Auspicious Sky

The Memories Will Remain

This beautiful song and video were created by skydivers, to honour the memories of those we have lost. Enjoy…

The Story behind the Music…

Swedish Skydiver Helén Samuelsson had an idea. When I meet her to hear about her concept, which became a journey to a fantastic project, she laughs and exclaims: “It’s completely unbelievable that I took the initiative for this!” She looks at me with wide eyes and says seriously: “And do you know that so many people contributed to this, without any demand for compensation and it turned out so very well.”

Out of pain an idea was born

On a sunny summer day last year, Helén’s favourite band Takida played on the TV music talent show ‘Allsång på Skansen’. It had been a week since the accident in Örebro [when 8 jumpers and a pilot were killed in a crash soon after take-off], and emotions were running high. Helén had listened to a lot of music for comfort, but something was missing. There wasn’t a song that expressed how she was feeling, with the great loss of her friends. And there, in front of the television, listening to one of Helén’s favourite songs, she had the idea. “I remembered that Chris Rehn, the keyboardist in Takida, is also an active jumper in Sundsvall Skydiving Club. And then I had the idea that the band might be able to write a song,” says Helén. “I didn’t know Chris but what was the worst that could happen?!” she laughs

Helén tells how a few weeks later she approached Chris with the idea. “Chris explained that it wasn’t possible for the band, but said that he had the exact same idea himself, to write a song about the hideous things we’ve experienced in recent years in our beloved sport. He offered to write a song if I sent over some small text he could start from. Of course, I was extremely happy about his offer, but I had never written a song!” says Helén. She continues, “But, Pippi Longstocking’s proverb applies in all situations:“

‘I’ve never tried that before, so I’m sure I can do it’

Pippi Longstocking

Absolutely magical

Two days later, Helén woke up with a lot of words in her head. “The words were just there, I was ready to start writing,” she says excitedly. “There was just a flow of words based on feelings and situations. There were so many people and moments before my eyes and in my heart. I have felt so bad to see anyone grieving the loss of a relative or loved one. I myself have felt so much sadness and frustration, sometimes even anger. The entire text came from my innermost being, it was like floodgates were opened and the lyrics flowed forth.” She sent the text to Chris and received a very positive response. Then she waited. And waited. Chris went on tours, shot commercials and released new albums. “I can attest that he is a hard-working husband and father. But I had had enough of waiting so I got in touch.”

The project that keeps growing

During the summer, Helén was at several Takida gigs, and in August she met Chris at Gröna Lund where she finally got an answer. Chris explained that processing the text had become so emotionally difficult for him that it dragged on. In the end, he had asked his bandmate in Takida, Tomas Wallin, also a talented singer and songwriter, to finish writing the lyrics. Tomas’ wife Hanna is also a former parachutist. Chris also asked if Tomas could sing on the track, which he agreed to. “Chris wanted me to join in and sing also,” says Helén. “Of course I said yes, even though I didn’t think I could sing” she laughs. After that, it was just a matter of nailing down a date when Helén could go to Sundsvall.

Helén’s song was recorded in Sundsvall. “It was very emotional to hear the song for the first time in Chris’s studio together with Chris, Tomas and their families. I couldn’t hold back the tears.” Everything was filmed for the music video, which also includes clips from the skydiving world. “It was completely unimaginable that this actually happened!” she says. “Then I went home and collected video footage like crazy! I received an absolutely fantastic response from the skydiving community in Sweden. It was very difficult to choose from all the good material available, but we were limited by time.“

The music has been distributed to all digital music platforms. You can watch the video above, on Youtube, where it has over 17,000 views and Spotify where it has over 13,000 views. Any possible profits from the song go back to Sweden’s skydiving community to promote the sport.

Created out of sadness, with the aim of spreading love

Helén summed up her thoughts about the project, “It is my greatest wish that this project can convey strength and hope. That the music can help people work through their grief. This is something that never ends when we lose someone really close. Perhaps the music can help lift feelings of frustration, powerlessness, anger, or sadness and hopefully provide comfort. For me personally, it has been enormously healing to be able to play the music and sing the lyrics. It has been amazing to be a big part of this and the catalyst for the whole project. Chris and Tomas have done a fantastic job. So much magic has happened along the way. It makes me wonder if there were a lot of angels in the background making sure this project was realized.”

Helén jumps in the Aros Skydiving Club, Sweden, is the mother of two jumpers, runs Uffe’s Hopp Shop together with her husband Ulf and has a few FS records.

Text written by Pixine Lyckner

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Auspicious Sky: THE MEMORIES WILL REMAIN

Lyrics:

You flew too close to the sun

A blue sky turning into black

A mother loses her son

Heaven needs an angel back

You left us in silence

With the sorrow, tears and pain

You’re not here with us tomorrow

But the memories of you remain

Good times and memories

Best friends learning how to fly and

Always beside you not alone

I’m falling through the air

Concentration starts to rise and

The sky is calling me back home

You flew too close to the sun

A blue sky turning into black

A mother loses her son

Heaven needs an angel back

You left us in silence

With the sorrow, tears and pain

You’re not here with us tomorrow

But the memories will remain

Our world may fall apart

But you’re always in our hearts

The angels call your name

And the memories of you shall forever remain

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Text: Helén Samuelsson, Chris Rehn and Tomas Wallin

Music: Chris Rehn