Elvis Presley

Released: October 10, 1967

Songwriter: Jerry Reed

Producer: Felton Jarvis Jeff Alexander

[Verse 1]
Well, I quit my job down at the car wash
I left my mama a goodbye note
By sundown I'd left Kingston
With my guitar under my coat
I hitchhiked all the way down to Memphis
Got a room at the YMCA
For the next three weeks I went hunting them nights
Just looking for a place to play
Well, I thought my picking would set them on fire
But nobody wanted to hire a guitar man

[Verse 2]
Well, I nearly about starved to death down in Memphis
I run out to money and luck
So I bought me a ride down to Macon, Georgia
On a overloaded poultry truck
I thumbed on down to Panama City
Started picking out some of them all night bars
Hoping I could make myself a dollar
Making music on my guitar
I got the same old story at them all night piers
There is no room around here for a guitar man
We don't need a guitar man, son

[Verse 3]
So I slept in the hobo jungles
Roamed a thousand miles of track
Till I found myself in Mobile Alabama
At a club they call Big Jack's
A little four-piece band was jamming
So I took my guitar and I sat in
I showed them what a band would sound like
With a swinging little guitar man
Show them, son

[Verse 4]
If you ever take a trip down to the ocean
Find yourself down around Mobile
Make it on out to a club called Jack's
If you got a little time to kill
Just follow that crowd of people
You'll wind up out on his dance floor
Digging the finest little five-piece group
Up and down the Gulf of Mexico
Guess who's leading that five-piece band
Well, wouldn't you know, it's that swinging little guitar man

[Verse 5]
Well, I came a long way from the car wash
Got to where I said I'd get
Now that I'm here I know for sure
I really have not got there yet
Think I'll start all over
Swing my guitar over my back
I'm going to get myself back on the track
I'll never, never ever look back
I'll never be more than what I am
Wouldn't you know
I'm a swinging little Guitar man

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American performer that spanned all media—music, film, and historic live concerts—with a vehement passion that earned him the moniker, “The King of Rock and Roll.”

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi to Gladys and Vernon Presley. At the age of 13, he moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis began to explore the blues scene prevalent in Memphis and the culture it encompassed.

In August 1953, he walked into Sun Records to record a song for his mother’s birthday. Manager of Sun Records Sam Phillips took note of his unique voice and persona, and invited Elvis back to the studio in July 1954, where he ultimately recorded his first true single, “That’s All Right,” with “Blue Moon of Kentucky” as the B-side.

more tracks from the album

Clambake

From the album

Clambake (1967)

Elvis Presley popular songs

Guitar ManElvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Clambake