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A Dog's Life

Rating:
2.3 / 5

Words & Music: Ben Weisman Sid Wayne

If I had my life to live over
I know just what I'd like to be
A pampered pet of a rich brunette
Sitting on my mama's knee
Someone to love me
Someone to care
Rubberduck dubble little fingers through my hair
I need a dog's life
What a life, that's good enough for me

That's good enough for me
If I had a bone to be picking
A picking chicken or a steak
Curled up there in an easy chair
Man, that won't be hard to take
I'll always be faithful
That's what I'd be
Never bite a hand that feeds me, no siree
Just lead a dog's life
What a life
That's good enough for me
That's good enough for me

I'd find me a pink little poodle
And lose my noodle over her
I chase her 'round all over town
Just to ruffle up her fur
Nuzzle her muzzle
A hole in her paw
Greatest case of puppy lovin' you ever saw
It's called a dog's life
What a life
That's good enough for me
You heard me say it now
That's good enough for me
That's good enough for me

Recordingdate: 1965/07/27, first released on: Paradise, Hawaiian Style (album)

Musicians

Musicians who contributed to the first recording of A Dog's Life:

(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(steel guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(drums)
(drums)
(piano)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)

Availability

Find available albums with A Dog's Life.

Lex wrote on March 19, 2008
Another mediocre movie song, but the outtakes on the Silver box were outrageously funny!
old shep wrote on May 18, 2008
A song that was every bit as bad as the movie it came from.
ElvisDayByDay wrote on May 18, 2008
Just to ruffle up her fur, Nuzzle her muzzle, A hole in her paw ... I reallyt don't want to have an opinion on this one ...
Steve V wrote on May 18, 2008
Doesnt deserve to be song of the day. Best forgotten. This made it hard to be an Elvis fan in the hip swinging mid-60's.
bluesboy wrote on May 18, 2008
If you thought Old MacDonald was bad, just take a listen to this one then. When the album where this masterpiece came from was released, I felt ashamed to be an Elvisfan.
sitdown68 wrote on May 18, 2008
It was still hard to listen to this one some twelve years later. I only bought the album because of the title track...Hawaii, USA...first heard it during a re-broadcast of the ALOHA...but being a completist back then I had to "swallow the toad", as we say over here...remember some of the outtakes of those session and I guess they bare witness of what the man thought about it, but what was the problem to say "hold it!"? Did he really like it that much? I shiver when I think what could have been recorded listening to all those additional bonus tracks from scattered tapes, which they added to each album...it wasn't to be.
theoldscudder wrote on May 18, 2008
A Dog's Turd would be more like it. This proved to me Elvis had no control over his career in the 60's while groups like The Beatles/Stones were reshaping music.
Burninglove wrote on May 18, 2008
Oh my God, what a waste of talent!! :-((
NONE000000 wrote on May 18, 2008
The thing to keep in mind when faced with an awful song like this is that perhaps Elvis had been convinced that his audience was young. Very young. That he was doing movies and music for families with young children--he was convinced that his place in show business, since leaving the army, was to entertain and be as wholesome as possible. (Surely this was Col Parker's plan all along) For a serious music fan to listen to Elvis Presley sing this crap is difficult, knowing he'd set the world on fire a few years earlier and would do it again in 1968, but if you look at a lot of the movie songs--like Old MacDonald and I Love Only One Girl and Yoga Is As Yoga Does--as the kinda songs you might hear in a Disney movie, they are a little more tolerable.
JerryNodak wrote on May 18, 2008
Elvis did dozens and dozens of GREAT songs. Why the HELL are we discussing this as a song of the day? It doesn't deserve the time. It's a piece of movie situation filler, fluff. Nothing more or less. And I'm being exceptionally kind and generous in describing it as such. Wasn't it inclucluded on that album of long ago entitled "Elvis' Greatest sh-t?"
Steve V wrote on May 18, 2008
This is prob my least favorite Elvis soundtrack. Not sure Ive even played it since the 60's. At least Harum Scarum had a middle eatern flavor & Easy Come Easy Go tried to rock a bit. But this? Not one good song save for Sand Casltes which wasnt even in the movie. Please no more of these songs of the day.
Jerome wrote on June 16, 2008
an insult to Elvis and Old Shep!..
Marty_TCE wrote on February 26, 2009
Great guitar, but... OH MY GOD! Elvis was actually in good voice but what can you do with material as bad as this?
Volker Stockel wrote on November 20, 2009
great song with humor and it fits into the movie. Elvis has a great voice
dgirl wrote on February 02, 2010
Elvis was recording this soundtrack summer of 65 when The Beatles came to visit. Think he played them the acetates? LOL.
Deano1 wrote on February 02, 2010
A very silly and at times almost unbearable track from the 1966 movie and LP "Paradise, Hawaiian Style". There are times when a track is okay for the movie and remembering the scene makes the song more listenable when you hear it on an album. BUT, then there are times when the song and the movie situation is bad and such is the case of "A Dog's Life". Elvis actually gets into this song compared to most of the other tunes on this soundtrack, but it just fails to provide much entertainment. In my book, it isn't the worst movie tune ("Barefoot Ballad" from "Kissin Cousins" gets that nod), but Elvis is forced to sing this tune to a bunch of dogs in a helicopter in the movie (yeah a woman is there too). I liked when he sang to children in movies and therefore tunes like "Queenie Wahine's Papaya" and"Confidence" (from "Clambake"), I can take, but singing to dogs is going to far. As far as the Beatles and the music scene of 1966, weren't they on the charts with such junk as "Yellow Submarine" and The Rolling Stones (they should not even be mentioned in the same breath as Elvis or the Beatles) would have an LP in 1967 called "Their Satanic Majesties Request". Stop to think of it, I will take Elvis singing to dogs over wearing devil horns or Ringo's warbling any day. Lyric correction: In the 3rd verse, it should be "Holdin' her paw", not "a hole in her paw".
Marty_TCE wrote on February 02, 2010
Elvis was laughing so much when trying to record this and with good reason. The questionable quality of the movie years material is debated very often on here and I am not going down that avenue again... In fairness, Elvis in great voice and the guitar work is very good. But even so...
Jim Hoff wrote on February 02, 2010
Amazing lyrics ;-)
Pedro Nuno wrote on February 02, 2010
In the summer of 1965 The Beatles were playing The Shea Stadium and Elvis was playing this crap!
shoesuedeblues wrote on February 02, 2010
Someone mentioned that Elvis was having a laugh when he recorded this, I suppose he would be at a million dollars a movie plus.
derekd wrote on February 02, 2010
Now here's one that i've great control over using my cd player, just press skip.
JER wrote on February 03, 2010
The song was recorded in 1965, so we can't change anything. I will not complain. Still a guilty pleasure and outtake 8 hearing Elvis laugh at the song is priceless.
Bestoftherest8301 wrote on April 30, 2010
Of course there are great highs and lows for any artist. This may not be one of Elvis' best. But what about the Beatles: Revolution 9, Piggies, Wild Honey Pie and other classics like: I am the Walrus (classic lyrics, "sitting on a cornflake, yellow mother custard.. etc).
Lpool kid wrote on October 10, 2011
the only reason to like this is the outtake were elvis completely loses it.this song is the bottom of the barrel along with old macdonald.these two songs do more than most to destroy elvis's reputation as the greatest.surely parker could see that the golden goose was being damaged.being damaged would have meant less money when contract negotiations came around.1 star
ElvisSacramento wrote on October 26, 2012
This is a song that Elvis "The King Of Rock 'N' Roll" should have refused to ever record. There's only a very few Elvis songs worse than this one. This is such a pathetic song.
Gorse wrote on December 26, 2012
Should not have been heard outside the confines of the film. Strangely my sons who will tolerate me playing Elvis tracks, really enjoyed the film sequence, whereas Jailhouse Rock leaves them unmoved.
sugartummy wrote on February 22, 2013
In The Simpsons, Barney is in a helicopter with the pilote. The pilote says that Elvis once played an helicopterpilote, but wasn't very good at it. Then Barney says:"But he could sing though", which the pilote confirms. I think they were talking about the scene when Elvis sings A Dog's life. Elvis was supposed to bark like a dog in this song, but he refused to do so. I think the lyrics are pretty funny and the guitar & Elvis both sound good.
Cruiser621 wrote on July 27, 2013
I would say this song is a blatant throw away if memory serves me correct from an almost overall same soundtrack. And they actual charge money for this?
trudygillenwater wrote on April 07, 2015
I agree the lyrics are silly but my God, it's Elvis!
atomic powered poste wrote on February 19, 2018
Wow, what an embarrassing Song.
DerekH wrote on June 05, 2020
Ive heard this recording on a tv in the Uk. Doesn't make it any batter. 1stat.
TBG wrote on May 30, 2021
One of many reasons why u should have fired that axxxxxe Colonel Parker, Elvis. He treated you like a circus clown. This is just embarassing Elvis, sorry...
The Hawk wrote on May 27, 2022
Piffle in, piffle out—I actually like this song and have always thought of "A Dog's Life" as more of a fun, 1930s-styled novelty blues tune. Four stars.
The Hawk wrote on June 06, 2022
Wait a second, I take that back. My comment was actually referring to "Dominick" from Stay Away, Joe, except that was country.
DerekH wrote on September 17, 2022
Never played it twice, if you know what I mean
GBK42 wrote on September 17, 2022
Funny song with a great guitar part.
Milky White Way wrote on September 18, 2022
One can only feel sorry for Elvis and the FTD outtakes shows his embarrassment. Laughter is the only way he deals with it.
KRLA Top Eliminator wrote on January 04, 2023
Musically, this is a fine little piece of rock & roll; lyrically, however, it really is a waste of Elvis's talent. As much as I love Mad Professor Ben Weisman, this might just be my least favorite of all the 57 songs of his Presley recorded.
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