Nocturne (Secret Garden)
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| Nocturne | |
|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 1995 entry | |
| Country | Norway |
| Artist(s) | Gunnhild Tvinnereim, Fionnuala Sherry, Rolf Løvland |
| As | Secret Garden |
| Language | Norwegian |
| Composer(s) | Rolf Løvland |
| Lyricist(s) | Petter Skavland |
| Place | 1st |
| Points | 148 |
| Lyrics | from Diggiloo Thrush |
"Nocturne" was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995, performed in Norwegian by Secret Garden representing Norway.
The song is unusual for its relative absence of lyrics - with only 25 words being sung in the original Norwegian version and much of the rest of the song being given over to a violin intermezzo performed by guest Irish musician Fionnuala Sherry. While no other victorious song has featured so few words, Finland would go on to place 15th in the 1998 Contest with "Aava", which contains only six words repeated throughout the song. The victory also represented the second for composer Rolf Løvland, who had previously written "La det swinge". Additionally, it represented the first time in four years that Ireland had not won the Contest, thus bringing to an end the only hat-trick of victories in Eurovision history. Ireland would go on to win the next Contest, achieving the feat of four victories in five years.
Both lyrically and musically, the song owes a debt to the New Age genre. Vocalist Gunnhild Tvinnereim sings that night and day are complementary to each other, and that their progress is natural.
As Norway had previously won the Contest in 1985 with "La det swinge", the second victory allowed the tongue-in-cheek tradition to emerge that Norway could only win in years ending with a 5, a joke referred to by the members of Bobbysocks at the Congratulations special in late 2005, Norway having entered "In My Dreams" that year and not achieved victory.
The song was performed fifth on the night (following Bosnia and Herzegovina's Davor Popović with "Dvadeset prvi vijek" and preceding Russia's Philip Kirkorov with "Kolibelnaya Dlya Vulkana"). At the close of voting, it had received 148 points, placing 1st in a field of 23.
Unusually, "Nocturne" was not released as a single in Norway itself. The first release of the song as a single would come in a comedic cover version by country-inspired band Dusty Cowshit.
The song was succeeded as winner in 1996 by Eimear Quinn representing Ireland with "The Voice".
It was succeeded as Norwegian representative at the 1996 Contest by Elisabeth Andreassen with "I Evighet".
[edit] References
- Diggiloo Thrush. 1995 Norway. Retrieved on February 22, 2007.
- Diggiloo Thrush. 1998 Finland. Retrieved on February 22, 2007.
| Preceded by "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" by Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan |
Eurovision Song Contest winners 1995 |
Succeeded by "The Voice" by Eimear Quinn |
