Elvis Presley: An American Trilogy

As far as can be ascertained, Elvis Presley never voted, and his personal politics remained exactly that.

But there's little doubt that Elvis loved his country and loved all the greatness to which his country aspired. There were times too when the dark side of America appalled him: he was, for instance, horrified not only at the death of Martin Luther King but also that it happened in his home town of Memphis.

What would Elvis have made of the 2016 presidential race? No one can truly say. Might an older Elvis himself have one day entered politics a la Ronald Reagan? It's possible, and certainly he'd have employed the tactics of Roy Acuff and Jimmie Davis -- here's a little song, folks. Gather round and I'll tell you all about my plans for this country.

What song might he have sung on the campaign trail? Well, it's likely he'd have drawn upon this beautiful composition that he started using in concert from 1972 onwards. Arranged by folk singer Mickey Newbury, "An American Trilogy" draws together songs of the South, the North and a spiritual lullaby.

In order to succeed it needs to be performed without a hint of irony and Presley does exactly that, living each section wholly and perfectly. That it was presented at a time when American politics were lurching into grand farce elevates the song to a level of anthemic hope and inspiration.

Presley, a well-read lover of history (he could list every Confederate general off-the-cuff and memorised the entire Gettysburg Address as a child), was no fool, and he understood the importance of this song and, despite his own protestations to the contrary, he sang this as a deliberate message of unity to his listeners and fellow Americans.

In many ways, the scars still run deep throughout America and events often conspire to make a mockery of this vision of a united America. But ultimately, I believe that Love will overcome and I suspect that Presley would have concurred ... "When I was a child, I was a dreamer", said Presley in 1971, just as Lennon was making the same point in song and as King's greatest monologue was still echoing throughout the country.

This remains a haunting song and it stalks my forthcoming book, "Walk A Lonely Street", forming much of its structure.

Whoever occupies the White House as from tomorrow, your country and the wider world require many things of you, but none more important than to embrace the universal ideals of optimism, inclusivity, courage, peace and freedom.

God bless America.

www.georgesmithpublications.com
www.facebook.com/WalkALonelyStreet
  / georgesmithpub