The Memory Remains by Metallica

Album: ReLoad (1997)

Charted: 13 28

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Songfacts®:

The woman who sings the haunting, unsettling ending and bridge is the British singer Marianne Faithfull (1946-2025). She started out as a member of London's '60s swing scene, moving up slowly through a life of love, loss, and drug abuse. A cohort of The Rolling Stones, she dated Mick Jagger for a while.
The song is about a celebrity who is fading into obscurity and it is driving her mad. The theme is similar to that of the classic 1950 movie Sunset Boulevard.
Some of Marianne Faithfull's lyrics ("Say yes... at least say hello...") were taken from the Marilyn Monroe movie The Misfits.
This was the first Metallica song to use a singer who wasn't in the band. When they play it live, the crowd sings Faithfull's parts.
Metallica performed the song with Marianne Faithfull on two occasions, 14 years apart. The first took place on Saturday Night Live, December 6, 1997, when Metallica were the musical guest on the show and Faithfull joined them for the song. She sang it with them again on December 7, 2011 at their show in San Francisco.
Marianne Faithfull recalled to Billboard magazine how the collaboration happened. "I was in Ireland, quietly living my beautiful life, and suddenly the phone rang and this voice said, 'Hello, Marianne Faithfull? This is Lars from Metallica,'" she said. "And then the story unfolded that what they wanted was to fly to Dublin and to record me for 'The Memory Remains' and put me on the song and that's what they did. And I made great friends with them of course and we stayed in touch."
"The Memory Remains" began as little more than a riff and a placeholder melody. While jamming in the studio with producer Bob Rock and drummer Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield started singing a string of improvised "Da-da-da-da"s over a section that had no lyrics yet. Most temporary vocal guides are destined for the scrapheap, but this one refused to leave.

"Randy Staub, our engineer, said, 'You know what? It sounds pretty cool when there's no lyrics there,'" Hetfield told Loudwire. "'I'm sure you have a vision of writing lyrics for that part one day, but the "da-da" bit sounds pretty cool.' I kinda thought about that for a while."

Rather than replacing the melody, Metallica built the song around it.
Hetfield developed a lyric about a performer watching fame slip away, a once-celebrated star slowly losing their grip as the spotlight moves elsewhere. The theme of celebrity decay gave the song a theatrical quality that demanded another voice to help tell the story. Bob Rock had a suggestion: Marianne Faithfull.

At first, Hetfield wasn't familiar with much of her work. "Bob Rock introduced me to her," he told CMJ New Music in 1997. "The stuff that I had heard was the old 20th Century Blues CD, which was really cool – all the old standards."

What sold him wasn't her fame but her voice.

"It was a bit avant garde, but she had the voice we were looking for," Hetfield explained. "That weathered, smelling-the-cigarettes-on-the-CD kinda voice. I thought, 'F--k! This is exactly what is needed for this part!' She was the voice, and she was a very intense character."

Faithfull enthusiastically accepted the invitation, becoming the first non-Metallica performer to sing on a Metallica studio recording. Her cracked, world-weary vocals transformed the song. Against Metallica's towering guitars, she sounded like the ghost of a fallen star haunting her own glory days, a perfect embodiment of the song's theme.
Released on November 10, 1997, a week before Reload arrived in stores, "The Memory Remains" served as the album's lead single. Reactions were mixed. Some fans embraced its experimental edge, while others found it a step too far from Metallica's thrash roots.

Among the skeptics was the band's bassist, Jason Newsted. When Classic Rock asked in 2002 whether he would have bought Reload as a fan, Newsted replied: "Not if I'd have heard 'The Memory Remains' first."

Fortunately for Metallica, many disagreed. The song became a concert staple, with audiences around the world happily taking over the famous "da-da-da" section that almost never made it beyond the demo stage.

Comments: 19

Rob from Wilmington, NcI'm getting quite a laugh from all of the people talking about how the spinning platform was making the band member sick. Um, the platform they were standing on was stationary people. The room itself was a big box built to rotate with a camera mounted to it so it looks like the platform is rotating. Didn't you find it odd that while the platform was "spinning" none of the guys' hair was flying around and their instruments all stayed in place? Duh. Now it is possible that the visuals of a room spinning around them might have given the guys a little bit of a queesy feeling, but to say they got motion sickness from the spinning platform is absurd since it didn't rotate at all.
Edward from Foster City, MiMarianne Faithfull at one time was also Mick Jagger's girlfriend.
Zero from Nowhere, NjTom, I was going to mention that! Actually, they all had to take motion sickness pills before shooting the vid and Lars was the only one who didn't take them and you can see when he's all spinning dizzy and about to keel over (thank you VH1 pop-up video!)
Nikki from Nowheres, Idi luv the ending of this song!
Mike from Falmouth, MaOne of my favorite songs by metallica.
Tom from Charleston, ScIt is said that in one of the music videos for this song, where they were on the swinging floor, the members got a bit of motion sickness, in addition if you watch closely to the video you'll see a unedited scene of Lars Ulrich (The Drummer) vomiting in the background, or, at the least hunched over. Marianne Faithfull was the only one who wasn't effected by the moving platform.
Hetfield from Port Louis, MauritiusAn excellent song; based on the obscurity of a celebrity. This song is really awesome, hats off to Metallica.
Rqpon from Den Helder, Netherlandsthe old lady represent every sinner. all will hear. the memories they refer to must be an unforgivable tought . however, after it sleets one can ask itself, end justice, for all, sad but true, to live is to let die
Samuel from Bangalore, IndiaWell thats the life when u fail to see the changes happening arounnd u it hurts nicec song and a moving one frfom metallica hats off to them
Dylan from Olmsted Falls, United StatesThis song remeindes me of all of my memories that we can't change and that will remain there forever. Excellent song!!!!
Jim from Clarmore, OkI like metallica songs like this. it gets right to it not 4 min. intros. not saying thats bad just good to be defrent every now and then.
Jt from Tullahoma, TnI love this song. It's amongst my favorites from Metallica.
Dan from Melbourne, AustraliaThe lyric "Faded Primadonna" sums up this songs meaning. And the Prima Donna James is actually talking about is Axl Rose of Guns N Roses.
Andrei from Tallinn, OtherMARIANNE FAITHFULL! WOW! Guess she was in Grateful Dead. Or at least somewhere... She was also Mick Jagger's ("The Rolling Stones") girlfriend and in 1990 she took part in Roger Waters'("Pink Floyd", then solo) gig "The Wall in Berlin" playing main heroe's - Pink Floyd's - mom.
Graham from North Bay, CanadaNear the end of the song Marianne Faithfull says "Say Yes. Atleast Say Hello" These were Marilyn Munroe's final onscreen lines in her last movie "The Misfits"
Luke from Manchester, EnglandOh and Cody: What do you mean the first one of six amazing songs? They had 5 cracking albums before this one with more than 10 amazing songs on each...

The Four Horsemen on Kill 'Em All, Fade To Black on Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets on the same album, One on ...And Justice For All and The Unforgiven on Metallica
Luke from Manchester, EnglandThis song is amazing, an actress who's fame has all but gone but she fails to acknowledge this and believes she's still a big star.

Actress Marianne Faithfull sings back up vocals on this song and the track could have been written for her.
Cody from Houston, AkThis is Metallica's first (One of six) amazing songs (according to me). This song inspired me to dump my ex-girlfriend (It's a good thing, trust me) and pursue a career in songwriting.
Tim from Leuven, Belgiumwhy doesn't anybody say great song??? so I say it : great song

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