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.
Stranger in My Own Home Town
Elvis Presley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a stranger in my own home town
I'm like a stranger
Like a stranger in my own home town
My so-called friends stopped being friendly
Oh, but you can't keep a good man down
No, can't get him down
I came home with good intentions
About five or six years ago
I came home with good intentions
About five or six years ago, oh
My home town won't accept me
Just don't feel welcome here no more
Tell me why, man!
My home town won't accept me
I just don't feel welcome here no more
I came home with good intentions
About five or six years ago, yes I did
I came home with good intentions
About five or six years ago
But my home town won't accept me
Just don't feel welcome here no more
I'm like a stranger, like a stranger in my own home town
Yeah, I'm like a stranger, like a stranger in my own home town
My so-called friends stopped being friendly
Oh, but you can't keep a good man down
Boyo, play it down now
I came home with good intentions
About five or six years ago, yes I did
I came home with good intentions
About five or six years ago
My so-called friends stopped being friendly
Oh, but you can't keep a good man down
Play it again, play it again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm like a stranger, like a stranger in my own home town
I'm like a stranger, like a stranger in my own home town
My so-called friends stopped being friendly
Oh, but you can't keep a good man down
In Elvis Presley's song "Stranger in My Own Home Town," the singer expresses his feelings of being an outsider in his hometown. Despite coming home with good intentions, he feels unwelcome and like a stranger in a place he once knew so well. He laments that his "so-called friends" have stopped being friendly, but he is determined to stay strong and not be brought down by their negativity.
The lyrics suggest that Elvis may have faced rejection or even hostility from his hometown after achieving fame and success. While he may have had good intentions in coming back, his hometown has not been welcoming. The repetition of the phrase "like a stranger" emphasizes this feeling of displacement and highlights the emotional toll it is taking on him. However, the line "Oh, but you can't keep a good man down" implies that he will not let this rejection defeat him, and he will continue to persevere.
Overall, the song portrays the complex relationship between fame, success, and one's hometown. Elvis may have achieved great success, but it has come at the cost of feeling like an outsider in the place he once called home.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm like a stranger
Despite living here all my life, I feel like a completely different person now.
Like a stranger in my own home town
I feel isolated and disconnected from the place I used to call home.
My so-called friends stopped being friendly
My former friends have become distant and unwelcoming towards me.
Oh, but you can't keep a good man down
Despite facing adversity, I refuse to give up and will keep pushing forward.
I came home with good intentions
I returned to my hometown with the intention of rebuilding my life and reconnecting with old friends.
About five or six years ago
It has been several years since I returned home.
My home town won't accept me
Despite my efforts, the people in my hometown seem unwilling to accept me back into their community.
Just don't feel welcome here no more
I feel like an outsider and unwelcome in the community where I grew up.
Tell me why, man!
I want to understand why I am not being welcomed back into my own community.
But my home town won't accept me
No matter how hard I try, the people in my hometown refuse to embrace me as one of their own.
Oh, but you can't keep a good man down
Despite the challenges, I remain resilient and determined to overcome the obstacles in my way.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Kassner Associated Publishers Ltd
Written by: PERCY MAYFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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