The Memory Remains is a song by Metallica from their 1997 album ReLoad. It was played first live before the album was actually released. The song is about a once-great, now forgotten celebrity who is desperate to regain her fame but is driven half-mad with her obscurity. It may be a reference to the film Sunset Boulevard.
The song was the first single from the album. It was written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich and featured British singer/actress Marianne Faithfull as a guest vocalist. When played live, the band encourages the fans to sing Marianne's parts. It also contains lines spoken by Marianne taken from the Marilyn Monroe movie The Misfits ("Say yes... at least say hello...").
This song was performed on SNL when Metallica was the musical guest along with Faithfull. Metallica also performed this song's riff as a part of their "jams", which were teasers of the song played before the album's release many times. Some of these can be seen in Metallica's vault. It was performed with the San Francisco Symphony (conducted by Michael Kamen) on S&M.
