Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler said of the song: “I suppose I realized gradually as a kid that Elvis wanted to be a Hollywood star as well as a singer. I didn’t realize quite how badly. It surprised me to learn that there are music managers today who admire his manager, Colonel Parker. And thousands of youngsters to...
[Verse 1]
Around the time of Clambake
Movie number twenty-five
You and the lying Dutchman
Are still in overdrive
You're strong as when you started
Mississippi in your soul
You can still be Marlon Brando
And the King of Rock 'n' Roll
[Verse 2]
It isn't just the records
No, you must have Hollywood
The songs alone are not enough
That much is understood
You'll soon be back in Memphis
Maybe then you'll know what to do
The storylines they've given you
Are just not ringing true
[Chorus]
Oh, it's a ways to go
Back to Tupelo
It's a ways to go
Back to Tupelo
[Verse 3]
When you're young and beautiful
Your dreams are all ideal
Later on it's not the same
Lord, everythin' is real
Sixteen hundred miles of highway
Roll back to the truth
And a song to give your mother
In your first recordin' booth
[Verse 4]
Now, around the time of Clambake
That old dream's still rollin' on
Sometimes there'll be the feelin'
Things are going wrong
Mornin' star is fadin'
Lord, Mississippi's cold
You can still be Marlon Brando
And the King of Rock 'n' Roll
[Chorus]
Oh, it's a ways to go
Back to Tupelo
It's a ways to go
Back to Tupelo
Back to Tupelo was written by Mark Knopfler.
Back to Tupelo was produced by Chuck Ainlay & Mark Knopfler.
Mark Knopfler released Back to Tupelo on Tue Sep 28 2004.
The reference is to Col. Tom Parker, who was Elvis Presley’s manager. The lyrical phrase is a pun on the ship, “The Flying Dutchman”. Parker was born Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk on 26 June 1909, in Breda, The Netherlands. Parker entered the U.S. illegally and never became a citizen, which may be a...