Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! Hope you are all able to enjoy this day with family and friends.
Today’s song lines up nicely with the holiday, as the #9 Billboard hit this week is Maroon 5’s ‘Memories,’ a gentle tune about holding on to the memories of the people we’ve loved. It’s in keeping with the band’s shift into more mellow territory on recent releases. Its chorus even nods to Pachelbel’s classical staple ‘Canon in D.’
‘Memories’ is the 15th song Maroon 5 has landed on Billboard’s Top Ten. Nine of those have reached the Top Five, with four hitting the top spot. That success has come over a 15-year period, with most of it during the last decade.
Quite the run. Enough to land the band in the rare company of artists who have sold more than 100 million records.
Here’s to the ones that we got
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you’re not
‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
Of everything we’ve been through
Toast to the ones here today
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
[Verse 1]
There’s a time that I remember, when I did not know no pain
When I believed in forever, and everything would stay the same
Now my heart feel like December when somebody say your name
‘Cause I can’t reach out to call you, but I know I will one day, yeah
[Pre-Chorus]
Everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody hurts someday, ayy-ayy
But everything gon’ be alright
Go and raise a glass and say, ayy
[Chorus]
Here’s to the ones that we got
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you’re not
‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
Of everything we’ve been through
Toast to the ones here today
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
[Post-Chorus]
Doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
[Verse 2]
There’s a time that I remember when I never felt so lost
When I felt all of the hatred was too powerful to stop (Ooh, yeah)
Now my heart feel like an ember and it’s lighting up the dark
I’ll carry these torches for ya that you know I’ll never drop, yeah
[Pre-Chorus]
Everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody hurts someday, ayy-ayy
But everything gon’ be alright
Go and raise a glass and say, ayy
[Chorus]
Here’s to the ones that we got (Oh-oh)
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you’re not
‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
Of everything we’ve been through (No, no)
Toast to the ones here today (Ayy)
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories (Ayy)
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
[Post-Chorus]
Doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
Doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo (Ooh, yeah)
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
[Outro]
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
Meet Me In Montauk 
The song was specifically written about the loss of their manager and Adam’s friend, Jordan Feldstein. A nice departure from the rather banal pop offerings from the band of late, though I still miss their more jazzy style from the 90’s and 00’s.
This song does work nicely for the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving to all!