Comments on: Kenny Chesney - “Better As A Memory”

By: Stormy

Stormy — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:02:55 +0000

If he keeps singing like that there is no way the real pirates will cut him in on a share of their sweet oil hijacking revenues.

By: Occasional Hope

Occasional Hope — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:06:28 +0000

Perhaps he was confusng them with highwaymen? Either way, as far as I can tell, Kenny’s version of pirates is usually the fantasy fun/cliche sort, not the bloody reality. (A song about what the Caribbean pirates were really like might actually be worth hearing, but I don’t expect to hear it from Kenny). Looking at the lyrics closely, I’m not inclined to think any of it is meant to mean anything much, except perhaps the writers thought a pirate reference would make Kenny record their song. If it was a better song, I might suggest the reference might be an allusion to the protagonist’s only friend being alcohol (Captain Morgan being the prirate, of course), but I think this song inclines to the pretentiously arty rather than anything actually approaching real art.

By: Stormy

Stormy — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:53:04 +0000

Where would he run into Pirates on the road? Aren’t they usually on the sea? Often around Somalia?

By: JIMMY

JIMMY — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:34:23 +0000

MY ONLY FRIENDS ARE PIRATES line I think reflects how he is on the road, one city to the next, not knowing where or when he will end up there.

By: tom

tom — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:02:02 +0000

I am coming into this fray way too late. But “Better as a memory” does make sense, though the line “my only friends are pirates, it’s just who I am” was most certainly a plug for the album title drop. It’s basically stating why people walk away from something before it starts. They just don’t think they will be good for that person…thus better as a memory.

Kenny is a hard-working guy who has paid his dues by scratching out a living for years before he got mainstream. He didn’t become some overnight “pretty boy” success story like Nashville can produce when they want to. I saw him at my State Fair in 1999 OPENING for Tracey Lawrence and he smoked Tracy’s show. In 2 days, his new album “Lucky Old Sun” comes out. I think what KC needs to watchout for now is over-exposure and burnout. Has he talked to Garth Brooks?

By: Natalie

Natalie — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:06:02 +0000

I loved this song right away, from the first time through. It is very poetic about, in this case, a man who would rather walk away than hurt someone he knows he can’t love right, or be hurt by someone himself. Walking away right now is much easier than letting it get ugly in the end. Having been on both sides of that fence I completely understand it. He sees her falling, knows she will, so he’ll leave before the pain is too much. This isn’t a failed relationship this is about one that was never given the opportunity to start.

The roulette comment…very appropriate. The relationship is the ball on the wheel, you don’t know where it will stop only that it will, it will end (part of the cynicism of the man). The thrill is in the spinning (falling), will I win or lose? If you ever watched players at a roulette table the reactions are the same once the ball drops. They’re still going to bet again whether they won or lost. In this case he knows he will lose so he’s not betting much.

By: jereicka

jereicka — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:44:40 +0000

i love your song it is the BEST !

By: Stormy

Stormy — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:21:30 +0000

And you do have to wonder about the strength of a song that cannot endure honest analysis.

By: Mike Parker

Mike Parker — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:09:19 +0000

And further… to beat a dead horse… if this song is poetry, then it can only be fully appreciated when deconstructed and analyzed.

By: hairandtoenails

hairandtoenails — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:58:55 +0000

In any case, whether people have “better things to do” or not hardly changes the validity of their points.