# Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959

Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 with the song "Irgendwoher", written by Lothar Löffler, and performed by Christa Williams. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), selected its entry through a national final after having used one previously in 1956 and 1957, but choosing to internally select in 1958.

## Before Eurovision
### Grand Prix Suisse de la Chanson Eurovision 1959
#### Format

Grand Prix Suisse de la Chanson Eurovision 1959 consisted of two semi-finals, each consisting of eight songs, and a final with nine songs. Each semi-final was voted on by a 40-member jury in Basel, Geneva, Lugano, and Zurich, which were a combination of representatives of the public and representatives from the music industry. In the final, four groups of fifteen-member juries from Basel, Lausanne, Lugano, and Zurich voted on the nine songs. The composers of the songs were kept anonymous until after the results of the final were announced.

#### Competing Entries

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) received 262 submissions. On 14 and 15 November 1958, a jury appointed by SRG SSR chose sixteen to compete in Grand Prix Suisse de la Chanson Eurovision 1959. Eight entries were sung in French, seven in German, and one in Italian. Among the participants was Mathé Altéry who previously represented France in 1956.
Competing Entries :
| Language | Performing Artist(s) | Performing Artist(s) | Song | Songwriter(s) | Songwriter(s) |
| Language | Semi-Final | Final | Song | Composer | Lyricist |
| French | Jo Roland | Jo Roland | "Adieu Madeleine" | Hazy Osterwald | Heinz Liechti |
| French | Unknown | – | "Berceuse" | Unknown | Unknown |
| French | Unknown | – | "C'est fou c'que tu ressembles à ta mère" | Unknown | Unknown |
| French | Lucie Dolène | Mathé Altéry | "Fallait pas faire ça" | Dominique Rolland | Dominique Rolland |
| French | Unknown | – | "Les jours sont bien trop courts pour moi" | Unknown | Unknown |
| French | Lucie Dolène | Mathé Altéry | "Marie-toi, Marie, marie-toi" | Pierre Brenner | Roland Schweizer |
| French | Unknown | – | "Romance pour un chien" | Unknown | Unknown |
| French | Jo Roland | Jo Roland | "Sire le roi" | J.-Ch. Brunschwyler | J.-Ch. Brunschwyler |
| German | Unknown | – | "Dein Lächeln" | Unknown | Unknown |
| German | Unknown | Christa Williams & Jo Roland | "Die Spieldose" | Lutz G. Harteck | Alfred Lienhard |
| German | Unknown | Jo Roland | "Ein kleines Schiff in einer alten Branntweinflasche" | Jo Graf | Jo Graf |
| German | Unknown | Christa Williams | "Irgendwoher" | Lothar Löffler [de] | Lothar Löffler [de] |
| German | Unknown | – | "Kleines Sommerhaus in Ascona" | Unknown | Unknown |
| German | Unknown | Christa Williams & Jo Roland | "Mein kleines Lied" | Georg Betz | Georg Betz |
| German | Unknown | Christa Williams | "Mit küssen fängt die Liebe an" | W. Büttiker | W. Büttiker |
| Italian | Unknown | – | "Temporale d'estate" | Unknown | Unknown |

#### First Semi-Final

Swiss French broadcaster Télévision suisse romande (TSR) staged the first semi-final of Grand Prix Suisse de la Chanson Eurovision 1959 on 15 December 1958 at 21:00 CET (19:00 UTC) in Geneva. It was hosted by Colette Jean and Pierre Billon. All eight French songs were performed in this semi-final. The songs that failed to qualify are "Berceuse", "C'est fou c'que tu ressembles à ta mère", "Les jours sont bien trop courts pour moi", and "Romance pour un chien", but it's unknown who performed them. Les Quatre Jeudis performed as the interval act during the voting.
1st Semi-Final - 15 December 1958 :
| Artist | Song | Result |
| Jo Roland | "Adieu Madeleine" | Advanced |
| Jo Roland | "Sire le roi" | Advanced |
| Lucie Dolène | "Fallait pas faire ça" | Advanced |
| Lucie Dolène | "Marie-toi, Marie, marie-toi" | Advanced |
| Claude Evelyne | Unknown | Eliminated |
| Claude Evelyne | Unknown | Eliminated |
| Dominique Rolland | Unknown | Eliminated |
| Pierre Cavalli [de] | Unknown | Eliminated |

#### Second Semi-Final

Swiss German and Romansh broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen der deutschen und rätoromanischen Schweiz (SF DRS) staged the second semi-final of Grand Prix Suisse de la Chanson Eurovision 1959 on 12 January 1959 at 21:00 CET (19:00 UTC) in the Bâsel Studios, in Basel. It was hosted by Trudi Roth and Albert Werner. The seven German songs and one Italian song were performed in this semi-final. Anita Traversi, Christa Williams, and Jo Roland performed all the songs in this semi-final, with the latter two artists performing three of the songs as a duo, however it's unknown which songs they sang. Nuk the Clown [de] performed as the interval act during the voting.
2nd Semi-Final - 12 January 1959 :
| Song | Result |
| "Dein Lächeln" | Eliminated |
| "Die Spieldose" | Advanced |
| "Ein kleines Schiff in einer alten Branntweinflasche" | Advanced |
| "Irgendwoher" | Advanced |
| "Kleines Sommerhaus in Ascona" | Eliminated |
| "Mein kleines Lied" | Advanced |
| "Mit küssen fängt die Liebe an" | Advanced |
| "Temporale d'estate" | Eliminated |

#### Final

TSR staged the final on 22 February 1959 at 20:45 CET (18:45 UTC) in the Théâtre de Beaulieu in Lausanne. It was presented by Claude Evelyne and Joël Curchod, and musically directed by Cedric Dumont, who conducted all of the songs. Les Guaranis performed as the interval acts during the voting.
The voting consisted of regional jurors from Basel, Zurich, Lugano, and Lausanne which consisted of 10 members each, who each voted their desired song. At the close of the voting, Christa Williams emerged as the winner with the song "Irgendwoher" after gaining 9 points from Lugano and 5 from Zürich. Known results are listed in the chart below.
Final - 22 February 1959 :
| R/O | Artist | Song | Result | Place |
| 1 | Jo Roland | "Ein kleines Schiff in einer alten Branntweinflasche" | Unknown | Unknown |
| 2 | Mathé Altéry | "Marie-toi, Marie, marie-toi" | 13 | 2 |
| 3 | Christa Williams | "Irgendwoher" | 14 | 1 |
| 4 | Jo Roland | "Adieu Madeleine" | 10 | 3 |
| 5 | Christa Williams & Jo Roland | "Die Spieldose" | Unknown | Unknown |
| 6 | Mathé Altéry | "Fallait pas faire ça" | Unknown | Unknown |
| 7 | Christa Williams | "Mit küssen fängt die Liebe an" | Unknown | Unknown |
| 8 | Jo Roland | "Sire le roi" | 10 | 3 |
| 9 | Christa Williams & Jo Roland | "Mein kleines Lied" | Unknown | Unknown |

## At Eurovision

At the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 in Cannes, the Swiss entry was the eighth entry of the night following Sweden and preceding Austria. At the close of voting, Switzerland had received fourteen points in total; finishing in fourth place out of eleven countries.
The Swiss entry was conducted at the contest by Franck Pourcel.

### Voting

Every participating broadcaster assembled a jury panel of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.