Tears Of Blue To Gold

Album: Self Made Man (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • This bluesy, hand-clapping track from Southern-rock sisters Larkin Poe follows the story of two similar boys who grow up alongside each other in Tupelo, Mississippi, but take very different paths in life. One becomes a Pepsi-Cola factory man; the other becomes a rock-and-roll legend - Elvis Presley.
  • According to Larkin Poe vocalist Rebecca Lovell, the upbeat tune was inspired by a road trip to Memphis that included a stop to soul singer turned preacher Al Green's Full Gospel Tabernacle. "It was such a memorable weekend, getting to wander around Graceland, compounded with eating Memphis food, waking up in the morning and going to church and seeing Al Green preach a sermon," she recalled to Atwood Magazine.

    "On the drive home, I really got to thinking about Elvis Presley and the trajectory of his life. So I wrote a story that is… about a kid who lived next door to Elvis Presley and sort of the parallel lines that people can share on their journey through vice."
  • The line, "Take me to the river," is a nod to Al Green's 1974 song of the same name.
  • This is featured on Larkin Poe's fourth studio album, the self-produced Self Made Man. An orchestral arrangement featuring Nu Deco Ensemble, a Miami-based hybrid chamber orchestra, was also included on the live album Paint The Roses.

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