Solhverv was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 in London, performed by Anita Thallaug.
The song is in the chanson style, popular in the early years of the Contest. Thallaug describes her feelings when she is with her lover, comparing the happiness she knows she will have with him to the happy knowledge that Spring is soon to arrive when the Winter Solstice occurs.
The song was performed fifth on the night, following Austria and preceding Italy. At the close of voting, it had received the dreaded Nul Points, placing 13th (equal last). This was the first occasion on which Norway had failed to score a point in Contest history, and the country would go on to claim the unwanted record of the most zeroes.
Lyrics[]
I vinternattens favn med stjerner uten navn
Når sne og is og kulde dekker alt på jord
En morgen klar til gry og natt blir dag påny
En demringstime for mitt trette hjerte slår
Når solen sin bane har vendt
Og dagen har lysene tent
Når du er hos meg, da er natten forbi
Vi nynner på en glad melodi
Nå går vi med vår i vårt sinn
Mot sommer og solvarme inn
Og dagene kommer og dagene går
I kjærlighets gryende vår
Min egen, du er meg inderlig kjær
Symbolet på lys du er
Vår vinter er fjern, vår sommer er nær
Og du er min hjertenskjær
Når solen sin bane har vendt
Og dagen har lysene tent
Vår vinter er fjern, men vår sommer er nær
In the embrace of the winter night with stars without names
When snow, ice and frost covers everything on earth
A morning ready for dawn and night becomes day again
An hour of dawn beats for my tired heart
When the sun has turned its course
And the day has lit its lights
When you are with me, then the night is over
We’re humming a happy melody
Now we walk with spring in our minds
Towards summer and heat from the sun
And the days come, and the days go
In the dawning spring of love
My own, you are so dear to me
You’re the symbol of light
Our winter is distant, our summer is near
And you are my heart’s beloved
When the sun has turned its course
And the day has lit its lights
Our winter is distant, but our summer is near