Sunday, February 26, 2012

Mr. Memory

In 1997, Bill Frisell released an album called Nashville, his "country" album. I took it upon myself to write words for some of the songs on the record, including the song "Mr. Memory" (click here to listen to it on Spotify):

MR. MEMORY

When you're alone with your name
what you recall is your self

Shoulders hunched up with the rain
no umbrella lost again
Mr. Memory heads for home
turns the corner and he's gone

If you forget your own name
what can you say to yourself?

The rain against the windowpane
is everything left behind
Mr. Memory waits for you
round the corner but you're gone

And you awake with no name
Bells ringing in a blue day

I just liked the expression "Mr. Memory" and let it and the melody take me places while I was writing. 

Last week, I watched Alfred Hitchock's The 39 Steps and was pleased to discover that Frisell's title might well be a reference to the character Mr. Memory, as played by Wylie Watson:


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