"There's blood running through my veins." - Elvis Presley, 1962
As you may have noticed, the title of this discussion is a lyric from one of my favorite Elvis songs, "Until It's Time For You To Go". This topic is very important to me because so many people forget that Elvis Presley was a human being, nothing more or less. He disliked being called "The King of Rock n' Roll". He always said that God was "the King". It is so easy for us to see celebrities who appear to be superhuman and forget their humanity.
We all know the famous quote that Elvis said: "The image is one thing, and the human being is another. It's very hard to live up to an image." I've seen a lot of people quote him saying it, but how many of us really understand the meaning behind those words? This is how I think of it. You have Elvis Presley, one of the most revered and influential public figures in the world, and every move that he makes and word that he says is under constant scrutiny. Can you imagine what it's like to have to live up to that sort of pressure? I honestly can't. He basically had to put up a facade every time he was in a public area in order to maintain his image. Getting to explore the life and career of Elvis has been very interesting. While I may not agree with some of the choices that he made during his life, he seemed like a decent guy.
One aspect of Elvis’ personality that gets largely overlooked is his intellect. Elvis was known to many close to him as a voracious reader. He might not have had a college education, but he was known to read books on a variety of topics, including spirituality, religion, numerology, and theology. Some of his own “friends” made fun of him for doing this. The truth is, Elvis was on a much higher plane spiritually and emotionally. In all honesty, it’s details like these that make me love his music even more.
Elvis Presley had a very intense personality. He was a man who felt sadness, anger, and frustration. I’ve been seeing comments on some videos of Elvis’ outtakes when he said some “unflattering” words. Fans are always saying they don’t like when he curses and that he shouldn’t be doing it. Don’t we all curse at some point when we’re frustrated? I’m not saying that it’s good, but we all do it. Let’s be real. So why are we attacking Elvis? Was he not like the rest of us?
To conclude, here are a few quotes of Elvis HIMSELF talking about being human.
"I ain't no saint, but I've tried never to do anything that would hurt my family or offend God...I figure all any kid needs is hope and the feeling he or she belongs. If I could do or say anything that would give some kid that feeling, I would believe I had contributed something to the world."
“It's not how much you have that makes people look up to you, it's who you are.”
The image is one thing and the human being is another...it's very hard to live up to an image.
“I’m trying to keep a level head. You have to be careful out in the world. It’s so easy to get turned.”
“There are too many people that depend on me. I'm too obligated. I'm in too far to get out.”
Thank you for reading! ⚡️