It's only taken about a decade, but one of my favorite long lost Ryan Adams songs is finally about to become "officially released." The song is "Hey There, Mrs. Lovely," and it slayed just about everyone who heard it when the Raleigh expatriate started playing it onstage in 1999. But "Mrs. Lovely" never made it onto an album, although Adams rewrote it as an apparent late-night groupie lament called "These Girls" on 2007's "Easy Tiger"-- which just about broke my heart when I heard it.

Figuring that "Mrs. Lovely" was gone for good, I wrote a rather grumpy essay about it after the "Easy Tiger" version came out. But now the song as originally written is coming out on a digital-only mini-album called "Extra Cheese," as unreleased-bonus-track bait on a Valentine's Day compilation of "Ryan's best love songs." The official release date is next Tuesday, and the seven-song set will go for $3.99 at iTunes.

ADDENDUM (2/11/09): Looks like Adams' new Mrs. Lovely is Mandy Moore.

SECOND (3/10/09): Wedding bells.