not sure if this has been done before or not.....hope not!
Over the years,for one reason or another,Elvis chose not to include all the lyrics on many of the songs that he recorded/performed.Does anyone know why this happened?...Or instead, do you know of any to add to the ones below?....
I`m so lonesome I could cry
"I`ve never seen a night so long,when time goes crawling by.
the moon just went behind a cloud to hide its face and cry"
When my blue moon turns to gold again
"The lips that used to thrill me so,your kisses wre meant for only me,
In my dreams they live again sweetheart,but my golden moon is just a memory"
"The castles we built of dreams together,were the sweetest stories ever told, maybe we will live them all again,and my blue moon again will turn to gold"
Good time Charlie`s got the blues
"I`ve got my pills to ease the pain,can`t find nothing to ease the rain...someday I`d like to settle down,but everybody`s leaving town".
Anyone know any more??
To the first part of your question:
In some cases he may didn't know the lyrics so well/far. Or do you have any other explanation for "Hey Jude"? Then he recorded usually in a more or less live atmospere in the studio. So when the final version was without a verse or whatever, so what. And sometimes it hadn't fit with his version of the song.
But what do you mean with the second part?
Do you want the original lyrics or should we become creative?
"If you're an Elvis fan, no explanation is necessary; If you're not an Elvis fan, no explanation is possible.“
(George Klein)
Sorry if that didn`t come out the way I intended it to...... What I was after are the actual lyrics that were left out of songs....the ones we may not be familiar with from only hearing Elvis` version. I was going to include "Amazing Grace"..where he leaves out almost the entire song!...but..well...I`m lazy!!!!
OK, now I got it!
Well here's the second verse of "Johnny B. Goode" (left out completely)
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track
Oh, the engineerswould see him sitting in the shade
Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made
People passing by they would stop and say
Oh my that little country boy could play
"If you're an Elvis fan, no explanation is necessary; If you're not an Elvis fan, no explanation is possible.“
(George Klein)
We`ve got it going now!....
I noticed that with the gospel song "Stand By Me" we sang it in church and we had another verse to it which he never did.
Maybe he just did the verses he liked-which stuck in his mind.
Sometimes in bands I 've been in we'd omit verses to make the song shorter lyrically because we wanted more instrumental breaks or because we wanted a faster version of the song.
Work in Progress!
Do you think it may have been that he only had an hour on stage and wanted to do certain songs so cut some down?
Diane
I noticed that he chose to leave out ALOT of the lyrics to "Solitaire."
I'm So Lonesome: Full lyrics sung in rehearsal and in private. Presumably shortened for Aloha and subsequent performances. All two of 'em.
Johnny B.Goode: He did sing the gunny sack version a few times on stage.
Solitaire: He mixed verses two and three together. Listen to Tom Jones' version to hear how it should have been sung.
Good Time Charlie: Gee, I wonder why he omitted the verse about pills?
There are others that were changed due to the musical arrangement, eg You've Lost That Loving Feeling ("Bring it on back" etc left out).
This happened many, many times over the years even from the beginning, eg Hound Dog.
Getlo - cute'n'cuddly
i think that's a factor Diane. As for Amazing Grace. I've never heard anyone do the whole song. It's or 7 verses depending on which version you choose.The way Elvis sung it was the way i've heard most people sing it.
I think like a lot of singers he sung the lyrics he liked best or knew best.
I never looked for trouble but I never ran.
well Elvis loved to play with lyics and sometimes he played around with them at times and somes times the writers etc let him do his own thing which i think was good. so i heard.
Everytime Elvis did a cover he always sang using his own style. He made you forget about the original singer of the song and made the song his own.
I totally have to agree with this one.Originally Posted by memphis69
Yes, it's like, no matter who had sung a song before him, once Elvis did it - THAT was the standard.
Not every time though.
Yesterday and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face are two examples.
The originals were never bettered by Elvis, and he would have been the first to admit it.
Getlo - cute'n'cuddly
Agree. Not with you choice of Yesterday but that's personal taste.
Another really bad example is Hey Jude.
"If you're an Elvis fan, no explanation is necessary; If you're not an Elvis fan, no explanation is possible.“
(George Klein)
Yeah, he pretty much screwed the pooch on that one.
Wrong key, incomplete lyrics.
Better suited for on stage though.
Getlo - cute'n'cuddly
I have to disagree with this one. I was bowled over when I heard Elvis' rendition of Hey Jude and it's been one of my favorites since. I love the way his voice is higher and a bit raspy in parts. Yesterday is so so to me by both Elvis and the Beatles.
Diane
First off...thanks to all of you for all the replies...much appreciated.
I tend to agree with the idea that Elvis seemed to go more by the "feel" of a song rather than the message or meaning of the song..possibly because he wasn`t a songwriter himself..he was always first and foremost a "rhythm" man....I guess it just comes down to personal taste at the end of the day....me,I always tend to notice the lyrics of a song first,then the rhythm...but that`s just me I guess (It might also be the reason why I`m not the King Of Rock`n`Roll!!!)......
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