Elvis Presley Recorded Many Classic Hits but This Heartbreaking Song Is His Most Personal Record

Elvis Presley has no shortage of moving songs. “Heartbreak Hotel,” is one of his most famous tracks of all time, known for its themes of heartache and urban isolation. Meanwhile, Presley himself called “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” “probably the saddest song [he] ever heard.” Indeed, the so-called King of Rock and Roll remains just as well known for his heartfelt tearjerkers as he is for the rollicking, high octane hits that initially made him (and his once-controversial hips) the face of a generation.

But while Presley has no shortage of sad tracks, his most heartbreaking personal song is an unlikely classic that sits in the recesses of his From Elvis in Memphis album. Hauntingly prophetic, it foreshadows the future of his marriage with his then-wife, Priscilla. It also speaks to the loneliness brought on by his mega-fame and the repercussions that his popularity had on his most treasured relationships.

When He Covered "Long Black Limousine," Elvis Truly Made the Song His Own

“Long Black Limousine” was written in the late 1950s by Vern Stovall, Edwin Braden, and Bobby George. Although Stovall was better known for songwriting than for singing, he released a recording of the track in 1961that immediately gained traction among fellow artists, garnering covers from the likes of Bobby Bare, Glen Campbell, and Jody Miller. It was after Miller’s cover charted in 1968 that Presley turned his attention to the song, releasing his own cover of it on his 1969 album, From Elvis in Memphis.

The original version of the song blended country-western elements with doo-wop, while other artists such as Campbell, John Denver, and The Grateful Dead leaned into the track’s country elements, turning it into a mournful country ballad. Presley, however, transformed “Long Black Limousine” into a booming, soulful record in the style of “In the Ghetto” or “Unchained Melody.” Although the song’s popularity was eclipsed by other hits on the album, such as “Suspicious Minds,” it remains one of the best examples of Presley’s vocal talent and his ability to render existing work his own.

"Long Black Limousine" Foreshadowed Elvis' Tragic Passing

When Presley covered “Long Black Limousine” in 1969, he had no way of knowing that his life would decline so rapidly within the decade. That year, he began his famous Las Vegas residency—which his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, notoriously extended, in a move that Sofia Coppola's 2022 film Elvis cites as selfish and stifling. Meanwhile, Presley’s marriage to his wife, Priscilla, crumbled rapidly, with the two separating in 1972 and divorcing in 1973. During the 1970s, Presley succumbed to substance abuse and overall ill health, passing away in 1977. “Long Black Limousine” eerily alludes to these events. It opens with the vision of “a long line of mourners driving down our little street” in fancy cars, painting the picture of a wealthy, important person’s funeral. The lyrics, directed at a former lover who left the narrator long ago, ruefully observe, “They’re all your rich friends who knew you in the city/ And now they’ve finally brought you. Brought you home to me.”

It’s difficult to listen to this song without thinking of Priscilla, who left her husband to strike out on her own in Los Angeles, immersing herself in new friends and interests. In “Long Black Limousine,” the narrator’s love interest dies in a car accident, returning to him only for her funeral, but Presley’s story reverses this fate: Priscilla outlived Presley, and, although she maintained a close friendship with him until his death, she only truly returned to him when he died. Thus, it was Priscilla—not Elvis—who likely found herself recalling the closing lines of “Long Black Limousine:” “Well, I never, I never, never, never/ Oh, my heart, all my dreams, yeah, they’re with you/ In that long black limousine.” Elvis, for whom Priscilla had once tied up all her plans, dreams, and even her appearance, was suddenly gone, leaving her feeling like “a large part of [her] died with him.”

Without a doubt, “Long Black Limousine” is one of the most tragic songs in Presley’s discography. Not only does his soulful cover beautifully convey a profound sense of loss, but it also serves as a haunting hint of the tragedy that lay in store. Fans would be hard-pressed to find an Elvis track more personal, or more prophetic.