Gåte ‘s «Ulveham» is not an original, it’s a copy of Marit Jensen Lillebuen ballad!

Photo credit : Photo by Tore Sætre, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In recent weeks, there has been much discussion about the Trønder folk rock band Gåte's MGP contribution «Ulveham».

The song’s lyrics were derived from verses written in the 19th century, posing a problem in relation to the European Broadcasting Union EBU’s rules for the Eurovision Song Contest, which stipulate that entries must consist of original material.

NRK even reported on the last weekend in January that Gåte now had to sit down with paper and pen and create a new and own text for «Ulveham», Norwegian newspaper VG reports.

Sæmund Fiskvik, with decades of experience as a record company director, head of the Spellemannprisen, and head of the record companies’ interest organisation IFPI, believes it is not sufficient.

Sæmund Fiskvik expresses to VG his belief that the chorus in «Ulveham» bears such a striking resemblance to Lillebuen’s tune, that he is genuinely taken aback by NRK‘s decision to permit the song to participate in MGP.

«Ulveham» is inspired by a ballad written by the folk singer Marit Jensen Lillebuen (1879–1975) and is the foundation of the musical composition.

Stine Osmo Lieng, who serves as the general manager of the industry organisation Musikkforlegrene, holds the view that the stipulation mandating that an MGP song be entirely original is not fulfilled in the instance of «Ulveham» according to Norwegian newspaper. This is due to the fact that the song contains elements that are not entirely original.

Here is the original – you need to listen to the version Gåte presented in the MPG semi-final to hear even more similarities – however, the song still contains elements that are not completely original!