"De mallemolen" was the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977

Eurovision Song Contest 1977

The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition series, and was held on 7 May 1977 in London. With Angela Rippon as the presenter, the contest was won by Marie Myriam who represented France, with her song "L'oiseau et l'enfant" . This was France's fifth victory, a record, which was equalled...

, performed in Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 by Heddy Lester

Heddy Lester

Heddy Lester is a Dutch singer and actress, best known outside the Netherlands for her participation in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest.- Early career :...

. The song was composed by Lester's brother Frank Affolter, with lyrics by Wim Hogenkamp.

The song is a ballad which compares life to a merry-go-round. Lester sings that the point of life is to take advantage of all the opportunities one is given, no matter how frightening they might appear at the time. Lester recorded the song in four languages, all versions with references to merry-go-rounds and carousels, besides the original Dutch also English ("The World Keeps Turning", with the chorus opening with the line "Like a carousel the world keeps turning"), French ("Le monde tourne comme un manège") and German ("Das Karussel des Lebens").

The song was performed third on the night, following Monaco

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

's Michèle Torr with "Une petite française

Une Petite Française

"Une petite française" was the Monegasque entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, performed in French by French singer Michèle Torr....

" and preceding Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

's Schmetterlinge with "Boom Boom Boomerang

Boom Boom Boomerang

"Boom Boom Boomerang" was the Austrian representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, performed in German by Schmetterlinge....

". At the close of voting, it had received 35 points, placing 12th in a field of 18.

It was succeeded as Dutch representative

Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest

The Netherlands was one of the seven countries competing in the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. It has missed only four contests so far...

 at the 1978 contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1978

The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd of its kind, and was held on 22 April 1978 in Paris. With Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone as the presenters - the first time more than one presenter hosted the contest - the contest was won by Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta who represented Israel, with their...

 by Harmony

Harmony (Dutch band)

Harmony was a Dutch pop band of the '70s. The group represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 in Paris. There the band performed the song 't Is OK and ended in the 13th place with 37 points ....

 with "'t Is OK

't Is OK

"'t Is OK" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed in Dutch by the trio Harmony. The song was composed by Eddy Ouwens, who previously had written the Netherlands' winning entry at the 1975 Contest, Teach-In's "Ding-A-Dong"...

".