eydie Gorme), charted, becoming a minor Adult Contemporary hit.

With "Eres tú", Mocedades are one of the five musical acts from Spain to have scored a top ten hit in the United States (the others are Los Bravos, Julio Iglesias, Enrique Iglesias and Los del Río with Macarena), and the only to have a top ten hit sung entirely in Spanish (the version of Los del Río's "Macarena" was a remix by the Bayside Boys with English vocals). The song was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2015, "Eres" ranked #47 on Billboard's 50 Greatest Latin Songs of All Time.

The success of "Eres tú" was not limited to just pop or Spanish music radio. In 1976, a guitar instrumental version by country singer Sonny James reached No. 67 on the Hot Country Singles chart. In 1977, Tex-Mex country singer Johnny Rodriguez – who had earlier success with mixing English and Spanish lyrics in his songs – recorded a cover version and released it to country radio. The song peaked at No. 25 in the fall of 1977 on the Hot Country Singles chart.

The melody of the song is quite similar, the opening part being identical, to the Slovene song "Brez besed", which was sung by Berta Ambrož at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1966.

Many more hits followed in Latin America and Spain, most notably "Tómame o déjame" ("Take Me or Leave Me"), "El vendedor" ("The Peddler"), "La otra España" ("The Other Spain") and "Me siento seguro" ("I Feel Secure"). In 1980 Mocedades signed up to CBS Records, now Sony, and recorded more songs for the Spanish-speaking market, including "¡Ay amor!" ("Oh Love") and "Amor de hombre" ("Love of Man"), which was the first Mocedades track to enter English-speaking charts since the smash hit "Eres tú".

Lyrics:

Eres tú
Como una promesa, eres tú, eres tú
Como una mañana de verano
Como una sonrisa, eres tú, eres tú
Así, así, eres tú

Toda mi esperanza, eres tú, eres tú
Como lluvia fresca en mis manos
Como fuerte brisa, eres tú, eres tú
Así, así, eres tú

Eres tú como el agua de mi fuente
Eres tú el fuego de mi hogar

(Eres tú...) Algo así eres tú
(Como el fuego de mi hoguera)
Algo así como el fuego de mi hoguera
(Eres tú...) Algo así eres tú
(El trigo de mi pan)
Mi vida, algo así eres tú

Como mi poema, eres tú, eres tú
Como una guitarra en la noche
Todo mi horizonte, eres tú, eres tú
Así, así, eres tú

(Nananana... nananana na...)

Eres tú como el agua de mi fuente
Eres tú el fuego de mi hogar

(Eres tú...) Algo así eres tú
(Como el fuego de mi hoguera)
Algo así como el fuego de mi hoguera
(Eres tú...) Algo así eres tú
(El trigo de mi pan)
Mi vida, algo así eres tú

(Eres tú...) Algo así eres tú
(Como el agua de mi fuente)
Algo así como el agua de mi fuente
Eres tú el fuego de mi hogar