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.
It's A Wonderful World
Elvis Presley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pretty as pink lemonade, it's a wonderful world
Life is a carnival, live it for all your worth
You are the star of the greatest show on earth
This big wide world is a clown with his nose painted red
A rainbow colored balloon's dancing high overhead
It's everyone's oyster, step up get your pearl
This big wide world is a clown with his nose painted red
A rainbow colored balloon's dancing high overhead
It's everyone's oyster, step up get your pearl
It's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful world
It's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful world
The lyrics of Elvis Presley's song "It's A Wonderful World" are a celebration of life and its joys. The song invites the listener to appreciate the beauty of the world around them, to live life to the fullest, and to recognize oneself as the singer of their own life story. The first two lines, "Young as a circus parade, it's a wonderful world/ Pretty as pink lemonade, it's a wonderful world" liken the world to a colorful, vibrant, and joyful carnival or parade, evoking a sense of playfulness and lightness.
The second stanza, "This big wide world is a clown with his nose painted red/ A rainbow colored balloon's dancing high overhead/ It's everyone's oyster, step up get your pearl" continues the metaphor, describing the world as a clown with its nose painted red, hinting at the idea that life is a performance, a spectacle, where everything is possible if one is willing to seize the opportunities. The image of the rainbow-colored balloon, dancing high overhead, suggests the expansive, limitless nature of human imagination and possibility.
Overall, the song appears to be an optimistic, upbeat and fun song that invites the listener to appreciate the richness of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Young as a circus parade, it's a wonderful world
This world is young and vibrant, like a circus parade filled with energy and life, making it a wonderful place to be.
Pretty as pink lemonade, it's a wonderful world
The beauty of the world is as refreshing and sweet as a pink lemonade, adding to its splendid nature.
Life is a carnival, live it for all your worth
Life is like a carnival, full of various experiences and thrills. It is meant to be lived to the fullest with everything you've got.
You are the star of the greatest show on earth
Each person is unique and special, just like a star in the greatest show on earth, adding their own value and purpose to this world.
This big wide world is a clown with his nose painted red
The world is like a cheerful clown, with its bright colors and playful antics that bring joy and happiness to the people.
A rainbow colored balloon's dancing high overhead
The beauty and vibrancy of the world is like a colorful, dancing balloon floating high above our heads, elevating our spirits and lifting us up.
It's everyone's oyster, step up get your pearl
The world is an oyster, ripe and full of opportunities for everyone to take and find their own precious pearl, if they are willing to work for it.
It's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful world
Overall, the world is a wonderful, marvelous, and amazing place filled with endless possibilities, experiences, and beauty, which makes it worth cherishing, living, and thriving in.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ROY C. BENNETT, SID TEPPER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Live Singers Online....
Young as a circus parade, it's a wonderful world
Pretty as pink lemonade, it's a wonderful world
Life is a carnival, live it for all your worth
You are the star of the greatest show on earth
This big wide world is a clown with his nose painted red
A rainbow colored balloon's dancing high overhead
It's everyone's oyster, step up get your pearl
It's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful world
This big wide world is a clown with his nose painted red
A rainbow colored balloon's dancing high overhead
It's everyone's oyster, step up get your pearl
It's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful world
It's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful world
Live Singers Online....
Love this Song! Didn’t Elvis have all the best songs written for him 🌈🔥🎸🎹🎙🎤❤️⭐️
Jay Pee
I believe Elvis greatest musical era was his movie songs. The Hollywood songwriters were good to Elvis!!
Joe Sampson
Agree.
Live Singers Online....
Young as a circus parade, it's a wonderful world
Pretty as pink lemonade, it's a wonderful world
Life is a carnival, live it for all your worth
You are the star of the greatest show on earth
This big wide world is a clown with his nose painted red
A rainbow colored balloon's dancing high overhead
It's everyone's oyster, step up get your pearl
It's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful world
This big wide world is a clown with his nose painted red
A rainbow colored balloon's dancing high overhead
It's everyone's oyster, step up get your pearl
It's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful world
It's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful world
Robin Speakman
It truly is a wonderful world :)
Ronald Rickard
such a good movie
Elvis Presley Records
This was an awesome movie awesome movie I haven't seen it since it since the start of 2019 last year it was so awesome LONG LIVE THE KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Janice Murphy
I remember seeing this at the arcade theater in Pittsburgh, I love this song and remembered I wanted to step up and get my pearl. Awm
Charlie Ozeta
It sure was a wonderful world of music when you were singing in it!
Mohan Powar : Bradford : West Yorkshire
❤ love this song : I sing it to my cutie❤pie