You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory

"You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" is a song released in 1978 by Johnny Thunders, appearing on his debut solo album So Alone and as a single taken from the album. Both the song and album include the guitar work of Peter Perrett of the Only Ones. The title was taken from a line in the "Better Living Through TV" episode of the sitcom The Honeymooners. It is considered by many to be his signature song.

The ballad has been interpreted to be about Thunders' heroin addiction, or about his romance with Sable Starr. However, according to Nina Antonia's biography Johnny Thunders...In Cold Blood, the song was written years before he was a member of the New York Dolls and before he ever tried heroin.

Covers

 * Guns N' Roses covered the song on their album, "The Spaghetti Incident?". All the instruments on this version were performed by Duff McKagan.
 * Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day covered the song on the album No Fun Mondays.
 * Ronnie Spector (featuring Joey Ramone) covered the song on her album The Last of the Rock Stars.
 * The song appears in the documentary about Thunders's New York Dolls bandmate Arthur Kane, New York Doll.
 * Nick Oliveri covered the song on the Mondo Generator release, Australian Tour EP 2008, and also performed it live with Queens Of The Stone Age occasionally.