Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American sin… Read Full Bio ↴Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King".

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.

Five Sleepy Heads
Elvis Presley Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There were five sleepyheads
All tucked into their beds
While I sang a lullaby
One got dream dust in her eye

There were four sleepyheads
Playing possum with me
Mr. sandman came by

And then there were three

Moonbeams play peek-a-boo
Three away became two
And my song was almost done
When the land of nod took one

Kissed the last one goodnight
Then I heard not a peep

There were five sleepyheads
Now they're all fast asleep

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song “Five Sleepy Heads” by Elvis Presley captures the precious moments of a caregiver putting five restless children to bed. Elvis describes the sleepyheads all cuddled up in their beds as he sings them a lullaby. The first verse talks about the five children who were all tucked into their beds while Elvis sang a lullaby, but one of them got dream dust in her eye causing her to become restless. In the second verse, Elvis describes the children pretending to be asleep while he kept singing, then the sandman came and one-by-one the children fell asleep until there were three left. In the third verse, the moonbeams played peek-a-boo and one more child drifted off to sleep until there were two left. Finally, in the last verse, Elvis kissed the remaining two goodnight until there was complete silence in the room, all five sleepyheads were fast asleep.

Overall, the message behind “Five Sleepy Heads” is the beautiful and serene feeling a caregiver gets when they calm a child and put them to bed. It describes the small moments of care and love that go into being responsible for children, making it a relatable and nostalgic song for many people.

Line by Line Meaning

There were five sleepyheads
There were five people who were very tired and ready to sleep

All tucked into their beds
They were comfortably lying in their respective beds

While I sang a lullaby
Elvis Presley sang a song to help them sleep better

One got dream dust in her eye
One of them got some imaginary dust in their eye while they were trying to sleep

There were four sleepyheads
One of them woke up after getting some dust in their eye

Playing possum with me
The other four pretended to still be asleep while Elvis Presley tried to get them to go back to sleep

Mr. sandman came by
The idea of someone bringing dreams to people made the exhausted people drift away slowly

And then there were three
Another person fell asleep and only three more were awake

Moonbeams play peek-a-boo
The light coming through the window appeared and disappeared because of moonbeams and clouds passing in front of it

Three away became two
One of the ones still awake fell asleep and two were left awake

And my song was almost done
Elvis Presley's song was getting close to ending