She sleeps alone in the warm nights of Memphis
Where the Peabody Hotel meets the velveteen sky
She sings like the waves in the cool Mississippi
That brought her from St. Paul in '75
And men come to court her with roses and sweet wine
Where hands cross the ivories from six until nine
She sings away sorrow each night when she leaves him
She goes home alone,
She's not the marrying kind

(chorus)
Love is a memory that she'll always hold
Cuz love in a memory never grows old
Why she did leave him, well nobody knows
Love in a memory never grows old
Now he works the toll booth on the New Jersey Turnpike
The ring on his finger grows cold to the bone
His sons were all dreamers who cheat on their own wives
He still dreams of St. Paul when he's cheating alone
Love is a memory that he'll always hold
Cause love in a memory never grows old
Why she did leave him, well, nobody knows
Cuz love in a memory never grows old