Gillian Welch - Elvis Presley Blues

SONG Elvis Presley Blues

WRITTEN BY Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

PERFORMED BY Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

APPEARS ON Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator), 2001

This song came to mind due to two incidents: the anniversary of Elvis's death is coming up and Graceland is bracing for the mass pilgrimages and all the hoopla that goes with that anniversary; and I just listened to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings sing this at the Newport Folk Festival last weekend.

I've been listening to Gillian Welch ever since Emmylou Harris (who I worship and adore) started singing some of her songs and bringing her to a wider audience, and I've been listening closely ever since. Gillian's music isn't for everybody; it makes you think, it's best listened to in a quiet place, and it doesn't fit any particular genre niche. Some people think her music is boring, and even depressive. I just think it's quiet and meditative. Since teaming up with partner David Rawlings the music has gotten a little livelier (and David's solos on that archtop Gibson of his are nothing less than amazing), but David's a very thoughtful person, too, so the music hasn't lost any of its depth.

This song has always appealed to me. It captures the loneliness of Elvis's life, looks at the real person trapped inside the cultural icon, and how his death may have felt like relief to him. But the part that always hits me is the choruses, always talking about how "he shook it":

And he shook it like a chorus girl
And he shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler, baby,
Like you never seen.

...and other metaphoric descriptions throughout the song. And in my mind's eye I always see the Elvis scenes from the move Forrest Gump, with Elvis getting Forrest to show him his "moves" and imitating them, and later Forrest and his mother watching Elvis trying out those moves on national TV. It's so homey and prosaic, and both that segment of the movie and Gillian's song make me wonder about the Mississippi boy lost under the layers of the legend. And I listen and sigh when the song is done.

LYRICS

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
Just a country boy that combed his hair
And put on a shirt his mother made and went on the air
And he shook it like a chorus girl
And he shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler, baby,
Like you never seen

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
How he took it all out of black and white
Grabbed his wand in the other hand and he held on tight
And he shook it like a hurricane
He shook it like to make it break
And he shook it like a holy roller, baby
With his soul at stake

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
He was all alone in a long decline
Thinking how happy John Henry was that he fell down and died
When he shook it and he rang like silver
He shook it and he shine like gold
He shook it and he beat that steam drill, baby
Well bless my soul

He shook it and he beat that steam drill, baby
Well bless my soul, what's wrong with me?

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
Just a country boy that combed his hair
Put on a shirt his mother made and he went on the air
And he shook it like a chorus girl
He shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler, baby
Like he never seen

The video of this song is from a performance at Vicar St. in Dublin in 2004. Enjoy!