#STORYOFMYLIFE – Day Three with John from EI

In this series, we’ll be talking to someone and asking them to pick five songs (over five days) that mean something to them. These may not be their top five songs of all time – merely songs that attach to a specific memory or time in their life.

John from Eurovision Ireland opens this series. What’s his third choice, and what’s the story behind it?

Nagu merelaine – Silvi Vrait

Many of us love a bit of karaoke, and whilst I’m not always up there at the front of the queue, I will occasionally have a go. Back in 2020 I found myself in Tallinn for Eesti Laul. Now we know that the 2020 contest never happened, but all the songs were chosen. Near our Airbnb in Tallinn was an Irish bar, running a karaoke evening. One of my partners in crime, Kev, likes his karaoke, so whilst he was entertaining the crowd I also took a look at the extensive list of songs on hand. As well as English, there were ones in Finnish, Russian and Estonian.

This song caught my eye, and thought that if Tanel Padar could cover it, then what’s to stop me? Well, I duly went up on stage, and the music started. I had a fair idea of the words to the first verse and chorus, so felt comfortable singing along. But, we get to the end of the chorus and the words stop. The music carries on, so I just repeat the first verse and chorus again. Luckily for me, there is no video footage of my singing, so you’ll have to put up with Silvi’s better rendition instead.

If you have five songs that really mean something to you, drop us a line with them and the stories behind them, and you could feature soon.

Author: John Stanton

Source: Eurovision Ireland