50,000,000th Ballad of the King
An early death foreshadowed the King
From the day he was born in '35
His twin brother stillborn came first
Then Elvis Presley emerged...alive
Wanting for his birthday in '46
A bike to ride, or a .22 to aim
Instead he was given a guitar and
The world would never be the same
The King and his Blue Moon Boys
Bill Black and Scotty Moore
Jumped to the jive and played to the score
When their world exploded in '54
He rose to royalty with his rhythm and rock
Entrancing the youth with his songs
Gyrating his hips and twitching his lip
By '55 fans grew by the throngs
Hollywood called in the summer of '56
They would call 32 times more
With his Memphis Mafia from Graceland
He bought Cadillacs by the score
Colonel Tom became his running mate
He ran the King's court greedily
The King joined the Army in '58
A year later he met his bride to be
He lost his title with the English invasion
Four years did he unwillingly abdicate
He rose again, a dark knight
When he flashed on the screen in '68
Once again his kingdom, it grew as did he
Around the world in '73
The power in his voice renewed
Heard all over the world from Hawaii
The world it crumbled in '77
When the king was found drugged and dead
He died that year upon his throne
Yet he lives on still in my head
Enquiring minds see him still
Pumping gas at desolate stations
Or at 7-11, working the till
Hips grooving in geriatric gyrations
Now numbering more than 100,000 strong
His offspring idolize yet
Jumpsuited and scarved, sideburned and wigged
None of them will let us forget
Attention ladies and gentlemen...
Elvis has left the building
TCB 4ever and...
Long live the King...
Thank you, thank you very much!
Michael Calvert
Add to your private library
My LibraryAdd this story to your public reading lists