An American Trilogy

Album: Elvis: As Recorded at Madison Square Garden (1972)
Charted: 8 66
Play Video
  • Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton
    Old times they are not forgotten
    Look away, look away, look away Dixieland
    Oh, I wish I was in Dixie, away, away

    In Dixieland I'll take my stand to live and die in Dixie
    For Dixieland, it's where I was born
    Early Lord, one frosty morn'
    Look away, look away, look away Dixieland

    Glory, glory hallelujah
    Holy glory hallelujah
    Glory, glory hallelujah
    His truth is marching on

    So hush little baby
    Don't you cry
    You know your daddy's bound to die
    But all my trials, Lord, soon be over

    Glory, glory hallelujah
    His truth is marching on
    His truth is marching on Writer/s: Don Reedman, Nick Patrick, Robin Smith
    Publisher: MUSIC SALES CORPORATION
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 17

  • Jafo from MemphisBecky from Ny- the lyrics are exactly from the original song. What are you thinking???
  • Becky from Rochester NyThe phrase Look away Dixie land is interpreted by myself as Elvis' shame for the Southern turmoil.. racially in the home he loved.
  • Roger D Price from Potosi MissouriElvis was the best performer ever.
  • Shyba from R.i.Mary from Motown Ms. Those "few" black people (as you would say) care. You not caring shows a lot about yourself.
  • Mustang Sally from North CarolinaPriscilla is also on tape saying another of her favorite songs by Elvis is “ Don’t “
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn June 9th 1972, Elvis appeared in concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City, over a two day period he performed four shows...
    At the time his covered version of "An American Trilogy" was at position #71 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; it was its sixth and last week on the chart; just under three weeks earlier on May 21st it had peaked at #66 {for 1 week}...
    Mickey Newbury's original version of "An American Trilogy" peaked at #26 on December 26th, 1971...
    The MSG evening concert on June 10th was recorded and released as the "Elvis: As Recorded at Madison Square Garden" album on June 18th, 1972 and "An American Trilogy" was track six of side two...
    R.I.P. to Mr. Newbury, born Milton Sim Newbury, Jr. {1940 - 2002} and to the King {1935 - 1977}.
  • Don from Sevierville, TnI have recently read that when Mickey Newbury compiled this medley, he had his lamentation of the Vietnam War in mind. When Elvis Presley covered the medley, he interpreted it as patriotic instead, adding drums and singing the last 2 lines of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" again at the end. Many Elvis Tribute Artists even display the American flag at the end of the medley.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn June 18th 1972, Elvis was performing in concert at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth, TX ; and about 33 miles east of Fort Worth at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, TX the Eagles were performing their sixth show of their 'Eagles LP Tour'...
    Elvis' covered version of "An American Trilogy" had just dropped off Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart the day before, it was the 26th song he performed that night in Fort Worth...
    And the Eagles' debut record on the Top 100, "Take It Easy", was at position #35, eventually it would peak at #12...
    R.I.P. to The King (1935 - 1977).
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 26th 1972, Elvis performed "An American Trilogy" in concert for the first time (at the Showroom of the Las Vegas Hilton)...
    And on April 30th, 1972 it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100; eventually it peaked at #66...
    R.I.P. to The King (1935 - 1977).
  • Matias from Miami, Fl@Arun...nobody cares about those few black people. They're dumb. Clearly, Elvis loved black people and they love him. The Sweet Inspirations, among many others, are testament to that.
  • Ron from Pittsburgh, PaThis song was used quite effectively in the final fight scene in the 2010 movie "Kick Ass".
  • Sal from Brentwood, NyThis was Elvis at his peak. This version is from his Hawaiian tour. Not Madison Square as mentioned. Look at the thing on his neck.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyComposer Mickey Newbury's version peaked at #26 in 1972. Sadly Mickey passed away on 9-29-2002 at the age of 62... {RIP}
  • Mary from Motown, Msoh give it a rest. who cares if a few black are offended. there's always a few black people who are offended about some thing. it's a great song period. the video of elvis' performance from the aloha state is moving.
  • Ted from Phoenix, AzWhile the Elvis Presley version is nice, I actually prefer the Mickey Newbury version with its soulful tenor. It should also be noted that the Mickey Newbury version of this medley was issued as a single and made the lower end of Billboard's top 40 list in the fall of 1971.

    Five years later, when I was in the 8th grade, the school chorus which I was in learned and performed this medley at, if memory serves, a spring concert.
  • Arun from London, United KingdomA great vocal performance by Elvis.However,unfortunately I have come across some black people who dislike it and are offended by Elvis singing 'Dixie' believing he was 'reviving Dixie' a song, that to them has a lot of negative history attached to it, symbolizing the institution of slavery and the anthem of the confederates.
  • Anthony from Galway, Irelandgreat vocal performance by Elvis
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Benny Mardones

Benny MardonesSongwriter Interviews

His song "Into The Night" is one of the most-played of all time. For Benny, it took him to hell and back.

Bob Daisley

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.

Peter Lord

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The Kingdom

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song Titles

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

Hardy

HardySongwriter Interviews

The country hitmaker talks about his debut album, A Rock, and how a nursery rhyme inspired his hit single "One Beer."