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. MEMORYWhen you're alone with your namewhat you recall is your selfShoulders hunched up with the rainno umbrella lost againMr. Memory heads for hometurns the corner and he's goneIf you forget your own namewhat can you say to yourself?The rain against the windowpaneis everything left behindMr. Memory waits for youround the corner but you're goneAnd you awake with no nameBells ringing in a blue dayI 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: