Adams dropped out of high school at age 16 to work in a shoe shop and make music. He formed a band named Whiskeytown in 1994; they disbanded in 1999 having released two full albums, Faithless Street and Strangers Almanac. Adams went on to put out his first solo record, Heartbreaker, in 2000. After a long delay, in 2001 Whiskeytown's third album Pneumonia was finally issued.
In 2002, Ryan contributed backing vocals on Butterfly in Reverse, from the Counting Crows album, Hard Candy; after Adam Duritz (Counting Crows lead singer) appeared on the album Gold.
Ryan is highly prolific, and in 2005 released one double album and two regular albums: Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Nights and 29, respectively. His album, 29, was produced by friend Ethan Johns (who also produced his first two albums, Heartbreaker and Gold). In between those two releases and his 2005 triple-header, Ryan released Demolition (a collection of out-takes), Love Is Hell and Rock N Roll. Unreleased studio albums include 48 Hours, Exile On Franklin Street and Suicide Handbook.
In addition, Adams worked with Jesse Malin to form the punk-rock group The Finger (under the pseudonyms, "Warren Peace" and "Irving Plaza" respectively), who released two E.P.s which were collected together to form We Are Fuck You, released on One Little Indian Records in 2003.
In 2006 Ryan went on a minor UK-tour and a minor US-tour along the west-coast and has streamed 11+ mini albums on his website, under numerous jokey pseudonyms (DJ Reggie, Werewolph, The Shit, Rhoda Ro, Ghetto Birds).
The following solo record, entitled Easy Tiger, was released on June 26, 2007. The newest and last record with his backing band The Cardinals, Cardinology, was released in October 2008 and followed by extensive touring through the UK, US and Australia.
In January 2009 he announced that he would be going on an indefinite hiatus from music. The Kindness Songfacts reports that the major reason for Adams’ temporary retirement was his struggles with Ménière’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear that wrecks havoc on hearing and balance. Adams resumed performing in October 2010, and released his thirteenth studio album, Ashes & Fire, on October 11, 2011. His now ex-wife, pop singer and actress Mandy Moore, contributed some backing vocals.
Memories Of You
Ryan Adams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That I just don't have right now
I'll make them up
One cup of wanting you
Two cups of hoping somehow
These things come true
While I'm staring at pictures of you
While I'm staring at pictures of you
Yearning
Longing
Making up memories of you
Making up memories of you
For now.. your picture will do
Dialing you up in my sleep when the nights wearing thin
Won't make it right
My reasons to want to
And 100 reasons to lie
When I don't want to
While I'm staring at pictures of you
While I'm staring at pictures of you
Yearning
Longing
Making up memories of you
Making up memories of you
For now.. your picture will do
The lyrics of Ryan Adams's song "Memories of You" seem to be talking about an intense longing for someone that you have lost. The singer of the song seems to be filled with regret about not cherishing the memories of their lost love when they had the chance, saying that they don't have any memories of them right now, but that they will make them up for themselves. They describe a process of trying to will these memories into existence, with one cup of wanting, two cups of hoping somehow, and staring at pictures of the person they miss.
The second verse seems to highlight the futility of this process of creating imagined memories. The singer says they "dial you up in my sleep when the nights wearing thin", perhaps hoping to connect with the person they lost in dreams or even subconscious thoughts, but this won't make it right. They acknowledge that they have 100 reasons to lie about their feelings towards this person, but they don't want to. The chorus of the song repeats the idea of yearning and longing for the person, as well as the concept of making up memories of them to cope with the loss. The song ends with the resigned acceptance that for now, the person's picture will have to do.
Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of a person consumed by their feelings for someone they lost, wishing that they had more memories of them to hold on to, while acknowledging that creating these memories is a form of self-deception. The repeated chorus emphasizes the depth of their longing, while the final line of the song suggests a sense of temporary resignation.
Line by Line Meaning
Memories of you
Thoughts and memories of being with you
That I just don't have right now
At this moment, I cannot recall any memories of you
I'll make them up
I will fabricate memories of you
One cup of wanting you
A strong desire to have you
Two cups of hoping somehow
Hoping that somehow we can be together
These things come true
Dreams and desires to be with you will become a reality
While I'm staring at pictures of you
Looking at pictures of you and imagining being with you
Dialing you up in my sleep when the nights wearing thin
Calling you in my dreams when I feel lonely
Won't make it right
This won't make our situation better
My reasons to want to
The reasons why I want to be with you
And 100 reasons to lie
There are many reasons why I am lying to myself about us
When I don't want to
Even though I know it's not true, I am still lying and denying the truth
For now.. your picture will do
At this moment, looking at your picture is the closest I can get to being with you
Contributed by Zachary J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Duke_Togo_G13
Omg! This is fuckin awesome! Finally a recorded version. Thank you for posting!
@bushisahomo
is there a place to get this mp3
@graciousfew
As far as I know there is not. Of course there are many free youtube mp3 downloaders out there......