"Portugal no coração" was the Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 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 Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 by Os Amigos

Os Amigos

Os Amigos was a Portuguese band from the seventies.The band members were Fernanda Picarra, Luisa Basto, Edmundo Silva, Ana Bola, Fernando Tordo and Paulo de Carvalho...

.

The song is a ballad in praise of Portugal itself. The song is about freedom, brotherhood and hope.
Many of the verses of the lyrics are acclamations of the end of the dictatorship that lasted for 48 years, and the end of the wars that the Portuguese people had been forced to fight on the African colonies by that dictatorship.
It's also a love hymn from Portuguese people to their ex-colonies people, whom they had fought.

The song was performed eighth on the night, following Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

's Anne-Marie B. with "Frère Jacques" and preceding the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's Lynsey de Paul

Lynsey De Paul

Lynsey de Paul is an English singer-songwriter. Allmusic journalist, Craig Harris stated, "one of the first successful female singer-songwriters in England, de Paul has had an illustrious career".-Early life:De Paul was born to Meta and Herbert Rubin, a property developer...

 & Mike Moran with "Rock Bottom

Rock Bottom (Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran song)

"Rock Bottom" was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, performed in English by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran.The song says that when we are in a bad situation we should work to solve problems and not be pessimistic about tragedies...

". At the close of voting, it had received 18 points, placing 14th in a field of 18.

It was succeeded as Portuguese representative

Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest

Portugal has entered the Eurovision Song Contest 45 times since its debut in the 1964 contest. Portugal has missed only three contests since the country's debut in 1964....

 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 Gemini

Gemini (Portuguese band)

Gemini was a Portuguese band from the 1970s. The members were Fatima Padinha, Teresa Miguel, Tozé Brito and Mike Sergeant.In 1977 they participated in the Portuguese national final in order to represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Portugal no coração...

 with "Dai li dou

Dai Li Dou

Dai li dou, or alternatively Dai-li-dou as it is listed in the official Eurovision website, was the Portuguese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed in Portuguese by Gemini....

".