[edit] Career
Wariner began performing as a youth in his father's band and in local clubs. In 1971, he was hired as a bassist for Dottie West's band. He also worked heavily with Chet Atkins (one of his childhood influences) and he played with Bob Luman's band.
His first major recording contract was with RCA Records in 1978. His first single releases failed to chart in the top 40 of Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart, although the song "I'm Already Taken" was re-released in 1999, peaking at #3 that year. His first No. 1 hit came in December, 1981, with "All Roads Lead to You."
However, his real popularity didn't take off until the mid-1980s, when he began recording for MCA Records. During his six-year stint with MCA, he scored 19 consecutive top 10 hits, eight of them going to No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart. The most successful of those songs included "Some Fools Never Learn" (1985, his second No. 1 hit), "What I Didn't Do" (1985), "You Can Dream of Me" (1986), "Lynda" (1987) and "I Got Dreams" (1989).
In the early 1990s, Wariner continued his success with Arista Records, with several of his songs reaching the top 10. But his success soon tapered off, as radio programmers became more interested in newer performers.
Wariner, however, continued to maintain his popularity through his instrumental talents. One example was 1991's "Restless," a collaboration with Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill and Mark O'Connor (from O'Connor's album The New Nashville Cats). "Restless" won Wariner (as well as Skaggs and Gill) his first Grammy Award in 1991 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration. In 1996, Wariner released an album of all instrumental tracks called No More Mr. Nice Guy. Though well-received by critics, it proved to be Wariner's last album for Arista.
Wariner also remained in the public eye with his songwriting talents. His composition, "Longneck Bottle" (a No. 1 hit by Garth Brooks), along with a No. 1 duet from early 1998 with singer Anita Cochran called "What If I Said" (his first No. 1 in more than eight years) reinvigorated Wariner's career.
The highlight of Wariner's career came in the spring of 1998. Now recording for Capitol Records, his song "Holes in the Floor of Heaven" - a song about dealing with grief of close friends and relatives - promptly shot to No. 2 and won the Country Music Association awards for Single of the Year and Song of the Year.
Wariner also collaborated with other well-known singers and songwriters, including Clint Black and Bill Anderson; he also scored several more hits, most notably 1999's "Two Teardrops" and "I'm Already Taken" (the latter a re-recording of his 1978 debut release).
[edit] Discography
Main article: Steve Wariner discography
[edit] External links
The Official Fan Club Website
Grand Ole Opry Bio
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wariner"
Your Memory
Steve Wariner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I thought I'd left it far behind me
But I was wrong
'Cause it came along
Your memory, how come it followed me to Denver
Guess it forgot to remember
That we're all through
And I'm over you.
[Chorus:]
Your memory, your memory
Is something I'm not over yet
Your memory, your memory
Your memory don't know the word forget.
Your memory was not invited to my party
When it arrived the teardrops started
Reminding me, oh, I'm still not free
Your memory, what was it doin' in my dreams last night
You'd think by now that I would be all right
Guess it's still no use cause I still love you.
[Chorus]
The song "Your Memory" by Steve Wariner is a heart-wrenching country ballad that speaks of a lover's struggle to overcome the power of memories. The lyrics talk about how memories of a past lover keep haunting the singer even though he thought he had left them behind. The song begins with him wondering why he finds himself thinking about her when he is in Miami, feeling as though he had escaped the memories. But he realized he was wrong when the memories came along with him. Even when he went to Denver, he thought he was safe, but the memories followed him there too. The chorus and the title of the song "Your memory, your memory, is something I'm not over yet" emphasizes how the memories are still taking a hold on his present and not letting him move on.
In the second verse, the singer talks about how the memories were not invited to his party but still showed up, leading him to tears. He can't seem to shake the past and still feels trapped by the memory of his lover. The chorus repeats how he is still not over it, and the song ends with the singer recognizing how the memories are still not letting him free. The song captures beautifully how memories of the past can haunt us and be difficult to overcome, even when we think we have moved on.
Line by Line Meaning
Your memory, what was it doin' in Miami
I was surprised to find myself thinking about you and our past while in Miami
I thought I'd left it far behind me
I believed that I had moved on from our memories and feelings
But I was wrong
I realized that I was mistaken
'Cause it came along
I couldn't escape the memories of you and our love; it followed me wherever I went
Your memory, how come it followed me to Denver
Even in Denver, I couldn't escape the thoughts and memories of you
Guess it forgot to remember
Perhaps my memory has failed to forget you, and so yours continues to haunt me
That we're all through
That our relationship is over and finished
And I'm over you.
And I have moved on from our relationship and your love
Your memory, your memory
Your memory, the thoughts of you and our love
Is something I'm not over yet
I haven't been able to completely move on from my love for you and our memories together
Your memory, your memory
Your memory, the thoughts of you and our love
Your memory don't know the word forget.
I can't forget you and our love, no matter how hard I try or how long it's been since our relationship ended
Your memory was not invited to my party
I deliberately excluded thoughts of you and our past from my life when celebrating, but they still crept in
When it arrived the teardrops started
The mere thought of you and our past triggered an emotional response of sadness and tears
Reminding me, oh, I'm still not free
The memories of you caused me to realize that I haven't truly moved on from our relationship, and am still emotionally bound to you
Your memory, what was it doin' in my dreams last night
Even in my subconscious thoughts and dreams, I couldn't escape thoughts of you and our past
You'd think by now that I would be all right
You might expect that, after some time has passed, I would be able to move on from our past and be content
Guess it's still no use cause I still love you.
Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I still find myself loving you and reminiscing about our past together
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHARLES W. QUILLEN, JOHN SCHWEERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Andre Vachon
My favorite Steve Wariner song. Whenever I come across it, it rattles around in my head for hours. Not only is Steve a SUPERB guitarist, he is an excellent vocalist.
Sam Wrought
Best breakup song ever
R J
It is my favorite song, but Steve refuses to add it to his concert setlist. Just curious why he chooses to omit one of his most popular songs from his live performances.
Jody Wilke
Besides that, he's really cute.😊⛪
100% Texan
My my how time has flown by.
Anthony Pollock
madpuppy1000 mine is the weekend.. Good song..
Stan Edwards
The song that cemented my move from "suit" to country boy. As a corporate suit I didn't listen to much country music and had just moved to a farmhouse. American Country Countdown was on the radio.. then this Steve Wariner song caught my ear.... I had to get this record!! So looking back , thanks Steve.
Jesse Lopez
That's awesome!!!
John Hall
The most underrated artist in country music
Jericho Oscar
@Xzavier Franklin yea, have been watching on instaflixxer for years myself :D