When Spirits Are Calling My Name

"When Spirits Are Calling My Name"
Eurovision Song Contest 2000 entry
Country	Sweden
Artist(s)	Roger Pontare
Language	English
Composer(s)	Peter Dahl, Linda Jansson, Thomas Holmstrand
Lyricist(s)	Peter Dahl, Linda Jansson, Thomas Holmstrand
Finals performance
Final result	7th
Final points	88
Appearance chronology
◄ "Take Me to Your Heaven" (1999)
"Listen To Your Heartbeat" (2001) ►

The song "When Spirits Are Calling My Name" (original Swedish title "När vindarna viskar mitt namn", literally translated as "When the Winds Whisper My Name") was performed by Roger Pontare in the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest, in which Pontare represented Sweden.

Celebration of indigenous culture

The song extols the traditions of indigenous peoples and their efforts to protect their territories and cultures. For his solo appearance in 2000, Pontare wore a Sami costume associated with the indigenous population of Lapland in northern Sweden (and also the northern regions of Norway, Finland, and Russia). On his performance at the Eurovision Song Contest, Pontare was accompanied by an Cree Indian dancer, a Thule Eskimo and a Norwegian Sami.

Eurovision Song Contest 2000

At the song's climax, flames erupted from two vents at the front of the stage. The song finished seventh, with 88 points.

The 2000 Eurovision Song Contest was held in Stockholm, Sweden, because Swedish singer Charlotte Nilsson had won the contest in 1999 with "Take Me To Your Heaven". Earlier, performing with Marie Bergman in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, Roger Pontare had finished thirteenth.

Popularity

"När vindarna viskar mitt namn" was also released as a single in 2000, which sold Swedish platina (30 000 copies). The single peaked at #3 at the Swedish singles chart. On 22 April 2000 the song directly entered Svensktoppen, where it stayed for two rounds. On 6 May 2000 the song was down at the third place after peaking for two weeks. On 5 August 2000 the song was 9th, being at the list for 16th at last time.

Covers by other bands

Swedish bands Ultima Thule and HammerFall later covered "När vindarna viskar mitt namn".

Track listing

1. När vindarna viskar mitt namn - 2:58
2. När vindarna viskar mitt namn (singback) - 2:58