"Stress" was the Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968

Eurovision Song Contest 1968

The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th Eurovision Song Contest. The contest was won by the Spanish song "La, la, la", performed by Massiel....

, performed in Norwegian

Norwegian language

Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...

 by Odd Børre

Odd Børre

Odd Børre Sørensen was a former Norwegian pop singer. He was better known by his stage name of Odd Børre. Internationally he is best known for the song "Stress" that he performed in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1968. He sung in the Kjell Karlsen's Orchestra and was releasing singles during that...

.

The song is a moderately up-tempo number, with Børre seemingly conducting a conversation with a friend or colleague, while trying to excuse himself to catch "the last bus home". He finds this to be a stressful situation, and sings that in the future he hopes to have more time.

The song was performed thirteenth on the night, following the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard

Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....

 with "Congratulations

Congratulations (song)

"Congratulations" is a song written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter as the UK entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 on 6 April with Cliff Richard performing....

" and preceding Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

's Pat McGeegan with "Chance of a Lifetime". At the close of voting, it had received 2 points, placing 13th in a field of 17.

Despite the comparative lack of success, the song has become something of a cult classic among fans of the Contest. An excerpt of Børre's performance, featuring the distinctive stammering delivery of the verses, was played during one of the collections at the Congratulations

Congratulations (Eurovision)

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest was a television programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union to commemorate the Eurovision Song Contest's fiftieth anniversary and to determine the Contest's most popular entrant of its fifty years. It took place at Forum,...

 special in late 2005. Additionally, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n Eurovision commentator Des Mangan derives humour from the unlikely title, the (to English-speaking ears) unusual name of the singer (generally pronounced "Odd Bore" in English) and also from the distinctive delivery.

It was succeeded as Norwegian representative

Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest

Norway has been participating in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1960 and only been absent twice: in 1970, when they boycotted the contest over disagreements about the voting structure, and in 2002, when they did not qualify....

 at the 1969 Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1969

The Eurovision Song Contest 1969 was the 14th in the series. It was the first time that the contest resulted in a tie for first place, with four countries each gaining 18 votes. Since there was at the time no rule to cover such an eventuality, all four countries were declared joint winners...

 by Kirsti Sparboe

Kirsti Sparboe

Kirsti Sparboe was born on 7 December 1946 in Tromsø, Norway. She Is a musical performer, and an actress. Most of her musical career is based around the widely popular Eurovision Song Contest....

 with "Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli

Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli

"Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, performed in Norwegian by Kirsti Sparboe....

".