Hooverphonic — the three-piece trip-hop band — will sing “The Wrong Place” at Eurovision 2021. But what is Belgium’s entry all about? And why is that Johnny Cash t-shirt so precious?
Scroll down for “The Wrong Place” lyrics
Belgium in Eurovision 2021: Hooverphonic “The Wrong Place”
Hooverphonic — that’s Alex Callier, Geike Arnaert and Raymond Geerts — boast over 25 years of music industry experience. The band was founded in 1995 by Alex Callier and Raymond Geerts. Geike Arnaert is the group’s current lead vocalist, rejoining the group in 2020 after over a decade away.
They have released over a dozen albums,with Looking for Stars being the most recent one. Prior to their selection for Eurovision, Hooverphonic were best known for “Eden”, “Mad About You” and “2 Wicky”. They have toured the world, including a performance at the opening ceremony of the European football championships in 2000.
Hooverphonic are long-time Eurovision fans, especially Alex. So, the desire to do Eurovision has always been there. However, Alex only wanted to go when he had a song that he felt was the right one. They were due to sing “Release Me” at Eurovision 2020 with Luka Cruysberghs. However, they had to return to the drawing board when the contest was cancelled.
The group explain why they chose “The Wrong Place” for Eurovision 2021. “We didn’t write the song at all with the Eurovision Song Contest in mind, but still the song kept surfacing in the selections. It just didn’t let go of us ”. When the band first heard the song, they felt an instant effect and received a lot of enthusiastic reactions from their friends and family. The song has had a lot of work done on it — there have been 21 mixes of the song.
What do the “The Wrong Place” lyrics mean?
Hooverphonic describes “The Wrong Place” as being about “a one night stand gone wrong” — a woman who wakes up and asks “What the f*** is he doing here?!”. Filled with evocative language, the song describes the guy as someone who gets up “because you need an organic cup of tea” (honey, that’s a red flag). Geike also asserts, “Don’t you ever wear my Johnny Cash t-shirt!”.
Alex explains that “the lyrics are inspired by Lee Hazelwood, who wrote “These Boots Are Made For Walkin'” for Nancy Sinatra, and countless other classics. With the whiff of sarcasm, some sardonic humour, and the well-defined attitude as a result”.
Alex also sheds some light on the Johnny Cash references. “We heard Johnny Cash on the radio during a songwriting session. In jest, we gave ourselves the challenge to incorporate Johnny Cash in our new song. This resulted in the lyric: ‘Don’t you ever dare to wear my Johnny Cash T-shirt’. The rest of the song is built around this phrase.”
These themes carry into the music video. “It’s a recognizable situation for some of us: to wake up in ‘the wrong place’. This doesn’t have to result in a severed head as seen in the clip, but Hooverphonic sure likes this kind of theatrical dark humour. [The Hooverphonic song] “Jackie Cane” is a good example of that. [The director] Jan Boon has once more translated a scene from a non-existing movie into a gorgeous clip. ‘Tarantino meets Tim Burton’, or a fairy tale come true. Visually arresting, 100% Hooverphonic”.
“The Wrong Place” lyrics – Hooverphonic (Belgium ESC 2021)
Written and composed by: Alex Callier and Charlotte Foret
I wake up, and I think
I could use another drink
I’m reaching for a smoke
to forget about last night
last night
I get up cause I need
a shot of instant remedy
I put a record on
that makes me think about last night
last night
It all ended in the weirdest trip
you started acting way too hip
That’s why
I ignored you for a long, long time
but then you had the best opening line
You’re in the wrong place
You’re lying next to me.
I don’t know where to hide
I see your smiley face
that makes me wanna cry
What was I thinking
cause all we did was fight
Don’t you ever dare to wear my Johnny Cash T-shirt
You’re in the wrong place
You’re in the wrong place
You wake up, and you think
You won’t need another drink
You don’t want me to smoke
Though I didn’t stop last night
last night
You get up cause you need
an organic cup of tea
You put a record on
That makes you think about last night
last night
You confused me with your blurry eyes
Thought you were a different kind of guy
That’s why
I took you to my messy place
but it felt as if we were in a different space.
You’re in the wrong place
You’re lying next to me
I don’t know where to hide
I see your smiley face
that makes me wanna cry
What was I thinking
cause all we did was fight
Don’t you ever dare to wear my Johnny Cash T-shirt
You’re in the wrong place
You’re in the wrong place
You’re in the wrong place
You’re in the wrong place
You’re in the wrong place
You’re in the wrong place
Don’t you ever dare to wear my Johnny Cash T-shirt
Will “The Wrong Place” take Hooverphonic to the right place at Eurovision? Let us know below.
their new album is coming soon btw. 7th may!
guess that callier will promote the hell out of it in the interviews in rotterdam!!
p.s: im a hooverphonic fan so dont think im salty to them x
I love this song. Hope they’ll qualify
It’s refreshing (and also a little bit funny) that the oldest artists in the lineup are bringing a song about a bad one night stand, while many young pop artists address more serious subjects like toxic relationships (which by the way, was the theme for Hooverphonic’s song last year, curiously in the voice of a young performer) and mental health. I’m of the opinion that all kinds of personal conflicts can generate good songs, as long they’re sincere, and it seems like the case here. I could imagine the situation happening and the storytelling is very convincing. About the Johnny… Read more »
I don’t like this song; I mean, the quality of the music is good, but I feel they are too old to be talking about “A one-night stand” feels a little like “Teen wolf” or “twilight” for me.
why the downvotes? the song is about two adults who are acting like teenagers, they’re fighting over organic tea and Johnny Cash T-shirts, that doesn’t sound very mature to me
Sure, but the lyrics of Cyprus or Azerbaijan, they are really mature. The lyrics are pure sarcasm, something the band members mentioned already more than once. Or as they said”don’t take it too seriously “!
My God, what century do you live in?
So you are saying adults should behave like teenagers? it is not about been old-fashioned, but im 25, and I dislike those sexual conflicts, so the song sound childish to me. Also, why do you have to compare belgium with azerbaijan or cyprus? obviously they are young ladies who are going to use that in their favor, but belgium is trying the same with no results.
Good song but no charisma.
I meant the sing is good, but the band members have no charisma at all.
sing = song
Like this song! But unpopularopinion this “Don’t you ever dare to wear my Johnny Cash T-Shirt” gets kind of annoying…
That’s super annoying !!!
I loved this song which was in my top 3 but now I am getting more and more bored.
I do not prefer anything.
I am not saying that they should change the lyrics or anything. Only saying that for me after listening 300 times I am bored with this reference/sentence.
Personally, I would rather wear a Britney Spears t-shirt and sing like Johnny Cash than the opposite.
How about a dadi & gagnamagnid T-shirt?
Try to listen for three minutes to Mata Hari, then you will know whow annoying a song can be.
And El Diablo that must be eating tacos and mamasita…what the hell..? Unbearable