Freedy Johnston (born 1961) is a New York City-based singer-songwriter orig… Read Full Bio ↴Freedy Johnston (born 1961) is a New York City-based singer-songwriter originally from Kinsley, Kansas. Johnston's first album, "The Trouble Tree" was released in 1990, and features the guitar playing of the roots musician and author, David Hamburger. Johnston sold some of his family's farmland to finance the recording of his second album, Can You Fly (an event he wrote about in a song on that album, "Trying To Tell You I Don't Know"). Johnston followed up with his 1994 major label debut This Perfect World, which received rave reviews and led to Rolling Stone Magazine naming him "songwriter of the year". That album also spawned a minor alternative hit with the song "Bad Reputation".

Johnston's songs are often about troubled loners, and cover topics like heartbreak, alienation and disappointment. Known for the craftsmanship of his songs, he has sometimes been called a "songwriter's songwriter".

He has contributed songs to the soundtracks for movies including Kingpin and Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead. Johnston and fellow musicians Jay Moran, James "Pie" Cowan, Duke Erikson, and Butch Vig perform occasional shows as a covers band called "The Know-It-All Boyfriends."

Johnston latest release is a covers album titled "Rain on the City", It includes selections from Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, Matthew Sweet and The Hollies.

Remember Me
Freedy Johnston Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I was lost up on the mountain
I was lost on an empty sea
I was lost down in the canyon
Now I'm coming home
Will you remember me

Well I left town with a hardcore band
Headlights shining on the beach

Left my money in a Maxwell's coffee can
Down by the cemetery gates

When I walk into your kitchen
And I hold your face
Mother dear
Will you remember me

I was lost up on the mountain
I was lost on an empty sea
I was lost down in the canyon
Now I'm coming home
Will you remember me

Down a lawless border of here and there
Not finding any way to get by
Jumped a garbage floater in a dead cold night
Cried under a beautiful sky

When I walk into your bedroom
And I look you in the eye

Sister dear
Will you remember me

Overall Meaning

The song "Remember Me" by Freedy Johnston is a poignant reflection on the experience of feeling lost and disconnected from the people and places that give our lives meaning. The singer in the song describes a journey through unfamiliar and often hostile territory, evoking the sense of disorientation and despair that can come from feeling adrift in the world. The repeated refrain of "Will you remember me" serves as a plea for connection and recognition, a desire to be seen and remembered even in the face of the uncertainty and impermanence of life.

The lyrics of the song touch on themes of separation and isolation, as the singer describes being lost in various landscapes - a mountain, an empty sea, a canyon - and feeling disconnected from the people and places he has known. This sense of dislocation is reinforced by the specific details of the singer's journey - leaving town with a hardcore band, leaving his money in a coffee can by the cemetery gates, jumping a garbage floater in a dead cold night - which suggest a life on the margins, on the fringes of society. Despite this, the singer's thoughts remain fixed on the people he cares about, particularly his mother and sister, as he wonders whether they will remember him when he returns.

Line by Line Meaning

I was lost up on the mountain
I was completely directionless and uncertain in the face of adversity.

I was lost on an empty sea
I was directionless, isolated, and adrift in a sea of loneliness.

I was lost down in the canyon
I was trapped in a deep, dark place with no way out.

Now I'm coming home
I'm returning to a place of safety, familiarity and belonging.

Will you remember me
I wonder if, after all my time away, I still occupy a cherished place in your memory and heart.

Well I left town with a hardcore band
I departed and ventured into a very different lifestyle and musical world.

Headlights shining on the beach
As I left town, the lights illuminated the beauty of the coastline.

Left my money in a Maxwell's coffee can
I trusted my funds to an informal, non-bank location for easy retrieval.

Down by the cemetery gates
My monetary cache was hidden near the final resting place of the deceased.

When I walk into your kitchen
Upon returning, as I step into your home and your space.

And I hold your face
I grasp your face in my hands, cherishing both the tactile sensation and emotional connection that comes with it.

Mother dear
I address my dear mother with affectionate admiration and respect.

When I walk into your bedroom
Upon returning, as I enter the most intimate and personal of your spaces.

And I look you in the eye
I make genuine eye contact to underscore the honesty and vulnerability of the moment.

Sister dear
I address my beloved sister with fondness, affection and familiarity.

Down a lawless border of here and there
I crossed over a dangerous borderland rife with chaos and disorder.

Not finding any way to get by
Despite my best efforts, I failed to find a way to navigate that dangerous realm.

Jumped a garbage floater in a dead cold night
In desperation, I resorted to hopping a makeshift raft teeming with refuse and debris during harsh weather conditions.

Cried under a beautiful sky
I lamented and wept in the face of such hardships, even as I was surrounded by natural beauty and grandeur.

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Frederic John Fatzer

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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