Odd though it may seem, these words were written in 1976, one year prior to the death of Elvis Presley. It was eventually recorded in January of 1978 in Nashville ,and finally issued in 1983 on the album ROCKABILLY MUSIC AND BRAKE JOBS, by Alan Leatherwood, Ohio Moon Records, #777 (Sometimes, things move slow for the indie record companies)

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Somebody Said,

"The King of Rock and Roll is Dead"

by Alan Leatherwood

"Fame and fortune, mansions of gold, the man had everything.

Still, he died of a broken heart, that isolation brings,

.........but he was my friend.........

 

first verse)

Broken wings of the fallen angels

toss around my feet,

I'm another lonely minstrel

searching through these streets

for someone alive...

As they run through their golden arches,

rising up like shrines,

I stop at the grave of a soldier

overgrown with vines,

I brush them aside.

And I look in the eyes of the people,

with their souvenirs, such sad lives,

born to compromise

 

(first chorus)

Somebody Said, Somebody Said,

"The King of Rock and Roll is dead

There's no light where the darkness has led,

and it's all around."

Somebody Said, Somebody Said,

"There's a cloud rising over our heads,

It's coming with the ones who have bled

for a heavenly crown........

A heavenly crown......

 

(second verse)

There she is, a lovely vision,

clearly in the light.

She can see through the door to my soul

I'm needing her tonight

Just to survive

She knows the sign and the moon I am under,

We drink the wine,

And when we touch I feel the pull of an ocean

ripple through my spine,

It's healing my mind.

Then she shows me her pentagrams,

her tarot cards, her Bible, Man,

she really knows the lines.

...(repeat first chorus)........

 

(third verse)

Don't turn me in, I'm not a common thief,

Don't turn me down

I only came to ride the Mystery Train,

It's turning around,

Turn it around

I might as well duck back in the alley,

and do another joint with Long Tall Sally,

and let the rock and roll fly........

Warden threw a party in the county jail

Salvation army came, they began to wail

The place was really jumpin, they began to swing

You should of heard that knocked out army sing!

Gonna tell everybody all about brother John

He knew the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son.

Long Tall Sally's still built for speed,

She's got everything that everyone needs.

I don't know where I'm going,

but I don't mind, cause I feel fine

if I can sing a song,

and carry on

 

(last chorus ..... different from first)

Somebody Said, Somebody Said,

"We live among the spiritually dead,

there's no light where the darkness has led,

and it's all around.....",

Somebody Said Somebody said,

"There's a cloud rising over our heads,

It's coming with the ones who have bled

for a heavenly crown- the crown,

we're singing bout the crown".

Somebody Said, Somebody Said,

"The king of rock and roll isn't dead,

No, the king of rock and roll isn't dead,

He's all around, we're all around,

and he's the King, the King of Kings.

Roll on King,

Roll on Kings.

Roll on Kings.........

---

copyright by Alan Leatherwood

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