Today’s prompt is “air, earth, fire, water,” and since rain is water, the song I chose is Elvis Presley’s “Kentucky Rain.”
This might be my favorite Elvis Presley song. It was written by Eddie Rabbitt and Dick Heard, and the backing musicians included Ronnie Milsap on piano. It was released in January 1970, and only went as high as #18 on the Hot 100, but went to #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #31 on the Country chart in the US. It did much better in Canada, where it reached #10 overall, #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and went all the way to #1 on the Country chart. The great thing about this song, to me, is the the anxiety and desperation in Elvis’s voice as he sings the story of a man looking for the love of his life.
The lyrics, from AZLyrics.com:
And a dozen towns ago
I reached out one night
And you were gone
Don’t know why you’d run,
What you’re running to or from
All I know is I want to bring you home
So I’m walking in the rain,
Thumbing for a ride
On this lonely Kentucky backroad
I’ve loved you much too long
And my love’s too strong
To let you go, never knowing
What went wrong
Kentucky rain keeps pouring down
And up ahead’s another town
That I’ll go walking thru
With the rain in my shoes,
Searchin’ for you
In the cold Kentucky rain,
In the cold Kentucky rain
Showed your photograph
To some old gray bearded men
Sitting on a bench
Outside a gen’ral store
They said “Yes, she’s been here”
But their memory wasn’t clear
Was it yesterday,
No, wait the day before
So I fin’ly got a ride
With a preacher man who asked
“Where you bound on such a cold dark afternoon?”
As we drove on thru the rain
As he listened I explained
And he left me with a prayer
That I’d find you
Kentucky rain keeps pouring down
And up ahead’s another town
That I’ll go walking thru
With the rain in my shoes,
Searchin for you
In the cold Kentucky rain,
In the cold Kentucky rain…
And that’s Song Lyric Sunday and Song of the Day for July 12, 2020.
Love most of Elvis’s songs. This one was great.
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It might be the one I like best.
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I agree, The King does a great job of pouring emotion into his voice for this song. It’s a poignant song and easy to visualize.
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He deid some incredible stuff in the late ’60’s: this, “Suspicious Minds,” “In the Ghetto,” and “If I Can Dream” were all masterpieces. Those songs and his gospel album gave people a much different image of him.
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My grandma loved everything about Elvis. If I had to pick, this might be my favorite song of his too.
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He had some good stuff during the late ’60’s after the comeback concert.
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I wasn’t in the Elvis fan club, but this, Suspicious Minds, and In the Ghetto are favs of mine. π
Didn’t know Eddie Rabbit co-wrote this! I learned something today! π
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As I’ve said, I think he kind of grew up in the late ’60’s and early ’70’s and started picking better material. All three of those, and “If I Can Dream,” showed where he was headed.
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I love me some Elvis! So glad you did this song today! This is my hubby’s favorite Elvis tune. Perfect choice! π
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Mine, too! His work in the late ’60’s is some of his best…
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I held on for years that he was alive on his own private island. Frank & I were married by an Elvis Tribute performer in Las Vegas. The funnest day of my life! The 69′ comeback concerts is one of my favorites things of all time. π
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Elvis could sing anything but some fit him better than others…this one fit well.
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It did. He became more mature as a singer and deeper as a person, and his work reflected that.
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Reminds me of that trip I made to Kentucky a few years ago
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Kentucky is an interesting place. Very much “old south,” for lack of a better way to put it.
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Evil had a powerful voice and that really shows up in this song. Nice choice John.
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I thought it was a good fit….
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What a great song, John. Elvis had the perfect timbre in his voice for this song.
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He did…
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Great song. Wonder if the estate had to pay royalties to Kentucky for the use of the name when the state decided to copyright it.
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Your guess is as good as mine.
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I’ve always liked this song by Elvis. He was not my favorite but he could master just about any song.
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It’s a case of separating Elvis the Singer from Elvis the Cultural Icon. He was a tremendous singer, but kind of larger than life as an icon.
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Yes, you nailed it.
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I have to admit to not being an Elvis fan but every so often I hear a song like this and it’s really brilliant! Great choice π
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He had a tremendous voice and could really make songs like this stand out.
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Yes indeed π
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