Smithereens – "Only a Memory" (1988)

I search the room, but you’re not there

Your perfume lingers everywhere

But it’s only a memory

I’m a bit of a clean freak.  So I wash my sheets and pillowcases every year, whether they need it or not.

At 2 or 3 lines, December 31 is known as “Wash-The-Sheets-And-Pillowcases Day.”  It’s obvious that picking an easy-to-remember date to perform this chore is smart . . . right?

My bed sans dirty sheets
and pillowcases

I suppose I could have chosen April 15, or July 4, or some other memorable date.  But doing this job on December 31 is symbolic – I’m washing away all the previous year’s sweat, sebum, dead skin cells, and dust mites and starting the New Year off right. 

(Stop making a face and saying “Ewwww!”  You’ve got all that sh*t on your sheets and pillowcases, too!)

All clean and ready for 2026!

I think that I’ll switch to January 1 next year.  That way I would start the year off with sheets and pillowcases that were free of the detritus of my New Year’s Eve-related shenanigans.

On the other hand, it’s sort of nice to have an olfactory reminder of the night’s debauchery.

*     *     *     *     *

In a few hours, 2025 will be only a memory.  I promise that 2 or 3 lines will try to do better in 2026.

Today’s featured song was released in 1988 on the Smithereens’ second album, Green Thoughts.  (The title has nothing to do with being eco-friendly – “green” is a reference to envy.)

Click here to listen to “Only a Memory.”

Click here to buy “Only a Memory” from Amazon.