No Souvenirs Explained

No Souvenirs
Cover:	Etheridge no souvenirs.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Melissa Etheridge
Album:	Brave and Crazy
B-Side:	"No Souvenirs" (live) "Brave & Crazy" (live)
Released:	^[1]
Recorded:	A&M (Hollywood)
Genre:	Rock
Length:	4:33
Label:	Island
Producer:	Kevin McCormick Niko Bolas Melissa Etheridge
Prev Title:	Let Me Go
Prev Year:	1989
Next Title:	The Angels
Next Year:	1989

"No Souvenirs" is a song by American singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, release as the second single from her second album, Brave and Crazy, in August 1989. Despite peaking at number 95 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the song experienced more success internationally, reaching number 30 in Australia and number four in Canada, where it became Etheridge's highest-charting single until "I Want to Come Over" reached number one in 1996.

Song information

"No Souvenirs" was actually written before the first album came out but Melissa Etheridge decided to keep it back until the second album since its original intro was too similar to the intro of "Bring Me Some Water". The song is about a love affair that goes by very fast and leaves "no souvenirs". The lyrics reflect a phone call the singer makes a while after the breakup reminding her lover that she can still get in touch with her but that she would also accept it if she destroys all the souvenirs of that relationship. On the bonus DVD of her greatest hits album, Etheridge states that this is the song she gets the most questions about since it names various words she has created and phrases that mean specific things to her ("Jackpot telephone", "Make the buffalo roam"...).^[2]

Music video

The music video was shot in 1989 and shows the singer sitting at the dock of a bay playing the guitar with her band in the background. The video plays at night in a big city, most likely New York regarding the skyline in the background. The scene is interrupted by various short films showing her lover destroying the souvenirs of the very short love affair. To illustrate the anonymous character of that relationship, the head of the person is not visible.

Track listings

All songs were written by Melissa Etheridge.

7-inch, cassette, and mini-CD single^{[3] [4] [5]}

1. "No Souvenirs" – 4:33
2. "No Souvenirs" (live) – 4:43

US maxi-CD single^[6]

1. "No Souvenirs" – 4:33
2. "No Souvenirs" (live) – 4:43
3. "Like the Way I Do" (live) – 10:46

UK 12-inch and CD single^{[7] [8]}

A1. "No Souvenirs" – 4:33

B1. "Brave and Crazy" (live) – 4:47

B2. "No Souvenirs" (live) – 4:43

Credits and personnel

• vocals and 12 string guitar by Melissa Etheridge
• Bass, recording and mix by Kevin McCormick
• drums and cymbals by Mauricio Fritz Lewak
• Electric guitar by Bernie Larsen
• keyboards by Scott Thurston
• Acoustic guitar by Waddy Wachtel
• Harmonica by Bono
• Arrangement by Kevin McCormick and Melissa Etheridge
• Engineering by Bob Vogt

Charts

Year-end charts

References

• Melissa Etheridge and Laura Morton: The Truth Is..., Random House 2002
• Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled bonus DVD
• Bring me some water at musicmoz.org
• Melissa Etheridge records

Notes and References

1. New Singles. Music Week. 33. August 12, 1989. Misprinted as August 17 on source. The New Albums section uses the correct date.
2. Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled Bonus DVD at 28:01
3. No Souvenirs. Melissa Etheridge. 1989. US 7-inch single vinyl disc. Island Records. 7-99176.
4. No Souvenirs. Melissa Etheridge. 1989. US cassette single sleeve. Island Records. 4-99176.
5. No Souvenirs. Melissa Etheridge. 1989. Japanese mini-CD single liner notes. Polydor Records. PO9D-31007.
6. No Souvenirs. Melissa Etheridge. 1989. US maxi-CD single liner notes. Island Records. 2-99176.
7. No Souvenirs. Melissa Etheridge. 1989. UK 12-inch single vinyl disc. Island Records. 12IS431.
8. No Souvenirs. Melissa Etheridge. 1989. UK CD single liner notes. Island Records. CID431.
9. Top 100 Singles of '89. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. October 14, 2019.