Telefon, Telefon
"Telefon, Telefon" (Telephone, Telephone) was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, performed in German by Margot Hielscher.
 | |
|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 1957 entry | |
| Country | |
| Artist(s) | |
| Language | |
| Composer(s) | Friedrich Meyer |
| Lyricist(s) | Ralph Maria Siegel |
| Conductor | Willy Berking |
| Finals performance | |
| Final result | 4th |
| Final points | 8 |
| Entry chronology | |
| ◄ "So geht das jede Nacht" (1956) | |
| "Für zwei Groschen Musik" (1958) ► | |
The song was performed seventh on the night (following the Netherlands' Corry Brokken with "Net als toen" and preceding France's Paule Desjardins with "La belle amour"). At the close of voting, it had received 8 points, placing 4th in a field of 10.
The song is a ballad, with Hielscher singing to a telephone and telling it that she enjoys receiving news (from the lyrics, it is implied that this is news from a lover) via that medium. In the course of the song, she answers the telephone and responds in English, French, Italian and Spanish. This section of the lyrics gave rise to what is generally considered the first "gimmick performance" in Contest history, with Hielscher in fact picking up a real telephone receiver during her performance. At the end of the song, she picks up the telephone again and explains (on the telephone) that she can't talk anymore because her song (which was actually this song) is ending.
It was succeeded as German representative at the 1958 Contest by Hielscher again, this time with "Für zwei Groschen Musik".
An interesting point is that the word Telefon is a German adaptation of the Latin term "telephone" which is very common in German-speaking countries; however, the actual German word for "telephone" is Fernsprecher.
References and external links
| Preceded by co-participation "Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück" by Walter Andreas Schwarz, "So geht das jede Nacht" by Freddy Quinn |
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 |
Succeeded by "Für zwei Groschen Musik" by Margot Hielscher |