Toenail darling

[Jim Saidhello]

Toward the end of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," Elvis sings the lyric which in the original is
"Goodbye little darlin, down the road I go" - but instead of "little" it sounds like he's singing "toenail."

Anybody have any idea what he's really singing? Or was the girl in need of a pedicure??

My friend and I are dying to know...

tx

[Elvisgirl]

Anybody have any idea what he's really singing? Or was the girl in need of a pedicure??

i think he was just fooling around

[franny]

lol...I thought I was reading it wrong...sorry, but "Toenail"...
Thanks, for giving me a laugh...

franny

[buttonhead]

Toward the end of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," Elvis sings the lyric which in the original is
"Goodbye little darlin, down the road I go" - but instead of "little" it sounds like he's singing "toenail."

Anybody have any idea what he's really singing? Or was the girl in need of a pedicure??

My friend and I are dying to know...

tx

Are you serious ???

I got to listen to it carefully...

[mozzarella]

Or could it be "good bye TALL LITTLE darlin'"? He sings it in the '68 Special and in the Memphis concert in '74. I've been also thinking about that...

[franny]

I checked only because I don't want you all to think the word "Toenail" is part of the song..

Here's the lyrics to the last line - "Goodbye little darlin down the road I'll go"

franny

[Terry the Ted]

I have often thought about that too, never quite sure what he is saying, but i'm gonna go with "Goodbye tall little darlin" that definately sounds better than "toenail"

[Elvisgirl]

toenail is funnier

[EnigmaticSun]

It's kind of funny (and I'm not too sure 'bout this toenail-question). Perhaps it is possible to find other funny lyrics? In some cases Elvis did use 'different' lyrics: do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair?

It's a strange world.. and sometimes it can be very funny as well!

[carolynlm]

This subject has come up a few times on other messageboards, and one of the conclusions we came to was Elvis was supposed to use the name 'Tarnell' which is a girls name. It came out as 'toenail darlin' instead of 'Tarnell darlin'......

[iloveelvis05]

NO NO NO...I have already asked this question a long time ago and after all of the posts and replies I received, I was finally understood that the word is "tarnell." I can't remember what everyone kept telling me what "tarnell" meant, but it definitely made more sense than "toenail."

And for those people that try to figure it out by looking at lyric sites, YOU CAN'T DEPEND ON THOSE SITES AT ALL! Seriously. There are a lot of people out there that think they know what they're doing, but they don't. Come on now...we're Elvis fans, we should know the truth!!!

[dannyboy1]

Don't know the exact spelling. Names are often spelt with considerable flair, but I always considered it to be Tarnelle.

Somewhere in the taping of the 68 TV show, Elvis recalls Scotty Moore asking him: "Would you sing that song about Tarnelle darling". I think that's the clearest we hear the word from Elvis.

[T_J]

This subject has come up a few times on other messageboards, and one of the conclusions we came to was Elvis was supposed to use the name 'Tarnell' which is a girls name. It came out as 'toenail darlin' instead of 'Tarnell darlin'......

Yes, according to Colin on FECC, it's a reference to Miss Tarnel Evaline Clawdy who Lloyd Price dated. Lloyd Price of course wrote Lawdy Miss Clawdy.

[nabelt24]

I had always wondered what the heck he was saying there? It does sound like 'toenail'.

[carolynlm]

I think Elvis was being his mischievous self when singing this song during the 68 Special......