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Souvenir
Streetlife Serenade (1974) |
And your mementos
Will turn to dust But that's the price you pay For every year's a souvenir That slowly fades away Vertical Divider
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Words and Music by Billy Joel
A picture postcard A folded stub A program of the play File away the photographs Of your holiday And your mementos Will turn to dust But that's the price you pay For every year's a souvenir That slowly fades away Every year's a souvenir That slowly fades away Billy discusses "Souvenir" on SiriusXM radio. He says that he wanted to write a New Year's song like Auld Lang Syne.
Tom Odell and Billy discuss "Souvenir" in 2019. Odell says it reminds him of Schumann's Kinderszenen. Billy explains how the opening is like a Chopin piece (Raindrop Prelude, Op. 28, No. 15).
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"A picture postcard"
"Souvenir" is the final song with lyrics on Streetlife Serenade and serves as a sort of coda to the album. It is a nice, wistful tune about the tiny details in life that we file away, like another year of our lives filed away. And like a fine poem, it says many things in a concise, impactful, and lyrical manner, using sentimental images: "a program of the play," "a picture postcard," "your mementos." But this is not a sentimental song, the underlying theme is that such things will all turn to dust and slowly fade away, just like another year passing.
"A folded stub"
Musically, "Souvenir" is simple and elegant, with a classical melody. Billy once explained in a Q&A session (see video, below), that the opening notes of the song are almost the same as those in Chopin's "Raindrop" prelude (Op. 28, No. 19) in D flat major. His instrumental "Nocturne" from the Cold Spring Harbor album in 1971 is also reminiscent of a Chopin composition.
"A program of the play"
In his earlier years, Billy often played "Souvenir" at the end of his concerts and on New Year's Eve (see for example the video "Live in Long Island" in 1982, below). It was an appropriate final song. Although a short song, it is one of the better songs from Streetlife Serenade.
The song also appears on the 1977 promotional album Souvenir which came out after Turnstiles was released, and which has a live version of the song from 1976. It was also used in a sentimental scene for the final episode of the television series "How I Met Your Mother" in 2014 (see video below).
The song also appears on the 1977 promotional album Souvenir which came out after Turnstiles was released, and which has a live version of the song from 1976. It was also used in a sentimental scene for the final episode of the television series "How I Met Your Mother" in 2014 (see video below).
Background Photo: The New York Times from 9/11 Museum.
