¿Quién maneja mi barca?

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"¿Quién maneja mi barca?"
Single by Remedios Amaya
from the album Luna Nueva
Released	1983
Genre	New flamenco
Length	3:00
Label	Hispavox
Songwriter(s)	José Miguel Évoras, Isidro Muñoz
Producer(s)	José Miguel Évoras
Eurovision Song Contest 1983 entry
Country	Spain
Artist(s)	María Dolores Amaya Vega
As	Remedios Amaya
Language	Spanish
Composer(s)	José Miguel Évoras
Lyricist(s)	Isidro Muñoz
Conductor	José Miguel Évoras
Finals performance
Final result	19th
Final points	0
Entry chronology
◄ "Él" (1982)
"Lady, Lady" (1984) ►

"¿Quién maneja mi barca?" (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkjem maˈnexa mi ˈβaɾka], "Who sails my boat?") is a song recorded by Spanish flamenco singer Remedios Amaya. The song was written by José Miguel Évoras and Isidro Muñoz. It is best known as the Spanish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1983, held in Munich.

Background[]

Musically the song is in the late 1970s - early 1980s genre 'flamenco-rock', also referred to as New Flamenco, which fused Spain's Arabic, Andalusian, Sephardic and Gypsy heritage with contemporary Anglosaxon pop and rock instrumentation, in this case from 1980s synthpop; with the exception of bass and electric guitar the studio recording of "¿Quién maneja mi barca?" has a soundscape predominantly made up of drum machines, synthesizers and vocoders. When performed live at Eurovision in Munich these were however replaced by live drums, brass and woodwind.

Lyrically the song mirrors the music's dramatic nature, focussing on emotions of love, passion and jealousy by posing a series of metaphorical questions. The central theme is: "Who sails my boat? It's drifting me away. Tell me, who sails my boat?" and in the verses: "Your mother's braids, tell me, who braids them?". In the bridge Amaya confesses: "Whatever you ask of me, I'll give it to you." and then returns to the song's central question; "Who sails my boat?".

Eurovision[]

Remedios Amaya's performance of the song on stage in Munich, singing with the traditional Spanish 'cantaora' technique and dancing barefoot, was at the time described by BBC commentator Terry Wogan as "tempestuous" and "very, very ethnic indeed".

The song was performed 7th on the night, following Turkey's Çetin Alp and with "Opera" and preceding the Switzerland's Mariella Farré with "Io cosi non ci sto". At the close of voting, it had received 0 points, placing 19th (equal last) in a field of 20.

It was succeeded as Spanish entry at the 1984 contest by Bravo with "Lady, Lady".

Sources and external links[]

• Official Eurovision Song Contest site, history by year, 1983.
• Detailed info and lyrics, The Diggiloo Thrush, "¿Quién maneja mi barca?".

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