Amen Austria 2021

He Austria’s hope at Eurovision 2021. After the uplifting “Alive”, Vincent Bueno chose a different path for 2021. “Amen” is darker, sadder and more emotional than his previous entry. After a disappointing result in 2019, Austria’s hopes lie with his internally selected song.

Scroll down for “Amen” lyrics.

Austria in Eurovision 2021: Vincent Bueno “Amen”

The 35-year-old singer is definitely no stranger to Eurovision. Vincet’s connection with the contest goes back as far as 2016. He competed in the Austrian national final that year with “All We Need is That Love”. Then in 2017, he provided backing vocals at Eurovision for Nathan Trent on “Running On Air”.

But singing isn’t his only talent. Vincent won a musical-casting show in 2008, took part in the Austrian version of Dancing With The Stars and hosted his own talk show. However, singing is his biggest passion and it was only a matter of time before he would take centre stage at Eurovision.

In 2020, ORF internally selected Vincent Bueno to represent Austria at Eurovision 2021 with his soulful dance-pop track “Alive”. But his Eurovision dreams were snatched away when the 2020 contest was cancelled in light of COVID-19 restrictions.

What do the “Amen” lyrics mean?

“Amen” was written by Tobias Carshey, Ashley Hicklin, Jonas Thander. All three have a name in the international music industry. Jonas Thander, who acts as the lead producer, has worked with stars like Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift and Sergey Lazarev. Additionally, creative visionary Marvin Dietmann will stage “Amen” in Rotterdam. He is responsible for the staging of several countries this year and created the iconic staging of Austria’s victory in 2014.

Lyrically, “Amen” couldn’t differ more from Vincent’s 2020 song. He sings about the end of a relationship that he didn’t want to end. In a one-sided conversation, he keeps on asking questions but doesn’t seem to get a response. He starts the song with the same word the songs ends, “Amen”. In the opening lines, he remembers how his loved one ended the relationship by saying “it’s time for us to put our love to rest”.

The whole song continues then to compare the bitter situation with a funeral. The end of a long and happy time spent together. His ex is “dressed in black”, leaving the neighbourhood and burying the relationship. “I never thought we’d die” shows the astonishment at this decision. While the other person made the call to end the relationship, Vincent wasn’t expecting it and thought they were meant to be forever. This is another analogy to death, as we tend to forget how quickly it may come.

The chorus basically consists of two parts. The repetition of “Amen” and the shouting of “Is this what you wanted?”. While he doesn’t get a response, the lyrics change in the last chorus to “Are you getting what you wanted?”. The use of “Amen” is a clever wordplay as it concludes a prayer but also indicates hope for the better.

Together with the video, the song can also convey a positive meaning. He starts in a small and dark box with little hope. But he chooses to stand up, go through the door and his power let the walls eventually fall. In his words: “At first glance it’s about a dramatic relationship story, but for me it’s primarily about this inner struggle with your own strengths and weaknesses, that everyone knows, which leads to a bright future.” Over time we can overcome our struggles and break out of our cage even if the current situation feels helpless.

All these church references add another layer of meaning when you know about his strong faith. Vincent has experienced several strokes of faith. The hardest probably being the death of his second child. Overcoming such events is far from easy, but he finds strength in his beliefs.

“Amen” lyrics — Vincent Bueno (Austria ESC 2021)

Written and composed by: Tobias Carshey, Ashley Hicklin and Jonas Thander

English text

Amen
I guess
You said that it’s time for us to put
Our love
To rest
Dressed in black you left my neighbourhood

No I never thought you’d bury me and you
No I never thought we’d die

But amen
Amen
Tell me is this what you wanted?
Is this what you wanted?
Amen
Amen
Tell me is this what you wanted?
Is this what you wanted?
Amen

I bet
It’s just another funeral to you
But for me
It’s the end
The marching band are playing “Gone Too Soon”

No I never thought you’d bury me and you
No I never thought we’d die

But amen
Amen
Tell me is this what you wanted?
Is this what you wanted?
Amen
Amen
Tell me is this what you wanted?
Is this what you wanted?

Cause it all feels like
You didn’t even try oh try oh try
Try to save us
All this time
Wasted on a lie

But Amen
Amen
Tell me is this what you wanted?
Tell me this what you wanted?
Amen
Amen
Are you getting what you wanted?
Are you getting what you wanted?                                                                                                                                              Amen

What do the lyrics of “Amen” mean to you? Are you excited to see Vincent on the Eurovision stage? Let us know below!

Read more Eurovision 2021 lyrics

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Jimmy Smit
Jimmy Smit
3 years ago

Making the suggestion that this song has anything to do with the death of Vincent Bueno’s second child is franky insulting, to Vincent more than anyone.

If that were remotely true, much of the lyrics about “leaving the neighbourhood” and “just another funeral” would be extremely callous and cold.

Losing a child is one of the most traumatic circumstances that someone go through, and unless Vincent brings that up himself, it really shouldn’t be linked to this song, particularly as Vincent played no part in composing the music or writing the lyrics for ‘Amen’.

Last edited 3 years ago by Jimmy Smit
James
James
3 years ago
Reply to  Jimmy Smit

I only now that his grandmother died (which I saw in his socials) and another relative has cancer, which Vincent confirmed in his interview with Wiwibloggs. Can anyone provide a source about that bit regarding his child?

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
3 years ago

So these are some of the most debated lyrics of the year, which is remarkable considering there is very little of them in the Choruses. The top question is obviously: What does “Amen” mean? In this song, it would appear to mean either “Oh well, life goes on,” or “I still have my faith anyhow, and I wish you well.” The lyrics otherwise are just… rather empty. It looks like the song has gone for musical effect rather than lyrical content, which means that it can be upscaled by good staging when done live. The approach seems to be: “The… Read more »

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

I think “Amen” signifies a finality. The end.

Jay
Jay
3 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

Are you for real? It makes Switzerland and France look as if they have no soul. It is heart wrenching. So emotional

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
3 years ago

Ohh thanks for one of the most entertaining comments of the year. 😀

Colin
Colin
3 years ago

If we were to interpret this as an outcry of a man who has lost his loved one and thus got angry at God, I’d say that the lyrics are quite strong. But as a song about an end of a relationship, I’d say it’s somewhat overblown and clunky. So, it highly depends on that for me.

Kosey
Kosey
3 years ago
Reply to  Colin

I think for me it can be open-ended. I think the listener can impart the meaning that fits for them. I think knowing that he has been through personal tragedy adds a different dimension to this song, whether he deliberately means for that connection or not. There are deeper feelings at play here rather than just a simple break-up situation (I don’t mean to downplay break-ups as I know they can be tough as well, I am just saying there is depth that might not be obviously apparent on first listen).

Kosey
Kosey
3 years ago

What a sad story about his second child. That must have been completely horrific. Sometimes I get suspicious of people with a strong faith but if it helps him to process things like that, then good on him. This is a much better song than last year. It has more layers and can be interpreted in lots of different ways. I like it .

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
3 years ago
Reply to  Kosey

On the contrary, I think if the song were about the death of a child, it would be powerful enough to possibly win ESC. But, being an “open to interpretation song” is a risk if listeners don’t know what it’s about. Ooo discussion. 🙂

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

I really don’t think any parent would speak so resentfully to their dead child, I can’t imagine Vincent would ever even want us to think that – I doubt it occurred to him that people might take that meaning. I believe the song is fiction.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Oh, I think I misunderstood…you meant he was singing to God. I still think it’s too personal to let three others write it.

Kosey
Kosey
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Yes, I was suggesting he is singing to God. Of course, he might not be at all, but the lyrics do fit in that context, hence why I said it could be interpreted in different ways.

Jimmy Smit
Jimmy Smit
3 years ago
Reply to  Kosey

In the previous post about Bueno’s ‘Amen’, Purple already deconstructed this interpretation quite convincingly: “The problem with that interpretation is that the songwriter then becomes the victim of his own faith. He doesn’t have to believe in God, so he doesn’t have to be angry in the first place.” Would someone really sing these words, and in this way, to a God following a traumatic experience? If he’s from a Roman Catholic background, the interpretation seems more unlikely. He also didn’t write or compose the song.

Kosey
Kosey
3 years ago
Reply to  Jimmy Smit

Who knows? I don’t live inside Vincent’s head so I can’t say for sure. He may come out and downright deny there is any connection. But having had a faith and then lost it due to personal sadness, I can definitely relate to the lyrics as if the person is speaking to God. People want to believe (it is comforting) but sometimes their rational brain won’t allow them. So it is entirely possible to have an internal conflict. The video also has him in a confined space (perhaps mentally?) and then at the end he bursts out into light. “Amen”… Read more »

Kosey
Kosey
3 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

It is a matter of personal taste but I like ambiguity. I much prefer songs which can be open to interpretation rather than literal. The same applies to other mediums (films, art, etc). Personally, I wouldn’t want to be literal about the death of a child – I didn’t like Eric Clapton’s effort as I found it too gratuitous but that is an artist’s choice. I find metaphors much more interesting, something which the listener can imagine their own experiences in without it being cliched.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  Kosey

Tobias Carshey, Ashley Hicklin and Jonas Thander wrote this song.

Kosey
Kosey
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Agreed, he didn’t pen the lyrics. But he did decide to take the song on. Of course, he could have had no thought of how the lyrics matched to his own experiences, but that would seem quite odd to me.

Coco
Coco
3 years ago

Good song about a break up, without the words “cry” and “suffer”. Really good lyrics without the cliches and stereotypes.

Esc addict
Esc addict
3 years ago

A grower for me, if the vocals and the staging are perfect it could do well. This is a song that need to be performed on the big stage to be really effective. The end of the song could be impactful with the good staging.