If you thought Húsavik’s 15 minutes of fame was over, think again. Because the photogenic little town on Iceland’s north shore has done it again, this time with an Oscar nomination for “Húsavik (My Hometown)” as Best Original Song of 2020. Húsavik’s stepped onto the world stage last year when the Netflix movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga became a pandemic lockdown sensation.
Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdóttir (Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams) may not have won the movie version of Eurovision, but now they have a chance to snatch an even more coveted Academy Award. They’re up against the stiff competition: “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7, “Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead, “Speak Now” from One Night in Miami…, and “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah.
With music by Icelandic composer Atli Örvarsson and lyrics by the Swedish-American team of Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus, and Rickard Göransson, the Fire Saga performance of the song is among the movie’s most memorable moments. Another high point was the fact that many of the scenes were filmed on location in Húsavik, which features as a port of call on the “Iceland Circumnavigation” cruise from Iceland ProCruises.
After a year’s hiatus because of the pandemic, the voyages are running again this summer, with four departures of the Iceland Circumnavigation between early July and late August, and three departures of the Best of Iceland cruise in September.
If you’re thinking of booking passage, check out the “Húsavik (My Hometown)" music video on YouTube and learn the words to so you can sing along:
All by myself
With this great big world before me
But it's all for someone else
I've tried and tried again
To let you know just where my heart is
To tell the truth and not pretend
All I needed was to get away
Just to realize that I was meant to stay
Where the mountains sing through the screams of seagulls
Where the whales can live 'cause they're gentle people
In my hometown, my hometown
Thought I made it clear, do I have to say it?
It was always there, we just didn't see it
All I need is you and me and my home
Vera með þér, með þér
Í Húsavík við Skjálfanda
Í heimabærinn minn
You want the world (Want the world)
All the neon lights and billboards
To be seen and to be heard (Heard)
And I followed you (Oh-ooh)
But now I know what makes me happy
And I can tell you feel it too
Where the mountains sing through the screams of seagulls
Where the whales can live 'cause they're gentle people
In my hometown, my hometown
Where the northern lights burst out in colors
And the magic nights surpass all others
Það eina sem ég þrái er, að vera
Vera með þér (Vera með þér), með þér (Vera með þér)
Í Húsavík við Skjálfanda
My home, my hometown