About Middle of a Memory

"Middle of a Memory" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Cole Swindell. The song was released to radio on May 2, 2016 as the second single to his second studio album You Should Be Here (2016). The song was written by Swindell, Zach Crowell and Ashley Gorley. It received positive reviews from critics praising Swindell's improvements as a storyteller. "Middle of a Memory" peaked at number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, giving Swindell his fifth number-one country hit overall. It also reached numbers three and 46 on both the Hot Country Songs and Hot 100 charts respectively. It was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold 365,000 copies as of January 2017. The song also charted in Canada, reaching number 33 on the Canada Country chart and number 98 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Michael Monaco.

Taste of Country thought that the song showed Swindell's improved storytelling, and that he chose songs that represent the album as a whole. Similarly, Annie Reuter of Sounds Like Nashville also found that the song has a "vivid storyline" where the maturity of Swindell's songwriting "shines through." Matt Bjorke of Roughstock thought the song fit Swindell as a vocalist, and that its story of a girl who left before a man could express an interest in her is "a song most people have lived" and therefore would like to keep hearing on the radio. In 2017, Billboard contributor Chuck Dauphin put "Middle of a Memory" at number four on his top 10 list of Swindell's best songs.