Elvis Tributes

Twins

In January they were born,

under the sign of Capricorn.

One would live, and one would die,

and no-one knows the reason why,

although one reason seems to be

that they were born in poverty.

No money to pay

for a hospital stay,

or prenatal care along the way.

No sonograms in 1935

announced two babies would arrive.

So in a little shack in Tupelo

covered by the winter snow,

the twins lay by their mother's side,

the boy who lived and the boy who died.

Matching names their parents gave,

as one was buried in his grave.

The boy who lived achieved such fame,

that the whole wide world still knows his name.

But the riches that he made on earth,

could not bring back what he'd lost at birth.

From The Book of Elvis; His Life in Rhyme

From The Mersey Sound to The Long Island Sound

By Victoria Crosby

When in my teens I used to ride
the buses and trains around Merseyside.
I'd go to watch the bands perform,
I'd see Cilla Black and Rory Storm.
I rode the Ferry 'cross the Mersey each day,
long before I'd heard Gerry Marsden play.

It was not approved of in our house
to speak with the accent of a "scouse",
that nasal sing-song Liverpudlian voice
was not the Cheshire people's choice.
And the places where these bands would play
were in areas were I was told to stay away.

But my sister and I would break the rule,
and sneak out of our class at school
and take the ferry to Liverpool.
We'd go to the Cavern on our lunch hour,
or the show at night at the New Brighton Tower.

We'd go to see The Beatles when
they were still known as The Quarrymen.
Then the Silver Beatles they became,
but hey, who cares, what's in a name?
Black leather jackets and jeans they wore
and sang the songs I'd heard before,
American standards, rhythm and blues,
yet they could never fill Elvis's shoes.

But before those lads became real well known,
off to America I had flown.
I knew in the future I would be
far away from my town near the Irish Sea.
All my life I'd planned someday
to make it to the U.S.A.
The music there spoke to my soul,
that down and dirty Rock and Roll.
And to go visit Graceland was my goal.
.
So it was quite a great surprise
to hear that those four local guys
had the number one hit throughout the land
and they'd become a famous band.

As I look back it's amazing to me
that they reached such celebrity,
yet by playing original music it seems
that they attained their American Dreams.
and eventually as the years went by,
I can tell you, so did I.
I went to Graceland
because you see,
that was the American Dream for me.