Jerry Lee Lewis

Songwriter: John B. Vaughan

Producer: Stan Kesler

In the world's mighty gallery of pictures
Hang the scenes that are painted from life
There's pictures of love and of passion
Then there's pictures of peace and of strife

There hang pictures of youth and of beauty
Of old age and the blushing young bride
They all hang on the wall but the saddest of all
Are the pictures from life's other side

Just a picture from life's other side
Someone has fell by the way
A life has gone out with the tide
That might have been happy some day

There's a poor old mother at home
She's watching and waiting alone
Just longing to hear from a loved one so dear
It's just a picture from life's other side

The first scene is that of a gambler
Who had lost all his money at play
And he draws his dead mother's ring from his finger
That she wore long ago on her wedding day

It's his last earthly treasure but he stakes it
Then he bows his head that his shame he may hide
But when they lifted his head they found he was dead
That's just a picture from life's other side

Now the last scene is that by the river
Of a heartbroken mother and babe
As the harbor lights shine and they shiver
On an outcast whom no one will save

And yet she was once a true woman
She was somebody's darling and pride
God help her she leaps for there's no one to weep
It's just a picture from life's other side

Jerry Lee Lewis was a leading figure in the popularization of rock & roll during the 1950s. He was first signed to Sun Records in 1956 where he was labelmates with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, and other early rock artists. Of those musicians, however, he was the only piano player and combined with his heavy-handed playing style, sexually suggestive lyrics, and provocative stage antics he came to epitomize the rebelliousness of the genre.

He rose to international fame for his 1957 versions of the songs “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On.”

Lewis' popularity rapidly tumbled, however, when in 1958, when at the age of 22, he married his 13-year-old cousin. Though this scandal continued to tarnish his image, Lewis never retired from music. As of October 2015, he continues to perform live.

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A Picture from Life’s Other SideJerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis

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