Apr 3, 2016

165/917 Östen Warnerbring: Som en dröm (Sweden 1967)

Dramatic ballads were hardly Sweden's main area in the Eurovision Song Contest (and it still isn't). In 1967 they tried in that genre and resultwise they succeeded. Performancewise I am not so sure.


After several, more or less joyful songs Sweden changed the pace in 1967 with a pompously arranged ballad sung by Östen Warnerbring. The recorded version of Som en dröm is masterfully arranged and the toneful voice of the singer fits the mood perfectly.

In Vienna, for some reason, the song is nowhere as convincing. Maybe there was something in the sound mixing of the television broadcast, or the orchestra was not up to the task but the overall package just does not work on stage (in front of the dreadful rotating mirrors). The melody is there and Östen sings his heart out which makes the entry plausible, but the orchestra sounds lazy and dull compared to the passionate recorded version. It could have been so much better.

The juries didn't seem to mind and the song finished in the middle of scoreboard with plausible 8th position. One can only wonder how it would have fared with better sound.

Östen Warnerbring tried many times after 1967 to get to Eurovision Song Contest again both as an artist and a composer. My favourite of these entries is the 1983 song Se, which he wrote for Karin Glenmark to sing. But in 1983 it was impossible to beat certain miss Häggkvist.

My points 3/5.