Memorization....the bane of my existence.

Taking a break from music memorization cause frankly my head is about to explode!  Memorization truly is a nightmare for me and I really don't know why.  I've tried several techniques and some are better than others but overall I think it comes down to me and my inept brain...blah.

I've been in some kind of music program or lessons as long as I can remember.  I started memorizing music for shows when I was in elementary school and have had a show to memorize for at the very least twice a year ever since.  You'd think by now I'd have it down right?!  WRONG!  I can learn music fast.  I pick up rhythms, melodies and harmonies pretty quickly.  But getting them in my head to be able to perform off book, especially with words attached, is such a pain.  And no matter how much I work to get stuff memorized, if I take any significant amount of time off of continually working on it, I lose it completely.  I feel like an idiot...