The one thing I love about music is that everyone has their own story to tell – the musician, the lyrics, the way the fans decipher them and also the way a song can also create a memory or a meaning to someone. That is what this new article is all about. Each fortnight, we will take a look at a different song and I will take you as a trip down memory lane as to what it means to me. Welcome to Music Memories.

Track: Fairytale
Artist: Alexander Rybak
Original Release Date: 12th January 2009

I like writing this article because it brings back so many memories that I forget about until I hear a song and it makes me smile. The particular song I enjoyed when it won the Eurovision but when I listen to it, I do not think of that moment, instead I think of another summer and the world of geocaching.

It was the summer of 2011 and I was working as an activity leader at a summer camp – it was great, I made lots of new friends and had some great adventures in between. One thing that I was introduced to in this year was the world of the Geocache.

Have you ever heard of Geocaching? If not – let me briefly tell you about it. It is basically like a treasure hunt that you do using your phone, and an app – you basically go and hunt for these geocaches and at the end there is a ‘reward’. Only something small like a token but you then swap one of those for something that you brought with you.

I had a friend that was really into ‘geocaching’ and used to take me along on some of their adventures. They were great mainly because the treasure would be in places you would walk past everyday and not even realise they were there for example one was hidden in the railing that I walked past everyday for work, another was hidden in a tree and another was hidden in a fake log that opened – it was truly fascinating.

One night, she decided to take us to a mini wood across from the University campus to find a night one. It could only be found when it was pitch black as you relied on reflectors in the trees. I am not a fan of the dark and a lot of people I was with also felt the same. So when we were walking through the pitch black we sang the song Fairy-tale at the top of our voices.

It is such a clear memory that I see it everytime I hear this song, we sung the chorus over and over again.

Facts About Fairytale

•  “Fairytale” is a song written and performed by Belarusian-Norwegian violinist and singer Alexander Rybak.
• The song was elected through the Norwegian festival Melodi Grand Prix 2009 on 21 February, winning in the biggest landslide of the contest’s history
• The final took place on 16 May and the song won with 387 points – a new ESC record. It was Norway’s third Eurovision win.