The song is often misinterpreted as a power ballad , sung from the point of view of a man who has been waiting for the girl of his dreams to fall in love with him . On some level , he seems to recognise that she will never share his feelings , but he still holds them regardless . The title appears in the chorus , specifically " What 's another year/To someone who is getting used to being alone ? " In other words , he is prepared to wait as long as it takes . In reality , the song was written by Shay Healy ( who also wrote " the Ultimate Country and Western Song " performed by Billy Connolly ) about watching his father coming to terms with the death of his wife and companion , Mairin . When showband frontman Glen Curtin , the original choice of singer , turned down " What 's Another Year " , the song was rearranged by Bill Whelan to suit Johnny Logan 's singing style . Whelan later composed Riverdance for the interval entertainment slot at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin . Musically , the song is easily identifiable by its saxophone introduction played by Scottish musician Colin Tully , who now lives and teaches in Wales . The success of " What 's Another Year " launched Logan 's Eurovision career ( he would go on to success in 1987 with " Hold Me Now " ) . In addition , the song was selected as one of the 14 greatest Eurovision entries in a special to mark the 50th anniversary of the contest . It was covered by Shane MacGowan of The Pogues in the " Song for Eurotrash " cover album of 1998
1994 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1994
What's Another Year