Ole Paus

Ole Paus was a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who was widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition. He debuted as a singer-songwriter in 1970 and as an author the following year, after he was discovered by Alf Cranner and Alf Prøysen, respectively. He was one of the central figures of the so-called visebølgen i Norge, i.e. troubadours in the tradition of Evert Taube, Cornelis Vreeswijk and others. His works are marked by critical and socially conscious songwriting. His works often commented on political and societal issues. As a young adult, Ole Paus initially had a clear affiliation with the political right, but eventually adopted a more independent stance in the cultural landscape of the 1970s. Paus was often perceived as a "bourgeois anarchist" who challenged authority and societal norms from the unique position of being both insider and outsider in Norway's "establishment". He was also known for his biting social commentary, especially in his ironic and sometimes libellous "musical newspapers" in the form of broadside ballads in a series of albums titled "The Paus Post". His later works become known for a softer and more lyrical style, and include songs such as "Innerst i sjelen" and "Engler i sneen". He has often collaborated with Ketil Bjørnstad, notably on the "modern suite" Leve Patagonia; he has later collaborated with Kirkelig Kulturverksted on several projects, and with his son, the classical composer Marcus Paus, notably on the children's opera The Witches, Requiem and several later works. One of his songs, "Mitt lille land", gained wide popularity after the 2011 Norway attacks and was described as "the new national anthem". He has been described as the Norwegian counterpart of Bob Dylan and as the "voice of the nation". Paus died in Drammen on 12 December 2023, at the age of 76.