The jury's reasoning: We've all heard the music, but few know the man behind the lyrics to some of Norway's most famous songs. From “Everyone Needs A Friend”, “Tell Me Where You're Going” to “Moving Time” and many more. Jeff Wasserman came to Norway in the 80s from Oyster Bay outside New York, and has made a career both as […]
/ 17/03/2017 / codexThe jury's reasoning:
We've all heard the music, but few know the man behind the lyrics to some of Norway's most famous songs. From "Everyone Needs A Friend", "Tell Me Where You're Going" to "Moving Time" and many more.
Jeff Wasserman came to Norway in the 80s from Oyster Bay outside New York, and has made a career as both a lyricist and performer. He has lyrics and works on over 75 albums and over 300 works in TONO. In 2009 he was also nominated for Spellemann with the text "Keep Her from Going to You".
Through his wordplay, Wasserman has shown that he can write about different topics and with a varied language. He writes from the heart, poetically, soulfully and with humor, and can also spice it up with authentic slang.
In 2015, he wrote three lyrics for the album that also received the Spellemannprisen in the blues category: "Tears of The World" with Knut Reiersrud and Mighty Sam McClain. In the lyrics "Promised Land", Wasserman describes the longing, dreams and disappointments of a life, and the realization of having discovered the perfect in the imperfect. The promised land is not a place you are looking for, it is where you are, and it can take a long life before you realize it.
“Promised Land” tells of a life lived, of humanity and hope, and strikes a universal nerve we can all recognize, earning Jeff Wasserman the EDVARD Prize for Text in 2016.