Telefon, Telefon


"Telefon, Telefon" was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, performed in German by Margot Hielscher.
The song was performed seventh on the night. 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 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 that she can't talk anymore because her 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.