Draft:Härlig Är Vår Jord

"Härlig Är Vår Jord" is a Swedish pop song by Anni-Frid Lyngstad from 1969 written and conducted by Ivan Renliden. Lyngstad performed it in Melodifestivalen 1969 where it finished in fifth place with eight points.

Background
In Autumn 1968, Lyngstad had been selected for Melodifestivalen 1969 alongside 9 other artists. The artists then received an open-entry of compositions, which Lyngstad received Relinden's composition by December 1968. By the time of the composition deadline on 1st February 1969, Lyngstad had 200 entries, which she reduced down to 31, but Lyngstad ultimately chose "Härlig Är Vår Jord" which had had a high opinion of, hoping it would do well.

Lyngstad recorded "Härlig Är Vår Jord" in the EMI Studios, Stockholm in two takes, on 21st December 1968 alongside schlager song, "Räkna De Lyckliga Stunderna Blott" with Ivan Renlidens Orkester.

Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen 1969 was held on 1st March 1969 at Cirkus, Stockholm and had 99 people in the jury. She had met her future husband Benny Andersson at this event, who had co-written Jan Malmsjö's song. Both would recall that after the broadcast they had exchanged a quick hello backstage, no more than that. Backed by three singers, Lyngstad had difficulties rehearsing the song, but the performed had been well prepared by the time the show started. The event was broadcast on TV, although only audio footage survives. Lyngstad wore an orange tunic and was the penultimate performance. "Härlig Är Vår Jord" had been placed joint fourth with 8 points. The following day, Dagens Nyheter reported "A beautiful woman, a beautiful song. Being as new to this sort of thing as Anni-Frid Lyngstad is, she did unusually well with this bossa nova, which was charming without lacking character, pleasant without being boring, but unfortunately the song didn't remain in my memory for very long despite its neat arrangement."

After the contest, Lyngstad had returned to perform in the Charlie Norman Show, which ran from January to May. On 4th March, a few days after the contest, The Hep Stars attended an after-show of the Charlie Norman Show with Lyngstad, for dinner, including Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Within a month, Lyngstad and Andersson became a couple. Despite Lyngstad's unsuccessful attempt and Andersson's composition ultimately being the runner up, they had won Melodifestivalen and Eurovision in 1974 with Waterloo as ABBA.

Release
The first single had been withdrawn as "Räkna De Lyckliga Stunderna Blott" had been mistakingly pressed the A-side and "Härlig Är Vår Jord" on the B-side issued in a company sleeve. Both songs on this pressing were alternative versions. The single was rectified and released on 3rd March with a picture sleeve, a new catalogue number and 1,000 copies were pressed. Lyngstad and Ollie Bergman went to West Germany to pursue the possibility of marketing a German version of "Härlig Är Vår Jord" but nothing came of this. "Härlig Är Vår Jord" spent one week at the Svensktoppen at #8 on 24th April 1969. This marked the first time Lyngstad appeared on the Svensktoppen as her previous singles failed to do so, only appearing in the Toppentipset. Lyngstad would not appear again until the following year with "Där Du Går Lämnar Kärleken Spår".

Covers
Ivan Renliden recorded the song in 1976 for his album Ivan Renliden Spelar Ivan Renliden.