Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group cons… Read Full Bio ↴Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The group rose to fame with their international debut album, Backstreet Boys (1996). In the following year, they released their second international album Backstreet's Back (1997), along with their self-titled U.S. debut album, Backstreet Boys (1997), which continued the group's success worldwide. They rose to superstardom with their third studio album Millennium (1999) and its follow-up album, Black & Blue (2000). They also released a greatest hits album, The Hits - Chapter One (2001), with a new single, "Drowning." After a two-year hiatus, they regrouped and released a comeback album, Never Gone (2005). After the conclusion of the Never Gone Tour in 2006, Richardson left the group to pursue other interests. The group then released two albums as a quartet: Unbreakable (2007) and This Is Us (2009).

Richardson permanently rejoined the group in 2012. In the following year, they celebrated their 20th anniversary and released their first independent album, In a World Like This. Their follow-up album DNA (2019) debuted at number one, more than two decades after the group formed and 19 years after they last topped in 2000. They also became the first boy band to top the U.S. album charts in three different decades.

The Backstreet Boys have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling boy band of all time, and one of the world's best-selling music artists. They are the first group since Led Zeppelin to have their first ten albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, and the only boy band to do so. The albums Backstreet Boys and Millennium were both certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making them one of the few bands to have multiple diamond albums.

The group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 22, 2013.[ They also released their first documentary movie, titled Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of in January 2015. In March 2017, the group began a residency in Las Vegas that lasted two years, titled Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life. They released their first Christmas album, A Very Backstreet Christmas in 2022.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backstreet_Boys

Studio albums
Backstreet Boys (1996)
Backstreet's Back (1997)
Millennium (1999)
Black & Blue (2000)
Never Gone (2005)
Unbreakable (2007)
This Is Us (2009)
In a World Like This (2013)
DNA (2019)
A Very Backstreet Christmas (2022)

Set Adrift on Memory Bliss
Backstreet Boys Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The candle plays the hourglass
The days go and all I do is
Think of you and wonder where you are at night
Oh I remember everything
Every smile, and even all
The reasons why you say
I pushed you out of my life

Baby you set me
Baby you set me
Set adrift on memory's bliss of you
Baby you set me
Set adrift on memory's bliss of you

Destiny is everything
Reality's replaced you with
The biggest empty void I've ever had in life (ever had in life) ohh
Bet you say that I don't care
I bet you say that I don't even think of you
But God knows how wrong you are

Baby will you be there when the morning comes?
(Baby will you be there?)
Just give me time (just give me time)
To fix my life (to fix my life, baby)
Baby will you be there when I open my eyes?
After all the time I've spent, wishing you

Baby you set me
Baby you set me
Set adrift on memory's bliss of you
Baby you set me
Set adrift on memory's bliss of you

Sadness that overwhelmed me
My mind flies and carelessly
Imagines that you're happy with your life right now oh
I guess that's just the way it goes
Forever's gone so now I must
Place you with all the things that I can never have

Baby you set me
Baby you set me
Set adrift on memory's bliss of you

So come on now

I know this much is true
I know this much is true

Overall Meaning

The song "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" by Backstreet Boys is a contemplative love song that tells the story of a man who reminisces about his past relationship. The lyrics describe the emotions that he feels about his lost love- the memories, the emptiness, the longing, and the sadness that accompany it. The candle and the hourglass are metaphors for the passage of time, with the candle representing the fleeting moments of life and the hourglass symbolizing the inevitability of time's passage. Despite the fact that the relationship has ended and the woman has left him, he cannot help but think about her each day and wonder where she is. He remembers everything- every smile, every reason why she left, and every moment that they shared.

The song's chorus highlights the theme of memory with the phrase "Set adrift on memory's bliss of you." The phrase implies that the man is floating aimlessly in his memories of his past relationship, which bring him both happiness and sadness. Even though the woman is no longer by his side, she still has a profound impact on his life, leaving him feeling adrift and lost without her.

The bridge of the song expresses the singer's belief that he and his lost love were destined to be together. He expresses his hope that she will be there for him when the morning comes, indicating that he still longs for her even though the relationship is over. He asks her to give him time to fix his life, suggesting that he wants to become a better person so that he can be worthy of her love once again.

Line by Line Meaning

The candle plays the hourglass
Time is slipping away, like sand through an hourglass, and I feel like I'm stuck in place.

The days go and all I do is Think of you and wonder where you are at night
Days pass me by, but my thoughts are always with you, wondering where you are and what you're doing at night.

Oh I remember everything Every smile, and even all The reasons why you say I pushed you out of my life
I remember every detail of our relationship, from the happy moments to the reasons why you left me.

Baby you set me Baby you set me Set adrift on memory's bliss of you Baby you set me Set adrift on memory's bliss of you
You've left such an impression on me that I'm lost in memories of you, unable to move forward.

Destiny is everything Reality's replaced you with The biggest empty void I've ever had in life (ever had in life) ohh
I used to believe in destiny, but now that you're gone, my reality is a huge, empty void.

Bet you say that I don't care I bet you say that I don't even think of you But God knows how wrong you are
You probably think I've moved on and don't care about you anymore, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Baby will you be there when the morning comes? (Baby will you be there?) Just give me time (just give me time) To fix my life (to fix my life, baby) Baby will you be there when I open my eyes? After all the time I've spent, wishing you
I still hope you'll come back to me, but I know it's going to take time for me to fix my life. After all this time, I still long for you to be with me when I wake up.

Sadness that overwhelmed me My mind flies and carelessly Imagines that you're happy with your life right now oh I guess that's just the way it goes Forever's gone so now I must Place you with all the things that I can never have
I'm overwhelmed with sadness and my mind wanders to thoughts of you being happy without me. I know I can't have you back, so I have to let go and move on.

So come on now I know this much is true I know this much is true
I may be lost in memories, but I know one thing for sure - the feelings I have for you are real.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Downtown Music Publishing, REFORMATION MUSIC INC
Written by: Attrell Cordes, Gary James Kemp, Gary Kemp, Attrell Stephen Cordes

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS