Souvenirs Lyrics
All the snow has turned to water
Christmas days have come and gone
Broken toys and faded colors
Are all that's left to linger on
I hate graveyards and old pawn shops
For they always bring me tears
I can't forgive the way they rob me
Of my childhood souvenirs
[Chorus]
Memories, they can't be boughten
They can't be won at carnivals for free
Well it took me years to get those souvenirs
And I don't know how they slipped away from me
[Verse 2]
Broken hearts and dirty windows
Make life difficult to see
That's why last night and this mornin'
Always look the same to me
I hate reading old love letters
For they always bring me tears
I can't forgive the way they rob me
Of my sweetheart's souvenirs
Memories, they can't be boughten
They can't be won at carnivals for free
Well it took me years to get those souvenirs
And I don't know how they slipped away from me
About
“Souvenirs” by John Prine appears on his second studio album, ‘Diamonds in the Rough’ – 1972.
Prine said of this song,
“When I was first performing at the Fifth Peg in Chicago, I thought I should have a new song every week so that people wouldn’t hear the same songs they heard last week. I wrote this song in my ‘65 Malibu on my way to the club on Thursday night.”
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Via his NPR Tiny Desk Concert:
I think I had this song for my first album, but every song we cut from the first one, we just got so far and they said, ‘that’s it, the album’s over.’ So I still had this one for the second record. I think I wrote this back in ‘68. I was about three. I couldn’t hardly get my arms around a guitar.
- 1.Everybody
- 3.Souvenirs
- 5.Sour Grapes
