Åse Kleveland - Intet er nytt under solen - Norway 1966

[umbalaba]

This sounds like a theme from a made James Bond movie, which was never made, but which I would love to see :-)

[ledivo59]

... hats off ... she's singing so easily over this 5/4 rhythm... although the song would've suit her better in a slightly higher range...

[majormarco]

A fun fact was that she actually was the first female singer to wear trousers on the Eurovision Song Contest in the same year the first male singer (Kenneth McKellan) wore a skirt (being a Scott)

[anhaave]

Åse Klevland liknar på ei jente eg kjenner.

[Yulufa]

What a wonderful song and singer! I fell in love with the tember of her voice. Did she win?

[94ayd]

@Yulufa She got 3rd out of 18 with a total of 15 points but that was the best place for Norway until 1985 when they won with La Det Swinger and the following year, this woman hosted the ESC in Bergen, Norway. :-)

[euromaitre]

@Yulufa she did not, she came in third place getting 15 points behind sweden who got three times the top mark of 5 points from Norway, Denmark and Finland plus one other and behind the winner from Austria who got 33 points (I am not sure), but her high placing was liked by more europeans than the swedish one because she got her points from a diversity of many countries.

[FacelessVampire]

beautifuuuuuuuuuul<33333

[Homerjay66666]

Man I miss the sixties (even though I never got to experience it.) You could even watch the Eurovision Song Contest without wanting to kill someone.

[SkisseBlyant]

@Homerjay66666

Agreed!

[LCScampi]

This is great! Woman singer + guitar + orchestra always seems to work well (like Dansevise, and also the Hungarian 1994 one - in fact I think this sounds like a bit of a rip-off of Dansevise, although I'm sure it's not).

This is the pick of the 1966 bunch for me, although that's on a first listening of all of them - perhaps because it doesn't sound particularly like a 60s song. Lovely!

[SurfAndSocks]

dude i know know someone with the same last name holy sheet

[MagicHills]

Scary O_O

[IngerAnna]

Happy 60th birthday today, Åse!

[Maikenhu]

Jeg tror hun har brukt steroider.

[MidnightOverlord]

Hvorfor høres hun ut som en mann?

[matsgull]

Fordi hun er Åse Kleveland.

Hah!

[bobiiij]

this had to be the winner!!!! i just love it :):)..... and do someone knows the story of the song??? i know what she sings but i can't make a story of it.:):)

[jevalles]

One explanation: The poet, having suffered some unnamed past pain, meets an old man, who, noticing, inquires about this pain. The poet explains, but the old man just says, "There's nothing new under the sun". This can have two meanings, one is that past pain is merely relative to one's future, or, on the other hand, that there is no hope, only to end up disappointed in life, like the old man. The poet does not answer this question, and leaves it up to the listener to decide.

[bobiiij]

thx ;) i think i get it:)

[setheurovision94]

That's another delightful discovery from 1966 that I make. A really moving, melancholic guitar melody.

[tasosk3]

Ah, sb seems to have taken the cue from me saving this in my favorites! :-D Yes, this is one of my favorite songs from the 60s (and God knows there are many!), a truly original song with haunting lyrics and melody, from the singer who'd get to host the contest 20 years later - and even served as Norway's Minister of Culture for a time! Btw, I fully recommend checking out the whole 1966 contest, it's one of truly great quality (and since you're there, do also 1963, one of my all-time favorites!)

[setheurovision94]

(Perhaps my favouriting "Nygammal vals" attracted your attention as well?). I'm gonna take your word on it when I go Eurovision-searching.

[ESCsince1968]

66 is a funny year to assess. At 1st glance there are no outstanding songs giving the impression that its a mediocre year, but IMO there are some quite intereting songs & a number of equally good quality. Not to upset you T. but there are IMO better songs that Seth could review (shock & horror!)

[ESCsince1968]

Apart from Lux which I've discussed with Seth there is the fab Portuguese song, the lovely Yugoslav ballad, the chirpy Danish, the beautiful Tereza for Monaco, even Germany has an interesting song. I even like the underrated Kenneth McKeller.

[tasosk3]

Save for the UK entry (which I can't stand - I actually believe they and the French were rightly punished for sending sub-standard stuff that year), I agree with all the other songs you mention (esp. Lux & Yug). But I couldn't disagree with you more on this one - this, for me, is definitely one of the most original and attention-grabbing entries of the decade in all aspects (music, lyrics, arrangement). I guess such songs either appeal greatly to a person or not at all.

[ESCsince1968]

As I've hinted already 66 had a lot of underrated, interesting & appealing songs, but none of them compare to Non Ho L'Eta, L'Amour est Bleu, La,La,La, La Source, Jedan Dan, Congrats, Puppet On A String, I Belong, I Love The Little Things, S'en Va Pas & most of 69; & that's not all.

[tasosk3]

And, to your suggestions, let me add Sweden (which I know you don't like, but I nevertheless love), Spain (not a popular choice, but a song I have a soft spot for) and Italy (Modugno's performance alone makes this unworthy of 0p). I guess that, for me, 1966 was a VERY good year, after all - IMO, the best of the 60s after '63 and '69.

[ESCsince1968]

I never said I disliked Norway or Sweden. I sais Icouldnt see why so many rated it so highly as IMO there are many better songs. I agree Norway is special, its just never overly appealed to me too much. France I thought was dreadful as were Bel, Neth, Fin & Swit & (sorry) Italy. The Spanish song has appeal for sheer melodramatic performance

[setheurovision94]

Glad you agree with me on the UK; I can't believe it finished higher than Luxembourg and Germany. It seemed the first time the two big forces in the contest sent really substandard stuff, and yet even that wasn't enough to kick the UK out of the top-10. Really, "A man without love" is so sickeningly old-fashioned, and the guy's voice not to my taste either. Another evidence as to why the 1, 3 and 5 point system sucked (still amazing that Ireland gave the UK a full score!).

[tasosk3]

They did a get a low place by their standards (only the second time they were out of the top-5 after their 1957 debut, and their worst placing until 1978), but yes, indeed, 9th was still too high for a song that even then must have seemed way too corny and old-fashioned. But 1966 was the 1st glaring example of a corrupted, "neighbour-friendly" vote, with Ireland voting for the UK, Portugal for Spain and vice versa, Netherlands for Belgium, the Nordic countries for Sweden... and the list goes on.

[lwsmackie4]

*cough* *cough* Greece commenting about neighbourhood voting *cough* *cough*

[lwsmackie4]

and its hardly an outstanding song - pretty average I would say - listen to the 60s this song is nothing out of the ordinary - sometimes I think you lot are in a different planet (or dont you just not get out much?) luv lws xxxx ;)

[setheurovision94]

A song's magic speaks for itself, and very plainly here. Who's on the different planet? :Þ

[lwsmackie4]

im on planet CRAP-ESC-ENTRIES, didnt you know?

I think the rest of Europe calls it the UK! ;)

[tasosk3]

Three remarks:

1)Oh, come ON, man!

2) Not original? Perhaps not for the period's pop music in general - although I'm not sure that Europe as a whole had gotten round to folk music - but for Eurovision? Maybe you're being a bit too snobbish? Or is this your way of coming after me - as Seamus says - for speaking against the UK entry? :-P

3) Still, despite (or because of?) all of the acbove, I luv you anyway (but you already know this, don't you?)

[lwsmackie4]

lol - i dont like the UK entry but I know the family I have to defend it!

[tasosk3]

Hey, it's 1966, we haven't began taking part yet (and neither has Cyprus *cough*), so we can be as critical as we want! :-P

[ESCsince1968]

So I MUST be "too corny" & "sickenly" old-fashioned for A Man Without Love. For the record, it would have been the type of song that I & most Irish would have been exposed to in that era. And that probably accounts for why it got one of the best votes ever from Ireland in that voting era. Ireland & the UK dont have too much tradition of neighbourly voting for each other.

[lwsmackie4]

Spot on - this is why Ireland gave it 5 points & not because of bias

[ESCsince1968]

I was going to warn that after making comments as above beware that Lewis would be after you - he knows the family. But I see that he's already had his say!

[lwsmackie4]

Good memory ( ps I hate the entry!!)

[tripletwin]

Tasos, as usual you are spot on! Thanks for turning me onto this entry. It reminds me a little of the winning 1963 Danish song--the guitar, the jazz inflections. The combination of guitar and orchestra is unusual and wonderful. As for vintage Eurovision years, I would place '67 ahead of '66, with particularly fine offerings from Portugal, France, Luxembourg, e tutti quanti. '66 had quite a number of clunkers: Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Belgium, et al.

[tasosk3]

Thank you for the flattering remarks - and I agree with you on almost all of your points (still, Luxembourg '66 a clunker?! I beg to differ). And you're quite right, this is indeed reminiscent of "Dansevise" in the way the guitar interacts with the orchestra and characterizes the song's arrangement - very astute observation indeed.

[tripletwin]

Whoops! I didn't mean Luxembourg '66. I meant Switzerland '66. I stand corrected.

[casiokeys]

åse was gorgous then and she is still devine today

[steffzzey]

lol

[catokoch]

åse, det her er sinnsykt bra... one of my eurovision favourites

[Lodestone1968]

Great song! It sounds so familiar to me. Is there an English language version?

[toresbe]

I don't think so. It's composed by a Norwegian composer, Arne Bendiksen.

[Lodestone1968]

Thanks toresbe, I put this on my iPod.

[jevalles]

Jeg vet om en gammel mann, en som har levd lenge

Han er så snill når han spør meg om hva som har hendt meg

Og om solen har brent

Jeg prater og søker trøst, han gynger i stolen

Han sier med sprukken røst: "Intet er nytt under solen"

Men hva har vel det å si om ting har hendt før meg?

Nei, det som gjør meg så vondt med alt det som han visste

At hans øyne er triste

Hva har jeg å vente på meg selv der i stolen?

Når han er så trist der nå, intet er nytt under solen

[jevalles]

I know an old man, someone who has lived long

He said, so kind, asking me what has happened

And if the sun had burnt me

I speak and seek comfort, he rocks in his chair there

He says with a broken voice: "There's nothing new under the sun"

But why should it matter if things happened before me?

No, what pains me so with all that he knows

Is that his eyes were sad

What can expect for myself in that rocking chair?

When he's so sad there now, nothing new under the sun

[Lodestone1968]

Thanks, I just love this song. I appreciate the Norsk and English versions. Thanks for posting.

[bergen81norway]

Fab song this is