Pushkin to introduce this episode. I just want to relate how random my journey to it was. I was reading a book I can't even remember what it was, and then a footnote I always read the footnotes. The author said the psychologist whose work she was referring to had done a very strange paper once about Elvis, at which point I stopped reading the book and looked up the very strange paper about Elvis. It was by Alan Elms. It was amazing, So immediately I go to the next question. Was Alan Elms still alive? Yes, living in Davis, California. Next step, I gotta go see him. So I immediately fly to San Francisco rent a car, but the rental agency is out of all cars except for a bright canary yellow Chevy Corvette, which I take happily. But then halfway to Davis, driving at speeds that are very, very far from legal, I start thinking, what's this guy going to think of me if I show up in a bright canary yellow Corvette. He's a brilliant psychologist. I don't want him pre judging me, So I park it around the corner, walk to his house and spend a lovely afternoon with him. Sadly he was feeling poorly at the time and didn't speak well enough for me to use the tape of his interview. But my spontaneous journey set the correct tone, I think for this whole episode, which is that it was intended to be a caper, a grand caper in which many crazy, unexpected things happen, and as it will discover. So it was, by the way, the thing that Alan Elms and I talked the most about was not actually his Alva's paper. It was another even more genius thing he once wrote about the Wizard of Oz, which I promise you that I will get to one day. Here a visionist history, Join me for a walk down revisionist history memory Lane. The New York Psychoanalytics Society and Institute is in a very formal European style building on a quiet side street on the upper east side of Manhattan. Oak tables, high ceilings. In the library, long ribbons of leather bound volumes, and five different busts of Sigmund Freud all in a row. I went there to meet with the Society's president, Michelle Press, a psychoanalyst herself with that lovely quality of patience and openness. The best therapists always have. I wanted to talk with her about a subject that I've always found deeply interesting. What Freud called parapraxis, but not just anyone's parapraxis, the King's parapraxis. My name is Malcolm Gladwell. You're listening to Revisionist History, my podcast about things overlooked and misunderstood. After the first two episodes on Memory earlier this season, I decided to do a third. It involves an odyssey. This odyssey took me from the pages of the Handbook of Psychobiography to a shrine in Tennessee, to the legendary Battery Studios in Times Square, and to the hushed offices of the New York Psychoanalytics Society, where I sat with Michelle Press in search of an answer to a simple question. What if a singer couldn't remember the words to a song, a song he had sung a thousand times, particular parts of the song, the same part of the song, over and over. What would that tell us about the singer?

Pushkin to introduce this episode. I just want to relate how random my journey to it was. I was reading a book I can't even remember what it was, and then a footnote I always read the footnotes. The author said the psychologist whose work she was referring to had done a very strange paper once about Elvis, at which point I stopped reading the book and looked up the very strange paper about Elvis. It was by Alan Elms. It was amazing, So immediately I go to the next question. Was Alan Elms still alive? Yes, living in Davis, California. Next step, I gotta go see him. So I immediately fly to San Francisco rent a car, but the rental agency is out of all cars except for a bright canary yellow Chevy Corvette, which I take happily. But then halfway to Davis, driving at speeds that are very, very far from legal, I start thinking, what's this guy going to think of me if I show up in a bright canary yellow Corvette. He's a brilliant psychologist. I don't want him pre judging me, So I park it around the corner, walk to his house and spend a lovely afternoon with him. Sadly he was feeling poorly at the time and didn't speak well enough for me to use the tape of his interview. But my spontaneous journey set the correct tone, I think for this whole episode, which is that it was intended to be a caper, a grand caper in which many crazy, unexpected things happen, and as it will discover. So it was, by the way, the thing that Alan Elms and I talked the most about was not actually his Alva's paper. It was another even more genius thing he once wrote about the Wizard of Oz, which I promise you that I will get to one day. Here a visionist history, Join me for a walk down revisionist history memory Lane. The New York Psychoanalytics Society and Institute is in a very formal European style building on a quiet side street on the upper east side of Manhattan. Oak tables, high ceilings. In the library, long ribbons of leather bound volumes, and five different busts of Sigmund Freud all in a row. I went there to meet with the Society's president, Michelle Press, a psychoanalyst herself with that lovely quality of patience and openness. The best therapists always have. I wanted to talk with her about a subject that I've always found deeply interesting. What Freud called parapraxis, but not just anyone's parapraxis, the King's parapraxis. My name is Malcolm Gladwell. You're listening to Revisionist History, my podcast about things overlooked and misunderstood. After the first two episodes on Memory earlier this season, I decided to do a third. It involves an odyssey. This odyssey took me from the pages of the Handbook of Psychobiography to a shrine in Tennessee, to the legendary Battery Studios in Times Square, and to the hushed offices of the New York Psychoanalytics Society, where I sat with Michelle Press in search of an answer to a simple question. What if a singer couldn't remember the words to a song, a song he had sung a thousand times, particular parts of the song, the same part of the song, over and over. What would that tell us about the singer?

It was a term in German faulty acts or faulty functions. It would be slips of the tongue. It could be misreadings, mishearings, but it's Freud's invention.

It was a term in German faulty acts or faulty functions. It would be slips of the tongue. It could be misreadings, mishearings, but it's Freud's invention.

Michelle Press is talking about parapraxis from the Greek para meaning abnormal, beyond praxis meaning act, abnormal speech acts, or as they are more colloquially known, Freudian slips. Does Freud mean that there are no accidental slips or that if you look at the range of accidental slips you can find meaning in some.

Michelle Press is talking about parapraxis from the Greek para meaning abnormal, beyond praxis meaning act, abnormal speech acts, or as they are more colloquially known, Freudian slips. Does Freud mean that there are no accidental slips or that if you look at the range of accidental slips you can find meaning in some.

So when you read him, he doesn't want to sound that kind of definitive. He'll say, yes, maybe one might prove that there are some that are truly accidental, or truly a result of fatigue or of maybe some medical illness. But he said, if you do the work, one will find the reasons for the slip, that they're not accidental, that they have. He called it a sense, and that that's sense has to do with unconscious forces or unconscious ideas that are trying to find expression but are because they're unacceptable. They emerge in these ways when one might be unguarded.

So when you read him, he doesn't want to sound that kind of definitive. He'll say, yes, maybe one might prove that there are some that are truly accidental, or truly a result of fatigue or of maybe some medical illness. But he said, if you do the work, one will find the reasons for the slip, that they're not accidental, that they have. He called it a sense, and that that's sense has to do with unconscious forces or unconscious ideas that are trying to find expression but are because they're unacceptable. They emerge in these ways when one might be unguarded.

Now, is that concept of unacceptability central to the notion of parapraxis?

Now, is that concept of unacceptability central to the notion of parapraxis?

Yes?

Yes?

What was a less.

What was a less.

Over here sun metal strain.

Over here sun metal strain.

In nineteen fifty six early in his career, Elvis Presley recorded a song called Old Shep. It's a sentimental song about a boy and his dog, Shep, written in the nineteen thirties by Red Foley. The dog gets old and sick. The vet says there's no hope. The boy aims his rifle at Shep to put him out of his misery, but he can't pull the trigger. He lies down next to Shep cradles him in his arms as the dog dies and the song ends.

In nineteen fifty six early in his career, Elvis Presley recorded a song called Old Shep. It's a sentimental song about a boy and his dog, Shep, written in the nineteen thirties by Red Foley. The dog gets old and sick. The vet says there's no hope. The boy aims his rifle at Shep to put him out of his misery, but he can't pull the trigger. He lies down next to Shep cradles him in his arms as the dog dies and the song ends.

Old Shelbie has gone weather, good dog, It's gold.

Old Shelbie has gone weather, good dog, It's gold.

And whoever. But if dolls have a heaven.

And whoever. But if dolls have a heaven.

That's one way I know.

That's one way I know.

Old shepherds.

Old shepherds.

Wonderful.

Wonderful.

Old Shep is not one of Elvis's more famous songs, but in an essay published in two thousand and five on Elvis, the psychologists Alan Elms and Bruce Heller having aside about a small but significant discrepancy between the original version of Old Shep and Elvis's cover. I'm going to come back to Heller and Elms in a while because they really do the most thorough analysis of Elvis's lyrical parapraxis. But let's start with Old Shep. Listen to Hank Snow performing the lyrics as they were originally written. The boy has just put away his gun, realizing he can't shoot Shep.

Old Shep is not one of Elvis's more famous songs, but in an essay published in two thousand and five on Elvis, the psychologists Alan Elms and Bruce Heller having aside about a small but significant discrepancy between the original version of Old Shep and Elvis's cover. I'm going to come back to Heller and Elms in a while because they really do the most thorough analysis of Elvis's lyrical parapraxis. But let's start with Old Shep. Listen to Hank Snow performing the lyrics as they were originally written. The boy has just put away his gun, realizing he can't shoot Shep.

So I threw down a let old gun and ran right up to his signe ladies, faithful, old head, right online, knee and friends. I stroked the best pound little man ever found. I even cried so I scarcely could see.

So I threw down a let old gun and ran right up to his signe ladies, faithful, old head, right online, knee and friends. I stroked the best pound little man ever found. I even cried so I scarcely could see.

Now listen to Elvis sing his.

Now listen to Elvis sing his.

Version, I had strong the best friend, not a man.

Version, I had strong the best friend, not a man.

I cry.

I cry.

Sauscuriously good see Hanks no sings I stroked the best pal a man ever found, meaning that the boy considers an act of violence against his best pal, then decides against it and takes instead the path of nurture and sympathy.

Sauscuriously good see Hanks no sings I stroked the best pal a man ever found, meaning that the boy considers an act of violence against his best pal, then decides against it and takes instead the path of nurture and sympathy.

He recovers his humanity. But Elvis sings, I had struck the best friend a man ever had, which turns the meaning of the song completely upside down. The boy does not recover his humanity. He now holds himself responsible for an act of violence against Shep, an act of violence that in fact he did not commit. Stroke becomes struck, and all of a sudden, the song about moral redemption turns into a song about morbid remorse. Now I suppose you can say stroke struck whatever those two words sound the same. It's just a cover, but it's not just a cover. Alvis was obsessed with Old Shep. It's the first song he ever learned on the guitar. He played it incessantly as a child. At age ten, he played it at the Mississippi Alabama Fair, his first public performance. He played it at his high school talent show and won. He played it on dates with girls. He played it well into his career. And why does the song resonate so much with him? It's a song about love, betrayal, and loss, themes that are at the center of Elvis's life. He's a twinless twin. Someone who's twin died in utero, and he's obsessed by that fact. He brings it up again and again. The loss of someone who should have been his closest friend. Alvis's mother, Gladys, is to say the least unusual. She's controlling, intense, he calls her baby. Gladys died when Alvis was just twenty three. When he first saw her casket, he threw himself on top of her body, then stepped back and talked about how beautiful she was while pointing to her dead feet. He called them her little suities. He did this again and again. At the end of the funeral service, he lay on top of her casket, saying, I want to go with you. I don't want to stay here. I can't be without you. And we haven't even gotten to Priscilla, Alvis's wife. He spotted her when she was fourteen and eventually convinced her to move in with him in Memphis.

He recovers his humanity. But Elvis sings, I had struck the best friend a man ever had, which turns the meaning of the song completely upside down. The boy does not recover his humanity. He now holds himself responsible for an act of violence against Shep, an act of violence that in fact he did not commit. Stroke becomes struck, and all of a sudden, the song about moral redemption turns into a song about morbid remorse. Now I suppose you can say stroke struck whatever those two words sound the same. It's just a cover, but it's not just a cover. Alvis was obsessed with Old Shep. It's the first song he ever learned on the guitar. He played it incessantly as a child. At age ten, he played it at the Mississippi Alabama Fair, his first public performance. He played it at his high school talent show and won. He played it on dates with girls. He played it well into his career. And why does the song resonate so much with him? It's a song about love, betrayal, and loss, themes that are at the center of Elvis's life. He's a twinless twin. Someone who's twin died in utero, and he's obsessed by that fact. He brings it up again and again. The loss of someone who should have been his closest friend. Alvis's mother, Gladys, is to say the least unusual. She's controlling, intense, he calls her baby. Gladys died when Alvis was just twenty three. When he first saw her casket, he threw himself on top of her body, then stepped back and talked about how beautiful she was while pointing to her dead feet. He called them her little suities. He did this again and again. At the end of the funeral service, he lay on top of her casket, saying, I want to go with you. I don't want to stay here. I can't be without you. And we haven't even gotten to Priscilla, Alvis's wife. He spotted her when she was fourteen and eventually convinced her to move in with him in Memphis.

Once Alvis took you to a move Yes he did.

Once Alvis took you to a move Yes he did.

This is Priscilla being interviewed by Barbara Walters in nineteen eighty five.

This is Priscilla being interviewed by Barbara Walters in nineteen eighty five.

Why why that fascination?

Why why that fascination?

I don't know.

I don't know.

I don't know what the fascination was. This is not the first time that he had done this. I don't know if it was for the shock value, you know, to see how people would react, or just for his own thrill of it. You wrote, there were times when you and Elvis spent days in the bedroom, freezing bedroom. He liked it be cold, the windows with blackout drapes or no sun light enter it. Day after day. It went in two weeks.

I don't know what the fascination was. This is not the first time that he had done this. I don't know if it was for the shock value, you know, to see how people would react, or just for his own thrill of it. You wrote, there were times when you and Elvis spent days in the bedroom, freezing bedroom. He liked it be cold, the windows with blackout drapes or no sun light enter it. Day after day. It went in two weeks.

Yes, we stayed like that.

Yes, we stayed like that.

We had our food.

We had our food.

Delivered by the door and.

Delivered by the door and.

It was cold.

It was cold.

I mean, he did like a cold, and it was dark, and it could get real lonely. And that's how he liked it at times, like a cocoon, almost like a womb.

I mean, he did like a cold, and it was dark, and it could get real lonely. And that's how he liked it at times, like a cocoon, almost like a womb.

I guess you think. Priscilla and Barbara Walters are on a white couch surrounded by pink flowers. Scilla is in a strapless sun dress. She looks amazing. Barbara Walters turns to her and says, Alvis controlled your looks, your clothes, your hair, your makeup. He controlled you totally. Priscilla says, yes, he did.

I guess you think. Priscilla and Barbara Walters are on a white couch surrounded by pink flowers. Scilla is in a strapless sun dress. She looks amazing. Barbara Walters turns to her and says, Alvis controlled your looks, your clothes, your hair, your makeup. He controlled you totally. Priscilla says, yes, he did.

Then six years you lived there before he decided to marry you. In those six years of sleeping with him every night, he never had intercourse with you. You wrote in your book that there were times when you begged him six years so why well again, you know, I can only go back to what his concept was as what he wanted in a woman, and somewhere he along in his past he said that he wanted a virgin.

Then six years you lived there before he decided to marry you. In those six years of sleeping with him every night, he never had intercourse with you. You wrote in your book that there were times when you begged him six years so why well again, you know, I can only go back to what his concept was as what he wanted in a woman, and somewhere he along in his past he said that he wanted a virgin.

Alvis is complicated, and what does Freud's theory of parapraxis say? The complicated feelings inappropriate, maybe unacceptable feelings are normally suppressed, but every now and again, some little bit of that buried emotion slips out and if you're paying attention and listening closely, that little slip can tell you something. Struck for stroke. But old chap is just the beginning. For Elvis, the real pairapraxis occurs in are You Lonesome Tonight? A song originally written in the nineteen twenties and which Elvis took to the top of the charts just after he came out of the Army.

Alvis is complicated, and what does Freud's theory of parapraxis say? The complicated feelings inappropriate, maybe unacceptable feelings are normally suppressed, but every now and again, some little bit of that buried emotion slips out and if you're paying attention and listening closely, that little slip can tell you something. Struck for stroke. But old chap is just the beginning. For Elvis, the real pairapraxis occurs in are You Lonesome Tonight? A song originally written in the nineteen twenties and which Elvis took to the top of the charts just after he came out of the Army.

Are You Longed.

Are You Longed.

Wish A Day? Zero six?

Wish A Day? Zero six?

Take two.

Take two.

Elvis at the RCA Studios on Music Row in Nashville, April fourth, nineteen sixty The recordings from the original session now held in the Sony Music Archive.

Elvis at the RCA Studios on Music Row in Nashville, April fourth, nineteen sixty The recordings from the original session now held in the Sony Music Archive.

Yeah, this is there's numerous takes here, so they fall apart, they make a mistake, and what have you?

Yeah, this is there's numerous takes here, so they fall apart, they make a mistake, and what have you?

John Jackson and Vic Annissini from Sony Me all listening together at the legendary Battery Studios in Manhattan, where everyone from John Lennon to Bruce Springsteen recorded Holy Ground. I started my quest at the very beginning.

John Jackson and Vic Annissini from Sony Me all listening together at the legendary Battery Studios in Manhattan, where everyone from John Lennon to Bruce Springsteen recorded Holy Ground. I started my quest at the very beginning.

It is your hot till.

It is your hot till.

Share, I harm.

Share, I harm.

Toll me d.

Toll me d.

Are You Lonesome?

Are You Lonesome?

To Amaziah? Is he uh? When he records that? Are the Jordanaires singing along with him? Or they're laying that tracked down spar no livething a. Yeah.

To Amaziah? Is he uh? When he records that? Are the Jordanaires singing along with him? Or they're laying that tracked down spar no livething a. Yeah.

He always preferred to have everyone in one room and record live.

He always preferred to have everyone in one room and record live.

Oh, even in one room, not in booths or no no, no, no no.

Oh, even in one room, not in booths or no no, no, no no.

He hated booths. Recording the song was not Elvis's idea. It was a favorite of the wife of his manager, Tom Parker. In the studio, Elvis asked the lights be turned off so the room was in darkness. He did five takes. He didn't like any of them.

He hated booths. Recording the song was not Elvis's idea. It was a favorite of the wife of his manager, Tom Parker. In the studio, Elvis asked the lights be turned off so the room was in darkness. He did five takes. He didn't like any of them.

It was four in the morning when he recorded it, so he made everyone get out of the studio go.

It was four in the morning when he recorded it, so he made everyone get out of the studio go.

Away, and then he just you know, did it.

Away, and then he just you know, did it.

And then they this is the second take, which they told him how the background singers, you know, pea popped because he said, just stop the tape, you know, I'm done. They said, just do it once more because you know, we hit a pea pop on there. So the third take ends up being the master.

And then they this is the second take, which they told him how the background singers, you know, pea popped because he said, just stop the tape, you know, I'm done. They said, just do it once more because you know, we hit a pea pop on there. So the third take ends up being the master.

Oh, I see.

Oh, I see.

Then held the label held it back for seven eight months because he didn't.

Then held the label held it back for seven eight months because he didn't.

Realize what they had on their hands.

Realize what they had on their hands.

Yeah, it was seven months.

Yeah, it was seven months.

I think after he recreated they finally released it as a single and didn't go out that he had done eight songs for Elvis's back, and this was just like, yeah, just try this.

I think after he recreated they finally released it as a single and didn't go out that he had done eight songs for Elvis's back, and this was just like, yeah, just try this.

One, recorded in the wee hours of the morning in darkness as a favor to someone else, a song neither Elvis nor his label particularly liked. It's almost like the song had a curse on it right from the beginning, and from then on Elvis could never quite get it right. I talked about this with Michelle Press at the New York Psychoanalytics Society. Elvis wasn't typically someone who forgot the words to the songs he sang. There's all these examples out of his life of him being able to recite, to sing from memory massive amounts of stuff. I'm worried. I'm interested about that. There's a little slip worried about I said, I'm worried about that. I'm interested in that, and I'm wondering what the what would you make of that? As a psychoanalyst. I try to go on, but of course I'm talking to a hardcore Freudian. I meant to say I was interested, but what came out was worried.

One, recorded in the wee hours of the morning in darkness as a favor to someone else, a song neither Elvis nor his label particularly liked. It's almost like the song had a curse on it right from the beginning, and from then on Elvis could never quite get it right. I talked about this with Michelle Press at the New York Psychoanalytics Society. Elvis wasn't typically someone who forgot the words to the songs he sang. There's all these examples out of his life of him being able to recite, to sing from memory massive amounts of stuff. I'm worried. I'm interested about that. There's a little slip worried about I said, I'm worried about that. I'm interested in that, and I'm wondering what the what would you make of that? As a psychoanalyst. I try to go on, but of course I'm talking to a hardcore Freudian. I meant to say I was interested, but what came out was worried.

I mean, I'm still caught on your slip, obviously thinking what do you make of it? So one thought was whether the slip might be a key to something that you're figuring out and puzzling with him, because you're right now, you're immersed in him.

I mean, I'm still caught on your slip, obviously thinking what do you make of it? So one thought was whether the slip might be a key to something that you're figuring out and puzzling with him, because you're right now, you're immersed in him.

Oh I am. I've been singing this song under my breath for months. I can't understand why I've never been an Elvis fan. I don't own a single song of his, or am I am? I drawn to this story because isn't this story that I'm talking to you the great anxiety of anyone in a creative field, that moment when you lose control, right where the the presentation to the audience is unmasked. I want to I want to show you. I take up my laptop, pull up YouTube. There's a mountain of Elvis on YouTube, one of the last performances of his life. It's bananas. I mean, he just it's he's singing a song he's singing thousands of times, and.

Oh I am. I've been singing this song under my breath for months. I can't understand why I've never been an Elvis fan. I don't own a single song of his, or am I am? I drawn to this story because isn't this story that I'm talking to you the great anxiety of anyone in a creative field, that moment when you lose control, right where the the presentation to the audience is unmasked. I want to I want to show you. I take up my laptop, pull up YouTube. There's a mountain of Elvis on YouTube, one of the last performances of his life. It's bananas. I mean, he just it's he's singing a song he's singing thousands of times, and.

He just.

He just.

Completely loses control of it. I can skip it. I wonder if.

Completely loses control of it. I can skip it. I wonder if.

Two longs of my life.

Two longs of my life.

You know, someone said the worlds of stags in each of us play apart they had playing in plus tags, iriginal select every I never missed you, and it came back to it.

You know, someone said the worlds of stags in each of us play apart they had playing in plus tags, iriginal select every I never missed you, and it came back to it.

For got the word seem to change. When I first saw it it as someone in a I mean, I'm not Elvis, but I'm someone in a creative field. It terrified me. It's like up on stage doing what he's paid to do, and he he just.

For got the word seem to change. When I first saw it it as someone in a I mean, I'm not Elvis, but I'm someone in a creative field. It terrified me. It's like up on stage doing what he's paid to do, and he he just.

Really won during your life, You're gonna go on living without you.

Really won during your life, You're gonna go on living without you.

Now the stage is bare and I'm sending there without a new hair.

Now the stage is bare and I'm sending there without a new hair.

I don't know.

I don't know.

If you'll come.

If you'll come.

Back to me.

Back to me.

Every live performance he's ever given of this that we have on tape, he mangles the bridge. He can't do it right. It's which he's returning to the song again and again and again and again and again and doing the same in this particular always a bride so singing party.

Every live performance he's ever given of this that we have on tape, he mangles the bridge. He can't do it right. It's which he's returning to the song again and again and again and again and again and doing the same in this particular always a bride so singing party.

Over how many years did this go on?

Over how many years did this go on?

Yours Okay?

Yours Okay?

In nineteen eighty to this life and version was rare in the UK, and each one the twenty five and the British Singles chart.

In nineteen eighty to this life and version was rare in the UK, and each one the twenty five and the British Singles chart.

At Battery Studios. I made the Sony guys play every version they had. They even have names, Laughing Elvis, Crazy Elvis, each one stranger than the one before.

At Battery Studios. I made the Sony guys play every version they had. They even have names, Laughing Elvis, Crazy Elvis, each one stranger than the one before.

The World's a stagies in East must play a part.

The World's a stagies in East must play a part.

There's sweat and tears streaming down his face, and I had no call for Dodger.

There's sweat and tears streaming down his face, and I had no call for Dodger.

It goes on like this, on and on.

It goes on like this, on and on.

Baby shut.

Baby shut.

Again.

Again.

Tell me? Are you.

Tell me? Are you.

That's it?

That's it?

Man?

Man?

Don't do you?

Don't do you?

Don't never hurry and we'll I'll do you O s. Have you ever played a song before?

Don't never hurry and we'll I'll do you O s. Have you ever played a song before?

No?

No?

I never put it before.

I never put it before.

And it's funny. I played a bunch of.

And it's funny. I played a bunch of.

Check I put a bunch of his stuff.

Check I put a bunch of his stuff.

You might flip in the standby switched.

You might flip in the standby switched.

On the back.

On the back.

I'm with Jack White at his studio in Nashville Third Man Records. Jack White, formerly of the White Stripes, one of the great rock and rollers of his generation and a huge Elvis fan. He's a shrine to Elvis in his hallway, actual shrine. All that's missing is flowers. We met in his private office, lots of black and yellow and leather and taxidermy. He sat on the couch with a guitar. Do you play? Do you play Elvis songs? A concert?

I'm with Jack White at his studio in Nashville Third Man Records. Jack White, formerly of the White Stripes, one of the great rock and rollers of his generation and a huge Elvis fan. He's a shrine to Elvis in his hallway, actual shrine. All that's missing is flowers. We met in his private office, lots of black and yellow and leather and taxidermy. He sat on the couch with a guitar. Do you play? Do you play Elvis songs? A concert?

Sometimes?

Sometimes?

I do love like that.

I do love like that.

I want you to love me, love me and just.

I want you to love me, love me and just.

Dream and just save.

Dream and just save.

I was gonna say, don't stop, I'm enjoying it. Anything any other ones you do?

I was gonna say, don't stop, I'm enjoying it. Anything any other ones you do?

Wait?

Wait?

Anyway? Why do you why that one? What's it about that? Song.

Anyway? Why do you why that one? What's it about that? Song.

I had heard that early from a band called the Flat to a Jets that I really liked, and I didn't know it was Elvis. And then when i'd heard the Elvis version, I had connected the two, like, oh no, really, and I started doing it when I put in coffee houses. I started playing that when I was like sixteen, Yeah, it goes back, which is funny.

I had heard that early from a band called the Flat to a Jets that I really liked, and I didn't know it was Elvis. And then when i'd heard the Elvis version, I had connected the two, like, oh no, really, and I started doing it when I put in coffee houses. I started playing that when I was like sixteen, Yeah, it goes back, which is funny.

I eventually heard a story of Robert Plant.

I eventually heard a story of Robert Plant.

Telling Elvis he loved that song when led Zeppyn met Elvis, and then when they walked out out of the hallway that Elvis poked his head out in the hallway and sang that song to Robert Plan. They sang it back to each other, and you were crying and must have been an amazing moment.

Telling Elvis he loved that song when led Zeppyn met Elvis, and then when they walked out out of the hallway that Elvis poked his head out in the hallway and sang that song to Robert Plan. They sang it back to each other, and you were crying and must have been an amazing moment.

Jack White owns the original acetate pressing of Elvis's first recording from nineteen fifty three My Happiness. After we talked, White took me into his vault to show it to me. It's priceless. He asked me if I weren't to hold it. I was too terrified to say yes. Jack White seemed like the right person to see to try and understand Elvis's problem. You are you lonesome? Tonight.

Jack White owns the original acetate pressing of Elvis's first recording from nineteen fifty three My Happiness. After we talked, White took me into his vault to show it to me. It's priceless. He asked me if I weren't to hold it. I was too terrified to say yes. Jack White seemed like the right person to see to try and understand Elvis's problem. You are you lonesome? Tonight.

All right, let me see, we're gonna take a crack. It might might have to give a kap worls.

All right, let me see, we're gonna take a crack. It might might have to give a kap worls.

What are your lone song? Tonight?

What are your lone song? Tonight?

Do you miss me.

Do you miss me.

Tonight?

Tonight?

Are you sorry? We drifted.

Are you sorry? We drifted.

A paw?

A paw?

Does your memoir strain through a bride song?

Does your memoir strain through a bride song?

Day?

Day?

When I kissed you and called you sweet?

When I kissed you and called you sweet?

Do the chair in your partner seamanity?

Do the chair in your partner seamanity?

And then.

And then.

Do you gaze as the door snell and pitcher me? Then is your heart fill with fain? Shall I come back?

Do you gaze as the door snell and pitcher me? Then is your heart fill with fain? Shall I come back?

Love you till the deed? Are your own song? Son?

Love you till the deed? Are your own song? Son?

That's the first half of the song. The song version all questions A man is wondering whether his lover misses him. Then comes the spoken bridge, in which the emotional tables are turned and the man leaves himself bare. Are you lonesome Tonight? Has been recorded countless times over the years. A lot of performers leave out the bridge because it's corny and way too long and hard. Elvis kept it in, so does Jack White.

That's the first half of the song. The song version all questions A man is wondering whether his lover misses him. Then comes the spoken bridge, in which the emotional tables are turned and the man leaves himself bare. Are you lonesome Tonight? Has been recorded countless times over the years. A lot of performers leave out the bridge because it's corny and way too long and hard. Elvis kept it in, so does Jack White.

I wonder if you're lonesome tonight? You know someone said that the world's a stage and each must play a part. I fate had me playing in.

I wonder if you're lonesome tonight? You know someone said that the world's a stage and each must play a part. I fate had me playing in.

Love with you as my sweetheart.

Love with you as my sweetheart.

That one was where we met.

That one was where we met.

I loved you at first glance. You read your line so.

I loved you at first glance. You read your line so.

Cleverly and never missed a cue. Thing came that too.

Cleverly and never missed a cue. Thing came that too.

You seem to change.

You seem to change.

You acted strange, and why I've never known.

You acted strange, and why I've never known.

Honey.

Honey.

You lied when you said.

You lied when you said.

You loved me, and I had no cause to doubt you. But I'd rather go on hearing your lies.

You loved me, and I had no cause to doubt you. But I'd rather go on hearing your lies.

To go on living without you. Now the stage is bare, and I was standing there with emptiness all around. And if you won't come back to me, and then.

To go on living without you. Now the stage is bare, and I was standing there with emptiness all around. And if you won't come back to me, and then.

You bring the curtain down, is your heart feel? Shall not come back again to me?

You bring the curtain down, is your heart feel? Shall not come back again to me?

Song to nice?

Song to nice?

Whoa wait?

Whoa wait?

You you?

You you?

You enjoyed that.

You enjoyed that.

I did?

I did?

It gets I gets uh, there's some nice parts where it gets the you can see uh playing that live now?

It gets I gets uh, there's some nice parts where it gets the you can see uh playing that live now?

I just did that like well, we just did that.

I just did that like well, we just did that.

I played it once yesterday reading this, but now playing like that, I could see wild live You could really that really could get to be a really emotional song.

I played it once yesterday reading this, but now playing like that, I could see wild live You could really that really could get to be a really emotional song.

So I didn't really think about it until just then.

So I didn't really think about it until just then.

What led you to think that just now?

What led you to think that just now?

Because it feels like, well, it's in a mine.

Because it feels like, well, it's in a mine.

It's a lot of minor chords, so that that that's already gets you in that melancholy vibe, but it has it has that. What just occurred to me now is he doesn't he doesn't He doesn't really care that if she's lonesome, he's lonesome, that the singer is lonesome. And it's a it's a maguffin to pretend like I'm worried about you? Are you lonesome tonight?

It's a lot of minor chords, so that that that's already gets you in that melancholy vibe, but it has it has that. What just occurred to me now is he doesn't he doesn't He doesn't really care that if she's lonesome, he's lonesome, that the singer is lonesome. And it's a it's a maguffin to pretend like I'm worried about you? Are you lonesome tonight?

You know?

You know?

But it's really he's the singer is worried about himself. So that could be you know, you take that kind of emotional song and you put years and years on stage, and then you put drugs in the mix, and then in your own state of mind at the time, it could be a really you could be onto something there. It could be a real diversion that it's too powerful to sing.

But it's really he's the singer is worried about himself. So that could be you know, you take that kind of emotional song and you put years and years on stage, and then you put drugs in the mix, and then in your own state of mind at the time, it could be a really you could be onto something there. It could be a real diversion that it's too powerful to sing.

What's fascinating is that to the some parts, the singer is in control and he's worried about her right the spoken parts, the singer is vulnerable and he's confessing his own and it's so screwed up. It's like, I know you lied to me, and I wish you hadn't, right, which I didn't know that you lied to me because I'd rather be in the state of being deceived than know the truth, which is like seventeen convolutions of neuroticism.

What's fascinating is that to the some parts, the singer is in control and he's worried about her right the spoken parts, the singer is vulnerable and he's confessing his own and it's so screwed up. It's like, I know you lied to me, and I wish you hadn't, right, which I didn't know that you lied to me because I'd rather be in the state of being deceived than know the truth, which is like seventeen convolutions of neuroticism.

Right, he's still blaming her most of the lines, still pointing the finger.

Right, he's still blaming her most of the lines, still pointing the finger.

White says, you can't run from that kind of emotion, not if you're singing the song properly. And so when he writes songs, he tries to establish some distance between himself and the feelings he's singing about.

White says, you can't run from that kind of emotion, not if you're singing the song properly. And so when he writes songs, he tries to establish some distance between himself and the feelings he's singing about.

I try to push it into a character's standpoint rather than it being a self confession confessional for me, because I think that would be really hard to consistently keep living that moment over and over and over again. I've definitely seen older artists ignoring certain parts of their certain songs in their career because it's probably too close to home about something or other.

I try to push it into a character's standpoint rather than it being a self confession confessional for me, because I think that would be really hard to consistently keep living that moment over and over and over again. I've definitely seen older artists ignoring certain parts of their certain songs in their career because it's probably too close to home about something or other.

But you can't avoid a song's emotional effects all the time, and especially not when you have to read a soliloquy in the middle of it, which is what the are you Lonesome bridge is a speech parachuted into the heart of the song.

But you can't avoid a song's emotional effects all the time, and especially not when you have to read a soliloquy in the middle of it, which is what the are you Lonesome bridge is a speech parachuted into the heart of the song.

I had a little flub moment at one point trying to figure out, well, wait a minute, it's a waltz.

I had a little flub moment at one point trying to figure out, well, wait a minute, it's a waltz.

You know you have that so if I'm like, I wonder if two three so one two the one.

You know you have that so if I'm like, I wonder if two three so one two the one.

Two there, so your brain kind of wants to go. I wonder if you're lonesome tonight, that's what your brain wants to do. You know, someone said that the world's a stage and we must.

Two there, so your brain kind of wants to go. I wonder if you're lonesome tonight, that's what your brain wants to do. You know, someone said that the world's a stage and we must.

Each play a part. Then it starts to get it breaks down.

Each play a part. Then it starts to get it breaks down.

Yeah, I mean it would, I mean I would.

Yeah, I mean it would, I mean I would.

I can definitely say that this would be a lot easier if someone else was playing guitar and I could just recite, uh that part?

I can definitely say that this would be a lot easier if someone else was playing guitar and I could just recite, uh that part?

Which should I recite it while you played the guitar? Yeah, let's see do that. Yeah, I'm not going to torture you with my rendition of the spoken bridge. Well maybe later. I'm just saying until I die, I can say I played with Jack White and then, because how many opportunities am I going to get like this? I asked Jack White to help me edit the soliloquy. If one were to rewrite it, I'm thinking you that you, uh, you lose the first three lines. Fate had me playing in love you as my sweetheart, or even Act one was when we met? Why don't why don't they just start with act one?

Which should I recite it while you played the guitar? Yeah, let's see do that. Yeah, I'm not going to torture you with my rendition of the spoken bridge. Well maybe later. I'm just saying until I die, I can say I played with Jack White and then, because how many opportunities am I going to get like this? I asked Jack White to help me edit the soliloquy. If one were to rewrite it, I'm thinking you that you, uh, you lose the first three lines. Fate had me playing in love you as my sweetheart, or even Act one was when we met? Why don't why don't they just start with act one?

Do I?

Do I?

Act one was where I'm met. I loved you at the first glance. He read your lines so carefully, never missed a Q.

Act one was where I'm met. I loved you at the first glance. He read your lines so carefully, never missed a Q.

What did I do there?

What did I do there?

You say carefully instead of cleverly, clever beautiful?

You say carefully instead of cleverly, clever beautiful?

Then came back too, You seem to change, You acted strange.

Then came back too, You seem to change, You acted strange.

What did Jack White do there? The actual lyric is you read your lines so cleverly. He said, you read your line so carefully, carefully for cleverly, a man singing one of the songs of his musical idol comes to the emotionally complex center and what do we hear a moment of vulnerability? Can he be as clever as Elvis? He's not sure, he must be careful.

What did Jack White do there? The actual lyric is you read your lines so cleverly. He said, you read your line so carefully, carefully for cleverly, a man singing one of the songs of his musical idol comes to the emotionally complex center and what do we hear a moment of vulnerability? Can he be as clever as Elvis? He's not sure, he must be careful.

Parapraxis Sometimes you know I love I love him so much, and that you know I'm afraid to learn more about certain things, like you know it's you're so close to it, and you've experienced certain things about.

Parapraxis Sometimes you know I love I love him so much, and that you know I'm afraid to learn more about certain things, like you know it's you're so close to it, and you've experienced certain things about.

You know nothing in comparison to what he went through. But you're in the same where we do the same kind of thing. We perform, and we go on stages and we make records and all this stuff from a different time period. But you notice these tiny little moments that are when you see certain you're like, Oh, I know.

You know nothing in comparison to what he went through. But you're in the same where we do the same kind of thing. We perform, and we go on stages and we make records and all this stuff from a different time period. But you notice these tiny little moments that are when you see certain you're like, Oh, I know.

Exactly what that's about.

Exactly what that's about.

I know exactly what that feels like.

I know exactly what that feels like.

There are ten known live recordings of Elvis performing Are You Lonesome Tonight, starting in nineteen sixty one in a concert at Block Arena in Honolulu, up to the end of Elvis's life in nineteen seventy seven. Alan Elms and Bruce Heller analyze them all in their essay Twelve Ways to Say Lonesome, Assessing error and control in the music of Elvis Presley. Elms and Heller find that Elvis performs the sung portion of Are You Lonesome Tonight more or less flawlessly because the song portion is the part of the song where the singer is in control, but in the spoken bridge, the narrator is suddenly the one who's been deceived and rejected, and that's the part Elvis can't get right. Elms and Heller count a total of one hundred and nine errors in those ten live performances of the spoken Bridge, twenty nine of which involved just four lines I loved you at first glance, where he confesses the depths of his feelings. You seem to change, You acted strange, where he testifies to his betrayal and rejection and why I've never known where he expresses his feelings of anger and victimization, and with emptiness all around where he admits to his loneliness. The most problematic renditions of the Bridge are the later ones, which come after the summer of nineteen seventy two. What happens in the summer of nineteen seventy two?

There are ten known live recordings of Elvis performing Are You Lonesome Tonight, starting in nineteen sixty one in a concert at Block Arena in Honolulu, up to the end of Elvis's life in nineteen seventy seven. Alan Elms and Bruce Heller analyze them all in their essay Twelve Ways to Say Lonesome, Assessing error and control in the music of Elvis Presley. Elms and Heller find that Elvis performs the sung portion of Are You Lonesome Tonight more or less flawlessly because the song portion is the part of the song where the singer is in control, but in the spoken bridge, the narrator is suddenly the one who's been deceived and rejected, and that's the part Elvis can't get right. Elms and Heller count a total of one hundred and nine errors in those ten live performances of the spoken Bridge, twenty nine of which involved just four lines I loved you at first glance, where he confesses the depths of his feelings. You seem to change, You acted strange, where he testifies to his betrayal and rejection and why I've never known where he expresses his feelings of anger and victimization, and with emptiness all around where he admits to his loneliness. The most problematic renditions of the Bridge are the later ones, which come after the summer of nineteen seventy two. What happens in the summer of nineteen seventy two?

And one day you went in and said, I'm leaving. There was another man in your life. He was your karate teacher, right, Mike Stone. And you went off then and lived with him.

And one day you went in and said, I'm leaving. There was another man in your life. He was your karate teacher, right, Mike Stone. And you went off then and lived with him.

Priscilla Presley back on the couch with Barbara Walters, America's prime time Freudian.

Priscilla Presley back on the couch with Barbara Walters, America's prime time Freudian.

It was said that Elvis tried to kill him. I wanted him killed, right? Do you believe that?

It was said that Elvis tried to kill him. I wanted him killed, right? Do you believe that?

I think at that time, yes, he did. He wanted that to happen.

I think at that time, yes, he did. He wanted that to happen.

Do the cheers in your father.

Do the cheers in your father.

Seeing empty?

Seeing empty?

And do you gay?

And do you gay?

Is that your ball head?

Is that your ball head?

And wish you had hair filled with pain? She'll I come back? Tell me, are you lossome?

And wish you had hair filled with pain? She'll I come back? Tell me, are you lossome?

Lord?

Lord?

Lord?

Lord?

I want.

I want.

A man who fears betrayal and abandonment is portrayed and abandoned.

A man who fears betrayal and abandonment is portrayed and abandoned.

And I had no cause to doctor.

And I had no cause to doctor.

It's too much. He's a wreck.

It's too much. He's a wreck.

Shot again, tell me.

Shot again, tell me.

Why are you Lossome?

Why are you Lossome?

After I left Jack White, I went to see Bobby Braddock just down the street at the Sony Studios on Nashville's Music Row. This you may remember Bobby Braddock from season two of Revisionist History. He's the legendary songwriter I called the King of Tears. Braddock wanted to introduce me to a good friend of his, a singer songwriter named Casey Bowles.

After I left Jack White, I went to see Bobby Braddock just down the street at the Sony Studios on Nashville's Music Row. This you may remember Bobby Braddock from season two of Revisionist History. He's the legendary songwriter I called the King of Tears. Braddock wanted to introduce me to a good friend of his, a singer songwriter named Casey Bowles.

That's the church across the alto.

That's the church across the alto.

Thirty something long red hair, the kind of person who if you touch you expect a little jolt of static.

Thirty something long red hair, the kind of person who if you touch you expect a little jolt of static.

Don't work, Oh you won't sing that song that.

Don't work, Oh you won't sing that song that.

We were in the biggest of the Sony recording studios, on the main floor, in a corner where the piano was. Casey sang are you Lonesome Tonight? With Bobby on the piano.

We were in the biggest of the Sony recording studios, on the main floor, in a corner where the piano was. Casey sang are you Lonesome Tonight? With Bobby on the piano.

Do you miss me.

Do you miss me.

Sobby?

Sobby?

We drifted, Then we sat and they talked about Nashville. They talked about how they both grew up in the Church of Christ, the most strict of Southern fundamentalist denominations. And they talked about Elvis.

We drifted, Then we sat and they talked about Nashville. They talked about how they both grew up in the Church of Christ, the most strict of Southern fundamentalist denominations. And they talked about Elvis.

My dad thought he was Elvis.

My dad thought he was Elvis.

I think, yeah, he really he was a Church of Christ song leader and really wanted to be a Jordanaire badly, and so Ray Walker was one of the Jordanaires, and he tried to emulate him by way of dress and hairstyle.

I think, yeah, he really he was a Church of Christ song leader and really wanted to be a Jordanaire badly, and so Ray Walker was one of the Jordanaires, and he tried to emulate him by way of dress and hairstyle.

And so I grew up either hearing him.

And so I grew up either hearing him.

Say hello, Darlan, nice to see you, or doing this sort of you know, is it vaudeville style or just just sort of a over the top modeling style.

Say hello, Darlan, nice to see you, or doing this sort of you know, is it vaudeville style or just just sort of a over the top modeling style.

I guess is modeling the way you'd say it modeling.

I guess is modeling the way you'd say it modeling.

Then Bobby Braddock started talking about recitations the spoken part in many older country songs, and he made the same play that Jack White did that they're much easier if they're set to music, if you could just as easily sing them, like on one of Braddock's most famous songs, he Stopped Loving Her Today.

Then Bobby Braddock started talking about recitations the spoken part in many older country songs, and he made the same play that Jack White did that they're much easier if they're set to music, if you could just as easily sing them, like on one of Braddock's most famous songs, he Stopped Loving Her Today.

The vestation she came to see him. We all wonder, Yeah, you could sing that she came to see him one last time.

The vestation she came to see him. We all wonder, Yeah, you could sing that she came to see him one last time.

Oh, we all wonder if she would.

Oh, we all wonder if she would.

And that works either way. But this is just like, uh, we got this song, let's get a recitation, throw it in there, and and they Elvis made it work. And I'm thinking, just instinctively, just because he was, Uh, he was just so good.

And that works either way. But this is just like, uh, we got this song, let's get a recitation, throw it in there, and and they Elvis made it work. And I'm thinking, just instinctively, just because he was, Uh, he was just so good.

Recitations are unusual these days. Braddock hasn't written one since something he did for Toby Keith in the nineteen nineties.

Recitations are unusual these days. Braddock hasn't written one since something he did for Toby Keith in the nineteen nineties.

Last successful recitation song. I was actually it was, well, actually it was it was. It was a hip hop thing. I want to talk about me. But that was talking, talking, talking, That's what.

Last successful recitation song. I was actually it was, well, actually it was it was. It was a hip hop thing. I want to talk about me. But that was talking, talking, talking, That's what.

I'm thinking about.

I'm thinking about.

You know, wait, can you can?

You know, wait, can you can?

You?

You?

Can you pay a little slice of that? You remember?

Can you pay a little slice of that? You remember?

I never do that? Why do that always? I always do it with with with a karaoke thing where I get up there and play the thing I want to talk about me? We want to talk about I want to talk about number one. You talk about your work, how your boss is a jerk. You talk about your church in your head and your church, talk about the trouble you've been having with your mother and your daddy, with your brother and your daddy and your mother and your crazy ex lover, you know, and then and then the minstrel minstrel period of line, which everybody said, you can't put that in a song, nobody will ever cut it, you know, And it was one of the biggest songs ever had about your medical charts and when you start take that out nobody recording. Toby Keith did, here's probably one one who would have though.

I never do that? Why do that always? I always do it with with with a karaoke thing where I get up there and play the thing I want to talk about me? We want to talk about I want to talk about number one. You talk about your work, how your boss is a jerk. You talk about your church in your head and your church, talk about the trouble you've been having with your mother and your daddy, with your brother and your daddy and your mother and your crazy ex lover, you know, and then and then the minstrel minstrel period of line, which everybody said, you can't put that in a song, nobody will ever cut it, you know, And it was one of the biggest songs ever had about your medical charts and when you start take that out nobody recording. Toby Keith did, here's probably one one who would have though.

Then I showed them the prize. I brought it my bag, my copy of the Handbook of Psycho Biography containing the Heller and Elms essay. Hold on, I have my book here. I'll tell you that's fashion. To a pair of Elvis fanatics, it was like I'd unearthed the Dead Sea scrolls.

Then I showed them the prize. I brought it my bag, my copy of the Handbook of Psycho Biography containing the Heller and Elms essay. Hold on, I have my book here. I'll tell you that's fashion. To a pair of Elvis fanatics, it was like I'd unearthed the Dead Sea scrolls.

What's the book?

What's the book?

A book called Handbook of psycho Biography, and it has an essay on this song Wow cycle biography and so yeah, so here's so this guy has gone through. It made a chart all of the lyrical mistakes that Elvis made in every known live recording of These were two songwriters, and I felt they immediately saw themselves in that chart. Do you find yourself making the kind of error, sometimes even subtle ones, that you been talking about?

A book called Handbook of psycho Biography, and it has an essay on this song Wow cycle biography and so yeah, so here's so this guy has gone through. It made a chart all of the lyrical mistakes that Elvis made in every known live recording of These were two songwriters, and I felt they immediately saw themselves in that chart. Do you find yourself making the kind of error, sometimes even subtle ones, that you been talking about?

That's so interesting.

That's so interesting.

I wrote a song about my mother called Somebody Something, and my mother is adorable, And whenever you heard about things going wrong or like some tumultu a story, it was my dad. And so I finally was like, you know what, wantn't we the only person in the family that there's nothing I have it written about. So it's trying to dig dirt on her and there was nothing, And so I ended up writing this song about her called Somebody Something, and I cry every time I do it. And there is a line that says, you know, she's always been somebody something. She's lived every life but her own, and it's gone. I can't remember it right now.

I wrote a song about my mother called Somebody Something, and my mother is adorable, And whenever you heard about things going wrong or like some tumultu a story, it was my dad. And so I finally was like, you know what, wantn't we the only person in the family that there's nothing I have it written about. So it's trying to dig dirt on her and there was nothing, And so I ended up writing this song about her called Somebody Something, and I cry every time I do it. And there is a line that says, you know, she's always been somebody something. She's lived every life but her own, and it's gone. I can't remember it right now.

I don't know that feeling.

I don't know that feeling.

I can't remember it. She's always been somebody something. It's been everything but alone.

I can't remember it. She's always been somebody something. It's been everything but alone.

A daughter, a mother, a lot, a daughter, a lover, a wife, and a mother. She's lived every life but her own. Yeah, she's always been somebody's something. And there's a line that says, you know, she she wonders what it might be like to be somebody else, and she wonders.

A daughter, a mother, a lot, a daughter, a lover, a wife, and a mother. She's lived every life but her own. Yeah, she's always been somebody's something. And there's a line that says, you know, she she wonders what it might be like to be somebody else, and she wonders.

What it feels like to be free.

What it feels like to be free.

But she's always imagined being nobody's nothing, and that's something she never want to be.

But she's always imagined being nobody's nothing, and that's something she never want to be.

But that line usually is just gone.

But that line usually is just gone.

And a lot of times I'll go hold on and divert and tell a funny story really quickly.

And a lot of times I'll go hold on and divert and tell a funny story really quickly.

Yeah, what's the specific line that's gone? Is which one?

Yeah, what's the specific line that's gone? Is which one?

Uh?

Uh?

What's go on again? She's always been somebody's Cynthia's been everything but alone, daughter, a lover, a daughter, a lover, a wife, and a mother. She's been everything but alone. Yeah, yeah, why is it that line?

What's go on again? She's always been somebody's Cynthia's been everything but alone, daughter, a lover, a daughter, a lover, a wife, and a mother. She's been everything but alone. Yeah, yeah, why is it that line?

I don't know. I think that I don't know. I think when you even she's so when you see somebody give so much of themselves and that's truly the only thing that she will never experience.

I don't know. I think that I don't know. I think when you even she's so when you see somebody give so much of themselves and that's truly the only thing that she will never experience.

And I think it's what I've experienced the most stuff.

And I think it's what I've experienced the most stuff.

A minute before, we were joking about Toby Keith. Now Casey is pensive as she compares her mother's life to her own.

A minute before, we were joking about Toby Keith. Now Casey is pensive as she compares her mother's life to her own.

Not being able to make a relationship work the first eighteen thousand times out of the gate or you know, officially the first two and.

Not being able to make a relationship work the first eighteen thousand times out of the gate or you know, officially the first two and.

Not being a mother and she real close.

Not being a mother and she real close.

Yeah, I love her.

Yeah, I love her.

Go to church where they're right?

Go to church where they're right?

Do I sit still?

Do I sit still?

Because she makes me?

Because she makes me?

You know, I stay awake.

You know, I stay awake.

It's good.

It's good.

When I was a kid, if I'd get bored in church and my mother'd reach them and pinch me.

When I was a kid, if I'd get bored in church and my mother'd reach them and pinch me.

Oh, I got smacked, Casey, Can you play that song for us? Is it going to be two?

Oh, I got smacked, Casey, Can you play that song for us? Is it going to be two?

Let's see? Okay, Okay, well I will see if this happens.

Let's see? Okay, Okay, well I will see if this happens.

She grew up playing cowgirl.

She grew up playing cowgirl.

In bil Road Town.

In bil Road Town.

Dream and she'd see, Oh, shoot, hold on, there's a lit line bet Elvis in this that's just random.

Dream and she'd see, Oh, shoot, hold on, there's a lit line bet Elvis in this that's just random.

Hold on dream and see chee Holly. But I'm gonna do again. What did I just say? Sorry, I'm thinking about mom. She grew up playing cowgirl.

Hold on dream and see chee Holly. But I'm gonna do again. What did I just say? Sorry, I'm thinking about mom. She grew up playing cowgirl.

She grew up playing cowgirl.

She grew up playing cowgirl.

In a railroad town.

In a railroad town.

Dream and she'd see Hollywood someday, she knew, some distant Friday.

Dream and she'd see Hollywood someday, she knew, some distant Friday.

Night with a cigarette, just.

Night with a cigarette, just.

They would come in and carry you away as far shake Coulsie from there. Those were just that's all right. Hold on second.

They would come in and carry you away as far shake Coulsie from there. Those were just that's all right. Hold on second.

My first reaction to Casey's failure of memory was to be embarrassed for her, worried that she had lost control. That's the way we're trained to think. Just listen to the words I've just used, failure, embarrassed, worried in one way or another. That's what this season of Revisionist History has been about, about the ways we judge each other for our mistakes and choices. The easiest thing in the world is to look at those mistakes and condemn. The much harder thing is to look at those mistakes and understand.

My first reaction to Casey's failure of memory was to be embarrassed for her, worried that she had lost control. That's the way we're trained to think. Just listen to the words I've just used, failure, embarrassed, worried in one way or another. That's what this season of Revisionist History has been about, about the ways we judge each other for our mistakes and choices. The easiest thing in the world is to look at those mistakes and condemn. The much harder thing is to look at those mistakes and understand.

In December anywhere and address her Mama maid. She looked dark, grown up, standing, there like that had a honeymoon in Memphis Town. Yeah, she looked for as all around may loving the greyhound coming back. As far as she could say from there, those were just the facts. Slide. You went from somebody's daughter, somebody's.

In December anywhere and address her Mama maid. She looked dark, grown up, standing, there like that had a honeymoon in Memphis Town. Yeah, she looked for as all around may loving the greyhound coming back. As far as she could say from there, those were just the facts. Slide. You went from somebody's daughter, somebody's.

Wife, Jesus, Parapraxis is not failure. When the performer slips, the audience is not cheated. It's the opposite. Parapraxis is a gift. I presented myself as interested in this story, but now you know that the subject doesn't just interest me, It worries me. Losing control is my great anxiety. When Jack White said carefully instead of cleverly, it was a hint that playing Elvis wasn't a trivial matter for him. It was a sacred act, carefully full of care. And Elvis, after the loss of Priscilla, sang a song hit sung a thousand times only now in a way that gave the audience a window on his pane. Mistakes reveal our vulnerabilities. They are the way the world understands us, the way performers make their performances real. So Bobby Braddock and I sat there listening to Casey's sing, tears in her eyes fumbling to remember the lyrics of a song about her mother. Fumbling not because your mother didn't matter to her, but because she did.