Better as a Memory
{{Infobox song
| name = Better as a Memory
| cover = Kenny Chesney - Better as a Memory.png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Kenny Chesney
| album = Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates
| released = March 31, 2008
| recorded = 2007
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length = 4:12
| label = BNA
| writer = Scooter Carusoe
Lady Goodman
| producer = Buddy Cannon
Kenny Chesney
| prev_title = Every Other Weekend
| prev_year = 2008
| next_title = Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven
| next_year = 2008
}}
"Better as a Memory" is a song written by Scooter Carusoe and Lady Goodman and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Chesney. It was released in March 2008 as the fourth and final single from Chesney's 2007 album Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates. With a two-week stay, it became Chesney's fourteenth number one hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of June 28, 2008.
Content
The song is a ballad in which the narrator addresses a lover with whom he is splitting with, but most likely warning her he is not the kind to get deeply involved with. He then lists a series of similes regarding himself (such as "built to fade like your favorite song", and "always sure until I doubt"), ultimately telling her that he is "better as a memory / than as [her] man".{{cite web |url=http://www.engine145.com/kenny-chesney-better-as-a-memory/ |title=Kenny Chesney - "Better as a Memory" |accessdate=2008-07-01 |last=Vercher |first=Brady |date=2008-03-19 |work=Engine 145 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218105941/http://www.engine145.com/kenny-chesney-better-as-a-memory/ |archivedate=2014-12-18 }}
The co-writers of the song are both pseudonymous: Scooter Carusoe is a pseudonym for Travis Hill, founder of Carnival Music, and Lady Goodman is a pseudonym of Holly Gleason, Chesney's publicist and a music critic.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/holly_gleason_celebrates_chart_topping_better_as_a_memory|title=Holly Gleason Celebrates Chart-Topping 'Better as a Memory'|date=10 December 2008}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1600233/kenny-chesney-celebrates-his-former-publicists-first-hit.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427133457/http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1600233/kenny-chesney-celebrates-his-former-publicists-first-hit.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 27, 2009|title=Kenny Chesney Celebrates His Former Publicist's First Hit}}
Critical reception
Noted Nashville critic Robert K Oermann of Music Row Magazine wrote that "['Better as a Memory'] could be the performance of [Chesney's] life, [and] perhaps his career."
Leeann Ward of Country Universe gave the song a B− grade. She stated that the lyrics seem to be somewhat "self-indulgent" but then said that "the production is nice and Kenny’s vocals are spot on."{{cite web|url=http://www.countryuniverse.net/2008/03/24/review-kenny-chesney-better-as-a-memory/|title=Kenny Chesney - "Better as a Memory"|last=Coyne|first=Kevin John|date=2008-03-24|work=Country Universe|accessdate=2010-06-17}}
Notable Performances
The song was performed with a string quartet on the 2009 Grammy Awards, where Chesney was introduced by Morgan Freeman. Later, it became the final performance in his Sony/Hot Ticket theatrical film "Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3-D."
Popular culture
The tune was voted one of NSAI’s “Ten Songs I Wish I’d Written” in November 2008.
Chart performance
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (2008) !Peak |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|1|artist=Kenny Chesney|artistid=49903}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardhot100|46|artist=Kenny Chesney|artistid=49903}} |
| US Billboard Pop 100
|align="center"| 100 |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcanadacountry|2|artist=Kenny Chesney}} |
| {{singlechart|Canada|61|artist=Kenny Chesney|artistid=49903}} |
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| scope="col"|Chart (2008)
!scope="col"|Position |
|---|
| US Country Songs (Billboard){{Cite magazine | url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2008/hot-country-songs| title=Best of 2008: Country Songs | magazine=Billboard | publisher=Prometheus Global Media | date=2008| accessdate=December 13, 2008}}
| align="center" | 23 |
| Canada Country (Billboard){{cite magazine|date=December 12, 2008|title=Top Canada Country Songs|magazine=R&R|page=62}}
|align="center"|15 |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Better as a Memory}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Kenny Chesney|title=Better as a Memory|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2008|certyear=2018|access-date=August 12, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Kenny Chesney singles}}
{{authority control}}