Country Belgium Language French Conductor Léo Souris | Artist(s) Fud Leclerc Lyricist(s) Robert Montal | |
Composer(s) Jean Miret,
Jacques Say | ||
"Messieurs les noyés de la Seine" ("The drowned men of the Seine") was the first Belgian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956, performed in French by Fud Leclerc.
The song was performed third on the night (following Switzerland's Lys Assia with "Das alte Karussell" and preceding Germany's Walter Andreas Schwarz with "Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück"). The scoreboard for the 1956 Contest has never been made public, so it is impossible to say with certainty where the song placed. However rumors suggest the song was placed third.
The song is in the chanson style typical of the early years of the Contest, with Leclerc opining that he is trapped in a loveless marriage and wishes to drown himself in the Seine.
The song was accompanied at the 1956 contest by Mony Marc with "Le plus beau jour de ma vie" and was succeeded as Belgian representative at the 1957 contest by Bobbejaan Schoepen with "Straatdeuntje".