Bette Midler (December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, and comedia… Read Full Bio ↴Bette Midler (December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known to her fans and especially in gay culture, as The Divine Miss M. She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Jewish parents from New Jersey, and raised there. Midler relocated to New York City to pursue acting on stage, and in 1970 she began singing at the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in the city, where she became close to her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow, who produced her first major album, The Divine Miss M in 1973. She is named after the actress Bette Davis although Davis pronounced her name in two syllables, and Midler uses one.

During her career, she has won four Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards. She performed a new concert show, The Showgirl Must Go On, live five nights a week at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2011 (together with Cher and Elton John).

Memories of You
Bette Midler Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Why can't I forget like I should?
Heaven knows I would if I could.
But I just can't keep you off my mind.

Though you're gone, I have to explain,
All around me you still remain.
Wonder why fate should be so unkind?

Waking skies at sunrise,
Every sunset, too,
Seems to be bringing me
Memories of you.

Here and there, everywhere,
Scenes that we once knew.
And they all just recall
Memories of you.

How I wish I could forget
Those happy yesteryears
That have left
A rosary of tears.

Your face beams in my dreams
Spite of all I do.
Everything seems to bring

Memories of you.
Those memories of you.

Overall Meaning

In Bette Midler's song "Memories of You," the singer is grappling with a heartbreak that they can't seem to shake. Despite their best efforts to move on, memories of their former lover infiltrate every aspect of their life, from sunrises to sunsets to dreams at night. The singer wonders why fate has been so cruel to them, forcing them to endure the pain of lost love without the possibility of forgetting.

The lyrics of "Memories of You" speak to the universal experience of heartbreak and the difficulty of moving on from someone who once held a special place in your heart. The images of waking skies at sunrise and sunsets are particularly poignant, as they suggest that no matter how much time passes, the memories of this person will always linger. The line "Your face beams in my dreams / Spite of all I do" is especially heart-wrenching, as it illustrates just how powerless the singer is in their quest to forget their lost love.

Ultimately, "Memories of You" is a powerful reflection on the lingering impact of lost love and the ways in which memories can haunt us long after a relationship has ended.

Line by Line Meaning

Why can't I forget like I should?
I wish I could forget you, but it seems impossible.

Heaven knows I would if I could.
If it were up to me, I would forget you, but I can't.

But I just can't keep you off my mind.
No matter how hard I try, I can't stop thinking about you.

Though you're gone, I have to explain,
Even though you're not here, I need to express why I'm still thinking about you.

All around me you still remain.
Everywhere I look, I see reminders of you.

Wonder why fate should be so unkind?
I can't help but question why fate has been cruel to me by taking you away.

Waking skies at sunrise,
When I wake up and see the sky at sunrise,

Every sunset, too,
And when I see the sun setting in the evening,

Seems to be bringing me
It feels like all these moments are

Memories of you.
Reminding me of you.

Here and there, everywhere,
No matter where I go or what I do,