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.
Hard Luck
Elvis Presley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No, no, no, I got no place that I can go
So I've got some blues to sing
And oh, so much remembering, woe
Black cats, keep away from me
Take my advice, go shinning up a tree
I got hard luck, the hardest kind a luck you'll find
Drivin' me right outta my mind
She's gone, said toodle-loo
Kissed her good-bye and my-my, my money too
I've got hard luck, the hardest kinda luck you've seen
I mean, the way I'm runnin' lately
My lucky number is thirteen
Where do I belong, everything I do is wrong, all wrong
Wrong as can be
Who's stacking all the decks, lady luck has got the hex on me
I'm on her knee
Shove off, oh I'm warning you
This thing I caught, you know could be catchin' too
I've got hard luck, the hardest kinda luck there can be
Yes siree, I guess hard luck always chooses
Natural born losers like me
The lyrics to Elvis Presley's "Hard Luck" express the singer's feelings of distress and despair. He opens with a declaration of his low mood and lack of options, which leads him to sing the blues and remember past pains. The lyric "Black cats, keep away from me, take my advice, go shinning up a tree" speaks to the singer's superstitions and the belief that he is experiencing a run of bad luck. The chorus reinforces this idea of hard luck, describing it as a persistent, pervasive strain that affects every aspect of the singer's life.
The second verse of the song provides some context for the singer's current state. He has recently been abandoned by a lover who has absconded not only with his affection but also his money. Putting this loss in the context of his already tough luck, the singer describes himself as a natural-born loser who's always been plagued by bad fortune. In the third verse, the singer reflects on his inability to get anything right, and how everything he tries seems to be wrong. Despite this, he expresses a need to identify the source of his ill fate, personifying Lady Luck as the cause of his misfortune.
Overall, "Hard Luck" paints a picture of a man who is beset by ill fortune on every side. Through the song, Elvis Presley gives expression to feelings of loneliness, abandonment and hopelessness that resonate with people who have suffered setbacks in their own lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh I'm really feeling mighty low
I am feeling very depressed and hopeless
No, no, no, I got no place that I can go
I feel like I don't have any direction or path in my life
So I've got some blues to sing
I express my emotions through blues music
And oh, so much remembering, woe
I have a lot of painful memories that I am reflecting on
Black cats, keep away from me
I am superstitious and think that black cats bring bad luck
Take my advice, go shinning up a tree
I suggest black cats climb a tree to avoid crossing my path
I got hard luck, the hardest kind a luck you'll find
I have experienced incredibly tough situations and feel unlucky
I ain't lyin', I've got the bluest kinda blues
I'm not exaggerating, my blues are very real and very deep
Drivin' me right outta my mind
My difficult circumstances are beginning to make me insane
She's gone, said toodle-loo
My significant other has left me and said goodbye
Kissed her good-bye and my-my, my money too
She took my money with her when she left
I've got hard luck, the hardest kinda luck you've seen
I have faced incredibly tough scenarios in my life
I mean, the way I'm runnin' lately
I feel like my life is going terribly
My lucky number is thirteen
Contrarily, 13 seems to be my lucky number
Where do I belong, everything I do is wrong, all wrong
I feel like I don't fit in anywhere, and everything I do ends up being incorrect
Wrong as can be
Everything that I do turns out to be incorrect
Who's stacking all the decks, lady luck has got the hex on me
I feel like some force is working against me and I can't seem to catch a break
I'm on her knee
This force or Lady Luck has me under their control
Shove off, oh I'm warning you
I am telling someone to leave me alone
This thing I caught, you know could be catchin' too
I am afraid that my bad luck is contagious
I've got hard luck, the hardest kinda luck there can be
I feel like I have been dealt the worst kind of luck in existence
Yes siree, I guess hard luck always chooses natural born losers like me
I believe that those who are born as natural losers are more prone to experiencing bad luck
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, RALEIGH MUSIC PUBLISHING, MEMORY LANE MUSIC GROUP
Written by: BENJAMIN WEISMAN, SID WAYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Vickie Yoakum-Biggs
on Can't Help Falling in Love
Enjoy your Birthday!
ÅmïNøũ Lãmãrtĩnãã
on Jailhouse Rock
Waww
Anusit Moonsup
on Jailhouse Rock
กู.............แปลไม่ออก
Anusit Moonsup
on A Little Less Conversation
] topmost.....................