FOOL HEARTED MEMORY

FOOL HEARTED MEMORY

(Byron Hill & Blake Mevis)

Recorded by George Strait, MCA Records, 1982

This song was written in a small, upstairs, southwest corner room at 1217 16th Avenue South. I had recently written and produced a track for the movie 'The Exterminator', and the same company came back to me for another song for another blood and guts thriller called 'The Soldier'. Thanks to the ingenuity of ATV Music's Gerry Teifer and MCA Records' Jim Foglesong, a deal was done that included giving a new MCA recording artist a cameo role in the movie, and a guaranteed album cut and single for us. Producer/writer Blake Mevis and his new MCA artist were perfect candidates to bring into the project. I wrote the song with Blake, he produced it, and it became a historic first number one record for George Strait and my first number one as a songwriter. Little did I know how much this song would mean to all the "hat guy" artists of the 1990's. So many of them tell me that this is one of their favorite songs. In 1981, George Strait debuted at #6 with “Unwound.” He followed that up with a #15 “Down and Out,” then hit #3 with “If You’re Thinking You Want a Stranger, finally scoring his first #1 hit with his fourth release, “Fool Hearted Memory,” in 1982.

[LISTEN TO A SAMPLE OF GEORGE STRAIT'S VERSION]

FOOL HEARTED MEMORY (Hill/Mevis)

NICKELS AND DIMES

MEMORIES AND WINE

SHE'S ON HIS MIND ONCE AGAIN

THE SAME OL' STOOL

THE SAME OL' FOOL

PLAYED BY THE RULES BUT DIDN'T WIN

THERE'S AN OLD LOVE IN HIS HEART

THAT HE CAN'T LOSE

HE'D TRY FORGETTIN'

BUT HE KNOWS THAT IT'S NO USE

HE'S GOT A FOOL HEARTED MEMORY

IT WON'T LET HIM SEE

THAT SHE WALKED OUT THE DOOR

HE'S GOT A FOOL HEARTED MEMORY

AND HE SITS PATIENTLY

HERE EVERY NIGHT

SO IT CAN FOOL HIM MORE

SHE WAS HIS GIRL

HIS ONLY WORLD

THAT STRING OF PEARLS THAT SLIPPED AWAY

A THOUSAND DIMES

A THOUSAND TIMES

HE DOESN'T MIND WHAT THEY SAY

HE FILLS THE JUKEBOX

AND PLAYS THAT SAME OL' SONG

HE FILLS HIS GLASS

AND HE TURNS HER MEMORY ON

(REPEAT CHORUS)