Discover the story of the song > Souvenirs – John Prine

The lyrics are about the protagonist's feelings of loss and nostalgia. He talks about how everything from his childhood and his past relationships are slowly slipping away from him. He hates how things like graveyards and old pawn shops make him feel, and how reading old love letters brings tears to his eyes. He realizes that memories can't be bought or won, and it took him years to gain those memories. But somehow, they slipped away from him and he can't understand how.