"Elvis Presley And America" song lyrics by U2

“Elvis Presley and America” is one of U2's most enigmatic tracks, both musically and lyrically, standing as a reaction to Albert Goldman's controversial biography of Elvis Presley. Goldman, a polarizing figure in rock journalism, was known for his sensationalized and often unflattering portrayals of cultural icons, and his biography of Presley painted the King of Rock and Roll as a tragic figure, diminished by excess and self-destruction. Bono, deeply moved by Elvis's significance in American music and culture, wrote “Elvis Presley and America” as a counterpoint to Goldman's critical narrative. 

Rather than focusing on Presley’s flaws and eventual downfall, Bono evokes a sense of empathy and reverence for the larger-than-life figure, framing Elvis not just as a casualty of fame, but as a symbol of America’s fractured identity. 

The lyrics, delivered in a stream-of-consciousness style, capture the emotional ambiguity of Elvis's legacy—one shaped by fame, loss, and the burden of myth that often overshadows the human being behind the icon. Bono's improvisational vocal delivery on the track mirrors the rawness and vulnerability he attributes to Presley’s life, an embodiment of the idea that behind the American Dream lies the struggle for meaning in the face of celebrity and commodification.

"Elvis Presley And America" song lyrics by U2

Black flash
Black flash over my own love, tell me of my eyes
Black flash come though my own life, telling these things
And I believe them and I believe in you
White flash sees the sky and it turns its side from you
She won't turn my back and I know you turn so blue
And you know and your sky is feeling blue
And your heart, so cold when I'm with you
And you feel like no one told you to
And your time is your side and your time with me

Ah, don't talk to me
Ah, don't talk to me
Don't talk to me

You know like no one told you how
But you know though the king that howls has howled
But you feel like sentimental but you don't care
If I just share it in your heart
Heart

Hopelessly, so hopelessly
I'm breaking through for you and me
And you don't though no one told you to
And you found out where you were going
Where to
You're through with me

But I know that you will be back for more
You know and though no one told you so
And you know, blue sky like a harder shade of blue
And you walk when you want to let go
Me, I'm the outside, tell me fade away

Drop me down but don't break me in your sleep
In your sleep, inside it's in your heart and mine
Whole sea is dark, it's in your heart and mine
Sweetly, those will come
Loving is on your side walking through
So let me in your heart
Your beat is like something
They run

See say you're sad and reach by
So say you're sad above beside
Oh stay you're sad over midnight
So stay sad above we said

You know I don't, no one told you how
And you don't and you wipe sweat off your white brow
And you care and no one told you tried
And your heart is left out from the side
And the rain beats down and the shame goes down
And this rain keeps on coming down
And this sky tonight

You know "S" "O" "N" "G", why
You're going go join to God
You know "S" "O" "N" "G", why
Give away some him no lie
Give away some my de day no

You know and though no one told you sky
And you feel like you pretend you can
You say go, you live, go live outside of me
Don't you leave, don't leave out part of me
Then can feel like I feel before
Like I hurt now and I see the floor
If you pick me up, bits and pieces on this floor

-

Bono’s thematic stance in “Elvis Presley and America” reveals his deep concern with how cultural figures are portrayed in the media, often reduced to tabloid fodder and sensationalized biographies. His critique of Goldman’s work reflects a broader concern with how the legacies of rock and roll legends are shaped by the narratives of those who write their histories. This theme of challenging reductive portrayals reappears in “God Part II” from Rattle and Hum, where Bono explicitly calls out Goldman once again, this time in relation to his biography of John Lennon. Bono’s disillusionment with Goldman’s depiction of these musical giants reflects his larger perspective on fame, artistic legacy, and the destructive power of media narratives. 

Elvis, for Bono, represents both the idealism and tragedy of the American experience—an artist who embodied the contradictions of the country itself, where innocence and excess, beauty and decay, coexist. Through "Elvis Presley and America," Bono critiques the forces that distort and commodify cultural figures, while simultaneously offering a more compassionate, humanizing view of Presley’s life, one shaped not by his failings, but by the complex pressures of the world in which he lived.

This was the first song U2 wrote about Elvis, the second was Elvis Ate America from the Passengers album - in it, Bono described Elvis as a 'white n-word'.

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