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Introduction
Eurovision 1959 was hosted in Cannes, France, at the time the southernmost host city. I find it weird that France has only hosted three Eurovisions, the next in 1961 and the last in 1978. France has won Eurovision five times, but one was a four-way tie where the Netherlands hosted next year, and one was after they had hosted last year and three years ago, so the UK hosted next time instead. The UK has filled in as a host country five times, the Netherlands once, but never France. That feels odd for a big-name country, doesn’t it?
In the last contest of the 1950’s, eleven countries competed for the throne. The United Kingdom returned, beginning its ongoing streak of perfect attendance, while Luxembourg skipped. Monaco, another country that usually didn’t send its own residents, was the only newcomer. At the time, my oldest grandparent was 20 years old, and I believe he got married that year. They’re still married today.
The stage of 1959 had revolving doors to show backdrops representing each country, which is a step up in flashiness, or should I say Eurovisioniness, from previous years. These backdrops were used to introduce every contestant and their country, like a predecessor to the flag parades we know today, and every singer performed in front of their backdrop. It was also the only contest where the top three winners all performed at the end.
One more fun fact: 8 out of 11 songs this year are in Germanic languages, and three are in German—more than any other language. Even though I can speak French too, German is a cooler language and more personal to me. Ich hoffe ganz arg, dass die nächste Eurovision wieder Musik auf Deutsch hat.
France: Oui, oui, oui, oui
Artist: Jean Philippe
Language: French
Key: G major, then A♭ major, then A major, all tuned up slightly like Eurovision 1956
A lot of people who don’t speak French find “oui” a hilarious word, and I must admit the repeated “oui” is pretty funny. If this song were performed today, there’d be a ton of memes labeled “wiwiwiwi”, just like all those “bejba” memes from Poland’s ultra-generic pop song this year.
The song itself is cheesy in a Eurovision way. It’s about going on a worldwide trip by boat and names several tourist destinations. It feels strangely comforting to know that double key changes have been a Eurovision trope since the old days.
Denmark: Uh, jeg ville ønske jeg var dig
Artist: Birthe Wilke, half of the duet from 1957
Language: Danish, which may sound drunk compared to other Scandinavian languages, but sounds cutesy compared to German
Key: F major; thankfully, the songs aren’t halfway between keys this time
Note that the “uh” in the title means a delighted “oh”, not a stuttery “uh”. The title means “Oh, I wish I could be you”, and it’s a sugar-sweet tune directed from a woman to a man she’s fallen for and hopes to marry. I can taste the diabetes regardless of language, thanks to the cheery instrumental, the singer’s excited tone, and her loving hand gestures.
There is a break from the lyrics where the singer dances from side to side and the camera zooms out. The instrumental in this part sounds like an opening of a plucky 50’s cartoon. I am amused that this song came two years after Birthe and Gustav’s big, wet kiss. It’s like Birthe Wilke is telling a love story in reverse. I’ve heard that Denmark sends a lot of sappy, romance-oriented songs, so this is on-brand for them.
Italy: Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)
Artist: Domenico Modugno, returning from 1958
Language: Italian
Key: D major, E♭ major
This is much more somber than the last song; it’s about a collapsing romance that feels like it’s drenched in rain. This song starts out slow and dreary, but then it picks up the pace and gets mildly jazzy. It feels like they tried imitating Modugno’s successful song last year, but I don’t find it quite as memorable. The intro takes up enough time that I feel like the song ends prematurely, before it’s explored all its ideas. At least it has some dramatic catchy hooks like the last Italian entry.
Monaco: Mon ami Pierrot
Artist: Jacques Pills
Language: French
Key: I’d interpret it as E minor, but it took two listens to pin it down, and it deviates from the key a lot. If someone asked me this song’s key because they were making a mashup, my heart would sink because I couldn’t give a simple answer.
In early Eurovision, Monaco was a wildcard country just like Luxembourg. Most often they’d send someone from France, but sometimes they’d throw a curveball. One year, they even sent someone from Luxembourg while Luxembourg sent a German. Was there any functional difference between representing Monaco and representing Luxembourg back then? If I was French and alive during this era of Eurovision, I don’t know if I’d be pleased that French singers had two nations as backup options, or if I’d find that totally unfair. At least with today’s wildcard country, there’s a clear difference: San Marino usually sends Italians who sing in English, Italy sends Italians who sing in Italian. If Liechtenstein participated, they’d just be a backup choice for German-speaking countries.
This song is an energetic trip through tons of surprising chord progressions, but it’s so short! Only about 2:10 minutes long. I think it lacks direction and doesn’t fully explore its ideas. As creative as its composition is, it’s rather inaccessible and I can see why it got the fewest points.
Netherlands: Een beetje (the winner)
Artist: Teddy Scholten, who is a woman
Language: Dutch; it’s all Germanic from here on out
Key: E♭ major
What comes to your mind when you think “the Netherlands”? If it’s a windmill, then you’re clearly not alone. That’s what the stage organizers chose for the Netherlands’ backdrop. It makes me laugh so hard that Teddy sings in front of a windmill photo, as though people would otherwise forget which country she’s from. It’s like putting the Sydney Opera House behind an Australian singer, or the Christ the Redeemer statue behind a Brazilian singer. This backdrop would have perfectly fit “De vogels von Holland”. I should also mention this song had the same lyricist as the Netherlands’ last winner: Willy van Hemert.
This song is famous for being more lighthearted than any prior winner. It’s about a woman whose lover asks if she’s faithful, and instead of a straight yes or no, she says “een beetje” (a little bit). She admits everyone is in love at least once, and you don’t have to speak Dutch to sense her playful attitude. Her mischievous smiles and shrugs convey it well enough. You absolutely don’t have to speak Dutch to enjoy the many rhymes with “een beetje”.
This is why I feel so mixed about the language rule’s abolition. It gives smaller countries more of a chance and allows creative language combinations, but if a song is fun enough to listen to, it doesn’t matter what language it’s in, and everyone can enjoy it. I know a song in a language I don’t speak fluently has succeeded when I don’t feel a need to look up translated lyrics. “Eres tú” from 1973 is a great example, and I am super excited to reach that contest so I can talk about how amazing that song is. This song is also a good example—I can understand its playfulness without knowing the language.
There are a lot of alternate language releases of this song—German, French, Italian, Swedish, and on a British TV show, English. I’ll only talk about one version here, since I’ve already said so much about this song. “Sei ehrlich” (Be honest) is the German version, and it’s told from the reverse perspective: a woman who wants to know for sure if the one she loves is the first to love her. It feels like the German version asks a question, and the Dutch version gives an answer.
(Wow, this was my longest Eurovision song review yet! Guess there was a lot to unpack.)
Germany: Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen gehen
Artist: Alice and Ellen Kessler, the first contestants born in East Germany
Language: German
Key: A♭ major
This is a duet between twins about their desire to do nothing but dance this evening. They put on a cute show, and their dance moves aren’t perfectly aligned; the twin on the right is more jumpy. I think the imperfections give charm to their dancing. It’s a simple song with a simple premise, and the twin’s voices work well together. Feels like some fluff before one of the more complex songs.
Sweden: Augustin
Artist: Brita Borg
Language: Swedish
Key: D major, E♭ major
This song tells a story of a woman nearly 22 years old who wants to hurry up and go out with a handsome boy named Augustin, despite her mother’s concerns. However, the singer clearly sounds much older, and was 32 years old. I know it’s common in movies for high schoolers to be played by older adults, but it’s stranger when done in music. I’m stumped to say much else about this OK 50’s song.
Switzerland: Irgendwoher
Artist: Christa Williams
Language: German
Key: D♭ major
The French presenter warned us this song is a little melancholic, and it is. It’s about a woman who hopes to find love “from somewhere”, which is what the title means. At one point, I thought she sang the word “Dummerchen” (dummy or doofus), but it turns out it was “du Märchen” (you fairytale). I will amuse myself by pretending it’s “Dummerchen” anyway, because “Dummerchen von Glück, bitte komm doch zurück” sounds funny and I don’t think much else of this song.
Austria: Der K und K Kalypso aus Wien
Artist: Ferry Graf
Language: German
Key: D major, E♭ major
Another short song barely over two minutes, this song has a clear comedic message: calypso music doesn’t have to be from Latin America or Spain, and this is calypso from Vienna, complete with yodeling. I can hear the singer holding back laughter in the second chorus. It’s possibly the earliest example of a country sending a genre you wouldn’t expect from them. By 50’s Eurovision standards, this is a massive deviation from the other songs, but by today’s standards, it’s not that different from most. Still a great early example of countries sending something goofy.
United Kingdom: Sing, Little Birdie
Artist: Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, a married couple who shares a Wikipedia article
Language: English
Key: A major, B♭ major starting the last verse, B major when the last chorus repeats
These two singers were married until they died in 2018 and 2020 respectively, but unlike Denmark’s couple in 1957, who never married as far as I know, they went no further than holding hands. They just sang a pleasant duet about their happy marriage that started the British tradition of finishing second place. Teddy carried a toy bird that would “sing” the melody of the flutes, and he responded by whistling; this playful gimmick surely helped their score. Compared to Denmark’s song this year, the catchiness outweighs the sugariness.
Unlike the first British entry, this song uses what the English language is best for: repeated catchy hooks whose melodies match syllable stress. It’s memorable and sticks in your head after only a few listens. Funny that it wasn’t until the fourth contest than a song in English performed successfully.
Belgium: Hou toch van mij
Artist: Bob Benny
Language: Dutch
Key: C major
The last song of this contest starts as a slow ballad but picks up the pace in its verses. It’s about the singer’s hope that his love loves him too, and compared to the other song in Dutch, I find it forgettable. I assume that at this point, the songs’ ordering was random, because “Sing, Little Birdie” would have been a perfect finale for this contest.
Who’s my favorite?
The UK sent a catchy song that could only work in English, and Austria sent a humorous genre oddity, but no one came close to leaving as big an impression on me as the Netherlands. I mean, you saw that my review of their song was by far the longest. It left a big impact on later contests’ senses of humor, and its playful tone goes beyond language barriers. Just like two years before, their winner is my winner: Netherlands, Een beetje. For the first time, my list of winners has a repeated country:
- Germany, 1
- Netherlands, 2
- Sweden, 1
- (2 winners)
Will I agree with Luxembourg’s first victory in 1961? We’ll just have to see.
General thoughts:
Eurovision 1959 lightened the tone compared to the first three contests, shown by the world trip song from France, the saccharine love song from Denmark, the twin girls from Germany, the British married couple, the Austrian spin on calypso music, and the Netherlands’ iconic winner. Between this tonal shift and the staging representative of each country, this contest changed the course of Eurovision history and boosted its popularity. It’s no wonder that in the next two contests, four nations from Europe’s corners would join the party.
See you next time as Norway joins the first Eurovision of the 1960’s.
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