Rändajad
Encyclopedia
"Rändajad" is a song by the Estonia
n band Urban Symphony, composed by Sven Lõhmus
, and represented Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
in Moscow
, Russia
.
The song competed in the second semi-final on 14 May 2009 and won Estonia a place in the final for the first time since the introduction of semifinals. In the final on 16 May 2009 the song received the sixth place, finishing with 129 points. This was Estonia's best result since Sahlene
's Runaway in 2002. Estonia returned to good results after having six years of poor ones.
"Rändajad" was the first ever song in Estonian to chart in the UK, Belgium, and Switzerland.
"Rändajad", with a remarkable oriental flame to it, tells a story of never-ending nomadic journeys through the sand deserts. The song can be taken as a metaphor for life, and Urban Symphony lead singer Sandra Nurmsalu
points out that "we all are travellers". The music mixes electronic sounds with performances on the violin, viola, and cello.
Urban Symphony was supported on stage by two backing singers, Mirjam Mesak and Marilin Kongo. Mirjam was on stage also in Helsinki 2007 when Gerli Padar represented Estonia, while Marilin had earlier taken part in the Estonian national final for Eurovision ("Be 1st" in 2006). She was also to return on Eurovision stage in 2011 with Getter Jaani
.
Graham Norton
for the BBC
and others have translated the song title as "Travellers," which is the dictionary definition of the word, as well as the translation used by Sandra Nurmsalu
herself. This title was considered a correct, but not perfect, answer in the competition to give a translated title, with "Nomads" being the official Eurovision translation. The definite article
("the") is often prefixed to the title in English (Estonian has no definite article).
The songwriter Sven Lõhmus also wrote the Estonian entry to the Eurovision 2005, "Let's Get Loud" by Suntribe
and the Estonian entry of Eurovision 2011,"Rockefeller Street
" by Getter Jaani
.
CD single
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n band Urban Symphony, composed by Sven Lõhmus
Sven Lõhmus
Sven Lõhmus is an Estonian pop-composer, producer and lyricist.Established producer from Estonia. He has worked with leading artists of the Baltic States, including Vanilla Ninja , the Suntribe, the Urban Symphony. 3 times, in 2003, 2004, 2010, he won the award for "best author" to the "Eesti...
, and represented Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and was hosted by Russia after their win in 2008. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia....
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
The song competed in the second semi-final on 14 May 2009 and won Estonia a place in the final for the first time since the introduction of semifinals. In the final on 16 May 2009 the song received the sixth place, finishing with 129 points. This was Estonia's best result since Sahlene
Sahlene
Anna Cecilia Sahlin, commonly known as Sahlene, Anna Sahlin or Anna Sahlene, is a singer from Sweden. She was born in the Swedish town of Söderhamn on 11 May 1976. She began her career at the young age of eleven when she had a role in the TV-series The Children of Noisy Village, based on a story by...
's Runaway in 2002. Estonia returned to good results after having six years of poor ones.
"Rändajad" was the first ever song in Estonian to chart in the UK, Belgium, and Switzerland.
"Rändajad", with a remarkable oriental flame to it, tells a story of never-ending nomadic journeys through the sand deserts. The song can be taken as a metaphor for life, and Urban Symphony lead singer Sandra Nurmsalu
Sandra Nurmsalu
Urban Symphony is an Estonian music group. It represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Rändajad", finishing in 6th place with 129 points...
points out that "we all are travellers". The music mixes electronic sounds with performances on the violin, viola, and cello.
Urban Symphony was supported on stage by two backing singers, Mirjam Mesak and Marilin Kongo. Mirjam was on stage also in Helsinki 2007 when Gerli Padar represented Estonia, while Marilin had earlier taken part in the Estonian national final for Eurovision ("Be 1st" in 2006). She was also to return on Eurovision stage in 2011 with Getter Jaani
Getter Jaani
Getter Jaani is an Estonian pop singer. She represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with her entry "Rockefeller Street"...
.
Graham Norton
Graham Norton
Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton , is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist...
for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and others have translated the song title as "Travellers," which is the dictionary definition of the word, as well as the translation used by Sandra Nurmsalu
Sandra Nurmsalu
Urban Symphony is an Estonian music group. It represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Rändajad", finishing in 6th place with 129 points...
herself. This title was considered a correct, but not perfect, answer in the competition to give a translated title, with "Nomads" being the official Eurovision translation. The definite article
Definite Article
Definite Article is the title of British comedian Eddie Izzard's 1996 performance released on VHS. It was recorded on different nights at the Shaftesbury Theatre...
("the") is often prefixed to the title in English (Estonian has no definite article).
The songwriter Sven Lõhmus also wrote the Estonian entry to the Eurovision 2005, "Let's Get Loud" by Suntribe
Suntribe
Suntribe was an Estonian girl-band, composed entirely of students, which represented their country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kiev, Ukraine. The original four-strong line-up was Mari-Leen Kaselaan , Rebecca Kontus, Laura Põldvere and Jaanika Vilipo...
and the Estonian entry of Eurovision 2011,"Rockefeller Street
Rockefeller Street
-Charts:-Release history :-External links:...
" by Getter Jaani
Getter Jaani
Getter Jaani is an Estonian pop singer. She represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with her entry "Rockefeller Street"...
.
Track listings
Digital release- Rändajad (Eurovision version) – 3:03
- Rändajad (Club Mix) – 3:56
- Rändajad (Club Mix Extended) – 5:10
- Rändajad (Acoustic version) – 2:40
CD single
- Rändajad (Radio Version) – 2:59
- Rändajad (Lazy Drumbeat Mix) – 4:04
Chart positions
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Singles Chart Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
68 |
| Estonian Singles Chart Estonia Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies... |
3 |
| Finnish Singles Chart Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
10 |
| Greek Billboard Singles Chart Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... |
8 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
14 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 86 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
117 |
External links
- Lyrics from the official Eurovision website
- English lyrics from Diggiloo Thrush