I first heard this song by Elvis in the credits to the movie, "The Skeleton Key." It was one of his later recordings, and his voice was a little shot, so I honestly thought it was an Elvis impersonator. But I was intrigued by the song, so I looked it up. I think it's one of my favorite songs by him.
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The song was recorded in 1968, two months after Martin Luther King was assassinated, and the lyrics are inspired by quotes by King. Alluding to King's "I Have a Dream" speech. The song's title line, "If I can dream," alludes to King's quote, "If you can't fly, then run, if you can't run, then walk, if you can't can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." Elvis encourages us to keep fighting for good, as long as we can still dream. The song laments the hardships of the times and looks looks to a hopeful, brighter future. Elvis felt a connection to the civil rights movement and the struggle of black Americans and that can be heard in the passion in his voice as he sings this song.
video credit: Marco Hebbling
I've never really heard an Elvis songs. I believe the only Elvis songs I've heard wee off of his Christmas album. Your blog has introduced me to songs I would not have thought to Listen to. You can really hear the emotion Elvis has in this song. In the beginning when his singing "why why why can't my dream come true", you can definitely hear the pain and emotion he feels toward this subject.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment! I'm glad I got to introduce you to another side of Elvis! While I am not a huge Elvis fan, I have to say he was a great artist, and I believe he really did care about people. This song made me respect him more as an artist and a person.
DeleteThroughout all my musical knowledge, I never came across an Elvis song that was in connection with the Civil Rights Movement. This song sent chills down my spine, because of the emotions behind it. Elvis knew how to get his fans attention, and with this song he used his fame to direct their views towards a more serious matter. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired so many, and I'm glad he influenced this musical legend. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! I only know about this song because I watched a horror movie on Netflix lol! For some reason it never gets played, probably because it's pretty intense. I read that he felt so strongly about this song that he recorded it over and over again alone in a dark studio until he felt he had done it justice. He really did care about the message it carried.
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