Country Latvia Language English Semi-final result 6th | Artist(s) Pirates of the Sea Lyricist(s) Jonas Liberg | |
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Composer(s) Jonas Liberg, Johan Sahlen,
Claes Andreasson,
Torbjörn Wassenius | ||
"Wolves of the Sea" is a song mostly known by performances by the Latvian musical project Pirates of the Sea and the studio recordings of the Scottish heavy metal band Alestorm. According to the Swedish company Sunday Music the song was created by four Swedish composers: Claes Andreasson, Jonas Liberg, Johan Sahlen and Torbjörn Wassenius. It was chosen to represent Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia. It was very popular with the audience in the UK, receiving 10 points from them and with the Irish audience from whom they received 12 points. Eventually the song became 12th of 25th in the final. The song uses part of the melody from an American folk song called "Turkey in the Straw" for its intro and chorus melody.
The song has been covered by the Scottish folk metal band Alestorm and was released in 2009 on a split album titled "Black Sails Over Europe", published by Napalm Records.
The song is also very popular in South Africa, where it has become an anthem for the South African rugby team, the 'Springboks'. In Afrikaans the song is known as Hi Hi Ho, and it is regularly sung by fans during matches.