{"id":17823,"date":"2013-07-30T10:18:30","date_gmt":"2013-07-30T18:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/?p=17823"},"modified":"2013-07-30T10:18:30","modified_gmt":"2013-07-30T18:18:30","slug":"the-great-songs-johnny-thunders-you-cant-put-your-arms-around-a-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/2013-07\/the-great-songs-johnny-thunders-you-cant-put-your-arms-around-a-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Songs: Johnny Thunders’ “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"So<\/a><\/p>\n

Recent events have put us in the doldrums and left us wallowing in nostalgia in July’s dwindling days.\u00a0 As we’ve said repeatedly (to the oldster wankers in particular), this is a dangerous mode (you know, that “he not busy being born is busy dying” thang).<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, here we go again.\u00a0 We promise to come current near-term.\u00a0 But back in the mid-’70s New York City was busy birthing punk rock.\u00a0 One band that contributed mightily to the movement was The New York Dolls <\/strong>(more about them another time), out of which came The Heartbreakers<\/strong> and their mainstay, Johnny Thunders<\/strong>.\u00a0 Thunders was a raging three-chord rock n’ roll guitar player who lived life hard, modeling himself after his hero Keith Richards<\/strong>.\u00a0 Another dangerous mode.\u00a0 Sadly (and predictably) Thunders<\/strong> would die of an overdose in 1991, but along the way he churned out albums that after-the-fact stood as storyboards for his demise via heroin.<\/p>\n

The apex of Thunders’ discography would come in 1978 with his album So Alone<\/strong>, which was recorded with rock-stalwarts Chrissie Hynde, Phil Lynott, Peter Perrett, Steve Marriott, Paul Cook,<\/strong> and Steve Jones<\/strong>.\u00a0 The album’s masterpiece is the song You Can’t Put Your Arms Round a Memory<\/strong><\/em>, a stark ballad in which Thunders<\/strong> chillingly foreshadowed his own demise.\u00a0 Yep, it’s been that kind of week.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the song is sensational, and one which deserves to be covered by more artists (that weak-sauce version by Guns ‘n Roses<\/strong> doesn’t come close to doing it justice).\u00a0 Musically, the song is quintessential Thunders<\/strong>, with its devil-may-care, attitudinal guitar-playing and world-weary vocals.\u00a0 One of our favorites of all-time.\u00a0 Check it out below.\u00a0 The lyrics follow the song.<\/p>\n