Lenita Gentil - Eles foram tão longe (1982)

It's time to focus on a singer that tried to go to ESC twice, but never got a chance (so far) to go there

Lenita Gentil is one of the portuguese most known singers, mostly for her fado work (she's known as a fado singer anyway)

For the ESC fans, she tried to go to ESC in 1971 with the dramatic song "Anda ver o sol", only to be last out of 9 songs and in 1989 with the catchy "Canção da roda e fantasia", again last out of 5 songs

The song "Eles foram tão longe" was released as a single in 1982, becoming Lenita's biggest hit of the decade and it's about a group of navigators that leave their country, home and friends, hoping to discover new lands

At this point, the author and composer of the song, Carlos Paião, was at the peak of his popularity, mostly due to his participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Play-back", only having 9 points and a shared 18th place

This didn't mean his carrer was over and in a short time, he became one of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of the 80's until his sudden death in August 1988 in a car accident. He's still regarded nowadays as one of the most influent singer-songwriters ever in Portugal