Norway Eurovision 2024 Reactionalysis - Music Teacher Analyses Ulveham by Gåte (Reaction) 

So Gåte's text is based on and distilled from an ancient ballad about a maiden who lost her mother when she was born, but later got a stepmother. The stepmother was so jealous of the girl that she transformed her first into a sword and placed it in the king's courtyard. However, the girl's inherent goodness also manifested in the sword, even though she had been changed into an object. All the finest knights and soldiers favoured this sword above all, and the envious stepmother then transformed the maiden into a needle. The most skilled tailors loved this needle and sewed the most beautiful clothes with it. The stepmother grew even angrier and turned the girl into a wolf, cursing her to roam the forest forever, unable to rid herself of the wolf form unless she drank her brother's blood. And so it was. The maiden wandered through the woods. For eight years, the stepmother stayed indoors, afraid to venture out because she knew the wolf maiden was out there. But then she became pregnant and wanted to go to church. The wolf pounced on her, seized the stepmother's blue cloak, pulled her off her horse, tore out her heart, and drank her blood and thereby also her brother's blood. With that act, the curse and enchantment were lifted, and the maiden emerged, just as beautiful and kind as before, and returned home to her father.

I absolutely adore this track. Her vocal technique and that control, oh man, plus the haunting melody, the drums, the guitar... ahhhh

This year is really messed up, this should be the contender to win...

Gåte means riddle and is the name of the band (pronounced like Gaw-teh). Ulveham means wolf clothing/wolf skin. The band has existed since 1999., they combine Norwegian traditional folk music with rock. Great reaction, cheers from Norway.

What I feel they are doing, is that the rhythm feels very urgent but also that the bass goes down when she goes up and this makes it feel like it's going to happen right now, whatever it is. If you've ever been in a forrest on a dark night during a thunderstorm, you know the feeling I get from this song.

Yees! My winner! It's simply magnificent!

My winner this year from the get go! Cheers for your reaction!❤🎉

I'm so happy you reacted to Norway! 🥳

I literally just heard this song for the first time as you uploaded this video, and I really really love this. I know it's not going to appeal to juries but it's definitely appealing to my prog-folk loving self and going straight to my playlists. This year has some real bangers,,,,

Nice reaction! This song gives me all the feels, one of the best Eurovision entries ever. Let's vote them into the top 3!

In a just world this would be top 3

I only know that this song has landed in my personal second place and has remained there untouched and unchallenged, not even by Belgium which I love and has conquered its third place and has remained there too. I think this song is perfect. Fairly simple in structure but composed and executed with strength and skill. Her vocals are out of this world and the rest of the band is full in. Gåte is pronounced GAWW-TAY

The instrument: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyckelharpa

Nice reaction 🤘 I love this song and performance😍 Gåte (gaw-teh) has been a band for years and are known for being one of the best live bands in Norway🤘 Their genre is Norwegian folk music mixed with rock/metal Ulveham means wolfskin (not wolfman)😉 The intro is an old “kulokk”, a “kulokk” is when the women called/calls the cows home to be milked in the summer, often in the mountains. The chorus of the song is inspired by this “kulokk” The song itself is inspired by a medieval folklore/ballade I recommend checking out the longer version, love it😍 Too bad they had to shorten it down to three minutes for Eurovision I also recommend checking out their brand new music video😍 English lyrics: [Sample: Vocalization; Marit Jensen Lillebuen] [Verse 1] I was such a beautiful maiden My stepmother evil, my mother she died She turned me into a sword and a needle And sent me to the king's estate And the anger my stepmother felt the most That all the stately liked me best [Chorus: Vocalization] [Verse 2] Then she gave me skin like a grey wolf She cursed me to walk the forest alone And never will I bе whole and good Before I drink my brothеrs' blood [Chorus: Vocalization] [Outro: Vocalization, Storm] I then tore out her heart So her blood flowed free Then I got to drink my brothers' blood Greetings from Norway 🇳🇴

Thank you from Norway ❤🎉❤🎉❤❤❤❤

I literally cry when I listen this song, it is so emotional, her voice, the progresive intensity, perfect performance… I don’t understand why was in the last place in Eurovision song contest… what hapen with the people?

0:13 the face of defeat 😂 It's okay, Mike. At least you tried.

Thank you for the response.. ♥🤗

Music teacher v/s weird folk instrument: 0 - 1 🤣 Great reaction, please keep them coming!

The jury has really made me want to boycott the Eurovision forever. HOW the fuck could this be last place? They sing in a native tongue have and extremely good stage presence and performance. REALLY!!! Last place! I have been following this band since they started so ofc I am biased, but LAST place??? You are joking right?

You can click the speaker icon in the bottom corner of the box where you typed Ulveham, it's gonna read it aloud to you. Just be sure you have the correct language selected or you're just gonna be in more trouble. I just tested it and the Norwegian pronunciation seemed ok to me. I adore this entry and it's probably my 12 points this year simply because this is something I could listen to also in non-eurovision context and I love seeing something like this in the contest. This year is hard, my top5 keeps changing. But this was love at first listen.

Thank you for a great reaction. Hugs from Norway. ❤ I think it will do well. My winner is Greece though. It's such a fun song.

Love it.

When google translate messes up. Ulveham --> "Ulv" is wolf and "ham" means both "him" and "skin". Så here it is "wolfskin" "Gåte" can be translated to "riddle"

Thanks for your reactionanalysis. The translation of ulveham in meaning wolf man is wrong. (Google transl.) It means wolfs skin (fur). Gåte is pronounced like Måne in Måneskin (Italian ESC winner some years ago.) 😊🐺

This is absolutely unique!❤

Should listen to the full version of Ulveham they had to cut it down for Eurovision. Their music are fire has been for 20 years. Gunhild is singing in something called kulokk/ an ancient form of herd calling with roots back to the Viking age probably longer. The text is a 1000 year old poem/song and she is singing in a mix of dialects and very old Norwegian.

Loving this song so much

I think the lights are meant to be the sunlight barely coming through the tops of the trees in a forest. Given the story of the song it makes sense, and the sparse scenery in the light with her.

I adore this song! The instrument you see in the beginning is a Nyckelharpa, which is a traditional scandinavian instrument somewhere between a violin and a hurdy gurdy. Basically it's a lot like a violin but with keys to change the pitch, and there's resonance strings that you don't touch with the bow but resonate with the strings you do play. (This is based on what my friend, who plays nyckelharpa, told me, but if someone knows more please correct me if I'm wrong). It's a really cool instrument!

The instrument in the beginning is an old traditional Norwegian Harp called Nøkkelharpe.

The first vowel in "Gåte" is pronounced like the a in war. The unusual instrument is a keyed harp (Nyckelharpa in Swedish) is a traditional Swedish stringed instrument with keys ("keys").

Great analysis, especially about how it grabs you in very early. I thought she was great on stage, and fantastic presence. You probably know by now, the chorus is based on traditional livestock calls in the mountains. Such an exquisite fusion of sounds. Love your insights, thanks ☺️

This thong deserves to be top-3 to my mind. They're really one of the best, definitely not the last place in final

The instrument you were questioning is called Keyharp. The Å in Gåte is pronounced simularely as the initial letter A in the word 'always'.

the translation is off and the lyrics will not translate well because its in NewNorwegian, not the classic written Norwegian , Ham as in skin layer, coat etc. so Wolfs skin, or Wolf Ham, if you like. The band name is Gåte pronounsed something like G-ooh-te with a silent h, meaning Riddle. Their genre is called Folkrock and one of my favourites it "sjå attende" (look back) from the album Iselilja Ulveham - Gåte [Verse 1] I was such a beautiful and a fair maiden With stepmother evil, my mother she died She turned me into a sword and a needle And sent me off the king's farm And my stepmother's wrath knew the most When all the nicests liked me best [Chorus: Vocalization] [Verse 2] She gave me a Ham like a gray wolf She swore me to walk alone in the forest And I will never be whole and good Until I drink my brother's blood [Chorus: Vocalization] [Outro : Vocalisation]

Not "wolfman", it's "Wolf's skin". Translation got it wrong because "ham" means both "him" and "skin". Or rather a specific form of skin, meaning something that can be shredded.

Hello! Since you've said you wouldn't make a video on all of the entries this year (if I understood correctly), could you make a video/community post on your top 37 this year? I'm really curious on what you think of some songs.

Gåye for the winning! Pure art ❤❤❤❤❤

uliveham means you are a person in the physical shape of wolf, like a werewolf in wolf mode. the grandmother transformed her into a wolf.

You really have to stop relying on google translate. It doesn’t work very well for small languages, like Norwegian or Danish. Ulveham means a magic wolfskin or wolf suit. It’s a concept from Norse Mythology. Loke puts on a ravneham to transform into a raven. This girl is transformed into a wolf by her stepmother.

The instrument is a keyharp (an ancient nordic instrument :) )

The thing with this song is that i (as a norwegian) cant even understand what she sings. Its a cool track but i cannot hear what she sings, therefore i think «she screams» kinda fits. Its also a lyric in a dialect which may make it harder aswell. They r good but i think it could have been done so she wouldnt be «screaming» the words out, while still keeping those high melodic sounds.

Regarding the spinning platform, I actually suspect they've slowed the rotation quite significantly since the first Norwegian qualifier, as it appeared to impact her vocal performance. Might just be my perception though, as that was the first time I saw their performance, as well as a bunch of other potential variable factors like less ideal monitoring etc.

The instrument is a Nyckelharpa

It's pronounced Gaw-Teh. :) The singing at the beginning of the song is "kulokk" and is traditionally how they called the cows to them in the countryside. The lyrics tell a 1000 year old folklore story about an evil stepmother who curses her stepdaughter to become a wolf alone in the forest. The only way she can break the curse is to drink her brother’s blood. In the end, she sees her stepmother in the forest so she attacks and eats her. It turns out her stepmother was pregnant, leading her to drink her unborn brother’s blood and break the curse. Verse 1 I was a little lass My mother on maternity bed died My stepmother turned me into a grey horse Then she sent me to the king's estate They thought my stepmother was the worst That all the stately used me the most Verse 2 She then turned me into a grey wolf She said I should in the forest walk She said I shouldn't receive penance Before I drank my brothеrs' blood Outro: Vocalization, Storm I then tore out her hеart So her blood flowed free Then I got to drink my brothers' blood

It doesn’t mean wolf-man. It means wolfSKIN

The instrument is a Nyckelharpa. Here is my favourite track: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sqIF5ZaraKc.htmlsi=ALvCUqp7XxTK94IV For me the Gåte (G-oh-te) track is overloaded with stuff, too busy. Not in my top 10 sadly. I wanna love it so badly, have friends who play nickelharpas and hurdy-gurdies. I love the use of the old language ... But I just can't listen to it. Its straining my ears.

Živjela Hrvatska i zavist prema Hrvatskoj!!!!! Croatia is on top for a reason! We've always been cheated by the judges, and now it's time for Europe to stand up for us ffs. It's the best Eurovision song ever. Croatia will triumph with a new record from both the audience and the jury. Instead of just listening in ecstasy to the song during the final, you can congratulate us and spread the word for everyone to get their sausage fingers out and vote for us. Rest of Europe. Norway wont qualify, only screaming the whole song. Vote Croatia ffs or crrrryyyyyyy

This is why they didnt win 2:00 It's a good song but I think it's not complete.

I know that this is really great for this genre. And I know she has powerful vocals. I know she's not just screaming, so don't tell me that, I know. But that's what it sounds like to me. Nails on a blackboard. Sorry.

the instrument is called a nyckelharpe