Words & Music:
Shirl Milete
Somewhere out in empty space,
long before the human race,
Something stirred,
A vast and timeless source began,
Intelligence was born and then,
there was the world,
Powers filled the universe,
matter formed and broke the curse,
Of nothingness,
Love became an ageless soul,
nature reached her highest goal,
And breathed the breath of life,
Everlasting life.
Well creatures come from out of sight,
Daylight came from in the night,
and all was good,
Life became a masterplan,
Love produced the perfect man,
that understood,
The image of the makers word,
worshipped him with all he had,
But then one day,
From in the depths an evil seed,
grew and manufactured greed,
That changed the way of life,
Everlasting life,
Oh the loving power looked and saw,
Inside the heart of man a flaw,
began to grow,
Well, the fires of hell began to burn,
and so he sent his chosen son,
To let us know,
That love had surely made us all,
and hate would surely make us fall,
So from the cross,
Well he showed the world that dreadful day,
That love could be the only way,
or all is lost of life,
Everlasting life,
For life is love,
And love is life.
Recordingdate: 1970/06/06, first released on: single (album)
Musicians
Musicians who contributed to the first recording of Life:
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(piano)
(organ)
(organ)
(harmonica)
Others*
(percussion)
(french horn)
(trombone)
(trombone)
(trombone)
(trombone)
(trumpet)
(trumpet)
(trumpet)
(cello)
(cello)
(viola)
(viola)
(viola)
(viola)
(violin)
(violin)
(violin)
(violin)
(violin)
(violin)
*Orchestra, overdubs
Availability
Find available albums with Life.
I didnt like this song at all when it came out, but it has grown on me and I like it more than most of the songs on Love Letters, a sub-par LP. It was different for Elvis and he sings it very well, I guess thats why Ive grown to like it. Great lyrics.
One more proof that EP simply did not get the good songs because of greedy management. So he had to settle with the works of people like Shirl Milete. What a strange song for the King of RR to sing, and what a disastrous decision to release it as a single!? WHAT HAPPENED?
Good song with good lyrics, but not a classic single. Ok for a Album filler. Can't remember it being released as a single in the Uk. In the Usa it was released as the follow up to Rags to Riches whereas in the Uk I'm Leavin was the followup. Seems Rca were getting 'All shook Up'
Not an immediate choice as a potential chart release, overlooked in the UK as single material by RCA, One of their better moves.
Recorded in 1970 (from the same sessions that produced the majority of the classic LP's "That's The Way It Is" and "Elvis Country") and released as the flip-side of "Only Believe" in 1971 as an Easter release. The song had an ok chart run for a sacred release (#53 pop and #8 easy listening), but it is not a true spiritual song. Elvis gives this song a strong vocal effort and it is a good track, but it just doesn't have the sparkle of his very best Christian music. Both songs were released on mediocre LP "Love Letters From Elvis" in 1971. This album wasn't too bad considering it was just leftover material from June 1970 recording sessions, but it was no match for Elvis' best work.
I like the way this song builds, as I listen to it right now. Might not have been a good choice as a single but nevertheless is a very good song in its own right. I never skip it and give it 4 stars.
Elvis said of this song "it's long as life itself", so I don't think he liked it very much. Doesn't the first stanza deals with evolution and the rest of the song clearly not? Don't like it much.
A inept if not totally out to lunch attempt to bring Darwinism to song with some spirituality thrown in. It's to Elvis's credit that he managed to sing it with a straight face. Very little to feel good about here, the fact that it charted at all just shows that some Elvis fans were so hard core they would buy anything, therefore giving the nod of approval to the tactics of Colonel Parker and RCA. Sometimes I think the best thing for Elvis's career might have been a couple of complete and total unquestionable failures. Sorry this song should have been one of those instead of the mild success it actually was.
I so Love this song. Always will.
The first part of the lyrics is interesting, but the twist at the end renders it futile. The more I understood the content the less I listen to it. So now-a-days I hardly ever listen to it and I tend to skip it after the first verses when it gets that gospel twist. In general sense though it is well sung.
Not one of his better efforts from a really crap album to be honest.
I've always loved this song immensely and I always will too. The lyrics and arrangement of it are both brilliant and truthful. Elvis sang this song with passion, power and sincerity. It's such a very highly underrated and underappreciated song. It's a gem of a song for sure and I'm so very glad that Elvis decided to record it. 5 Stars.
1-star. Nothing has changed since my 2014 review. This song just drags and is not very inspiring as to music and lyrics. Boring comes to mind.
Stupid lyrics in a pop song are acceptable, but lyrics trying to be meaningful but are totally stupid are hard to stand .... the music doesn't goes anywhere. ... boring, dumb song. For good reasons buried on the less than mediocre leftover collection love letters. This song is crap.
It's not a top drawer song, but I like it. Over the years I've played the Love Letters LP a lot, too.
Such is the diversity of Elvis’ music, some people hate this song whilst others love it. I belong to the later. Not only IMO is this a beautiful story and well produced track, it’s from a fantastic album. Sure there are a couple of below standard tracks but overall Love Letters is a fabulous album. 5 stars for Life
What a bad choice for a single release! But, I am among those who actually like the song! It's almost gospel! As an album track, it is fine with me! And Elvis surely digs into it! The Love Letters From Elvis sure is a leftover filler album. But, I can actually stand it! It's not that bad, imo!