Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African American music to a wider audience. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage the singer for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number one hit in the United States. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, he became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, made him enormously popular—and controversial.
In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He held few concerts however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood movies and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed television comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii. Years of prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate, just 42 years of age.
Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century. Commercially successful in many genres, including pop, country, blues, and gospel, he is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music. He won three competitive Grammys, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame.
Clean Up Your Own Back Yard
Elvis Presley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Acting like he wrote the golden rules
Shaking his fist and speeching at me
Shouting from his soap box like a fool
Come Sunday morning he's lying in bed
With his eye all red, with the wine in his head
Wishing he was dead when he oughta be
Heading for Sunday school
Oh don't you hand me none of your lines
Clean up your own backyard
You tend to your business, I'll tend to mine
Drugstore cowboy criticizing
Acting like he's better than you and me
Standing on the sidewalk supervising
Telling everybody how they ought to be
Come closing time 'most every night
He locks up tight and out go the lights
And he ducks out of sight and he cheats on his wife
With his employee
Clean up your own backyard
Oh don't you hand me none of your lines
Clean up your own backyard
You tend to your business, I'll tend to mine
Armchair quarterback's always moanin'
Second guessing people all day long
Pushing, fooling and hanging on in
Always messing where they don't belong
When you get right down to the nitty-gritty
Isn't it a pity that in this big city
Not a one a'little bitty man'll admit
He could have been a little bit wrong
Clean up your own backyard
Oh don't you hand me, don't you hand me none of your lines
Clean up your own backyard
You tend to your business, I'll tend to mine
Clean up your own backyard
You tend to your business, I'll tend to mine
Elvis Presley's song Clean Up Your Own Back Yard is a message to all those who are quick to point out the faults of others but fail to recognize their own shortcomings. The song is a criticism of hypocrites, those who judge and criticize others while living their own lives in a way that doesn't reflect the values they profess to hold.
The song highlights three examples of such hypocrites, a back porch preacher, a drugstore cowboy, and an armchair quarterback. The back porch preacher is someone who claims to know and follow the golden rules but fails to live up to them when Sunday morning comes around. He is a drunk and a hypocrite. Similarly, the drugstore cowboy is always giving advice to others, but when it comes to his own life, he cheats on his wife with an employee. Finally, the armchair quarterback is always criticizing and second-guessing others but is never willing to admit his own mistakes.
Overall, the message behind this song suggests that we all have faults, and we should look inward before we start to point fingers at others. We must clean up our own backyard before we judge others.
Line by Line Meaning
Back porch preacher preaching at me
A person who claims to know what is right and wrong is imposing their beliefs on me.
Acting like he wrote the golden rules
The person is behaving as if they know the absolute truth and are better than others.
Shaking his fist and speeching at me
The preacher is using anger and force to make me accept his beliefs.
Shouting from his soap box like a fool
The preacher is behaving in an irrational and foolish way.
Come Sunday morning he's lying in bed
The preacher isn't practicing what he preaches and is being lazy.
With his eye all red, with the wine in his head
The preacher has been drinking and isn't setting a good example.
Wishing he was dead when he oughta be Heading for Sunday school
The preacher is regretting his behavior and knows he should be doing better.
Clean up your own backyard
Focus on your own life and problems before pointing out others' faults.
Oh don't you hand me none of your lines
Don't try to convince me with hollow arguments or excuses.
Drugstore cowboy criticizing
Someone with a false sense of superiority is criticizing others from a position of little real importance.
Acting like he's better than you and me
The person is behaving as if they are superior to others and have a right to judge them.
Standing on the sidewalk supervising
The person is watching others' actions with disapproval or criticism.
Telling everybody how they ought to be
The person is trying to impose their views on others, even though they may not be qualified to do so.
Come closing time 'most every night
At the end of work, when others have left, the person reveals their true character.
He locks up tight and out go the lights
The person is hiding or keeping secrets that they don't want others to know.
And he ducks out of sight and he cheats on his wife
The person is engaging in dishonest behavior and is being unfaithful to their partner.
Clean up your own backyard
Focus on your own life and problems before pointing out others' faults.
Armchair quarterback's always moanin'
Someone who isn't a professional is always complaining and criticizing others' efforts.
Second guessing people all day long
The person is always judging or doubting others' actions and decisions.
Pushing, fooling and hanging on in
The person is trying to manipulate or deceive others, even though they may not be qualified to do so.
Always messing where they don't belong
The person is interfering in others' affairs and not minding their own business.
When you get right down to the nitty-gritty
When you examine the situation thoroughly and in detail,
Isn't it a pity that in this big city
It's regrettable that in a big city where everyone should be free to be themselves,
Not a one a'little bitty man'll admit
No one with little power or authority will accept or confess.
He could have been a little bit wrong
They may have made mistakes or misjudgments.
Clean up your own backyard
Focus on your own life and problems before pointing out others' faults.
Oh don't you hand me, don't you hand me none of your lines
Don't try to convince me with hollow arguments or excuses.
Clean up your own backyard
Focus on your own life and problems before pointing out others' faults.
You tend to your business, I'll tend to mine
Mind your own affairs and I'll do the same.
Lyrics © RALEIGH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: BILLY STRANGE, MAC DAVIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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