Words & Music:
traditional
I saw old pharaoh’s daughter bring Moses from the water
I'll lick the guy that says it isn't so
I was born about ten thousand years ago
There ain't nothing in this world that I don't know
I saved king David’s life and he offered me a wife
I said now you're talking business have a chair
Yeah, I was born about ten thousand years ago
Ain't nothing in this world that I don't know
Saw Peter, Paul and Moses playing ring around the roses
I'll lick the guy that says it isn't so
I was born about ten thousand years ago
Ain't nothing in this world that I don't know
I saw old pharaoh's daughter bring Moses from the water
I'll lick the guy that says it isn't so
I was there when old Noah built the ark
And I crawled in the window after dark
I saw Jonah eat the whale and dance with the lion's tale
And I crossed over Canaan on a log
I was born about ten thousand years ago
Ain't nothing in this world that I don't know
I saw old pharaoh's daughter bring Moses from the water
I'll lick the guy that says it isn't so
Yeah, I was born about ten thousand years ago
Ain't nothing in this world that I don't know
Saw Peter, Paul and Moses playing ring around the roses
I'll lick the guy that says it isn't so
I was there when old Noah built the ark
And I crawled in the window after dark
I saw Jonah eat the whale and dance with the lion's tale
And I crossed over Canaan on a log
I was born about ten thousand years ago
There ain't nothing in this world that I don't know
I saved king David’s life and he offered me a wife
I said now you're talking business have a chair
Yeah, I was born about ten thousand years ago
Ain't nothing in this world that I don't know
Saw Peter, Paul and Moses playing ring around the roses
I'll lick the guy that says it isn't so
Recordingdate: 1970/06/04, first released on: Elvis Country (album)
Musicians
Musicians who contributed to the first recording of I Was Born about Ten Thousand Years Ago:
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(piano)
(organ)
(harmonica)
Availability
Find available albums with I Was Born about Ten Thousand Years Ago.
As a stand alone track it is ok; but not anything special. On the LP "Elvis Country" it was at least something different as they spliced portions of this song between the 12 tracks. I still to this day can't decide whether I like the idea or I don't; but like I said, it was different. The song is an old folk song so it did fit well on the original concept of the LP "Elvis Now"; but it should have been one of 12 songs, not one of 10. You feel cheated by it being one of only ten songs and the songs that appeared on "Elvis Now" definitely don't flow well together.
When it was released on LP I did not like it, though it was a novelty. So initially it was interesting but soon after I experienced it as a disturbance. Yet for years I wondered how the whole thing was. Decades later the whole recording was released. It also did not impress me. One of those songs I hardly ever listen to. Only when I stumble upon it as part of the CD.
probably i am in the minority but i've always liked this song,i like the rhythm of the song.also reminds me of who could tell the biggest whopper,the man who said he climbed everest in a day or the fella who said he seen him do it.3 stars.
My least favorite song on "Elvis Now" but i like the idea they did on "Elvis Country". 3 stars.
4 stars for the song and 5 stars for the way it was used on the LP back in the days. Regarding how an album flow, that was never a concern of mine (even less so in these CD and MP3 days), as I always took one song at a time and actually liked the diversety on many of the albums, in my eyes Elvis was the link between songs.
I've always liked this song and it's always such a joy to listen to. The only track from the "Elvis Now" album that I don't like is "Hey Jude" because I don't like Elvis' rendition of that classic Beatles song.
An okay song that is just a bit too busy for me. Nothing really wrong with it but would have been better with an instrumental break. Fitted well as a track link on the Elvis Country album.
I loved the entire "ELVIS NOW" album, this song included.
Kelly Harrell (remember him?) had a recording off it in the twenties. The Odetta version is more different from Elvis', then that off Harrell. Original how they used it on the Country album.
I have the Elvis Country album on LP, cassette, CD, CD reissue, FTD and the 20 CD box set, not to mention the tracks on the Legacy box set. But for some reason, I don't like it. That's the Way It Is is my favorite LP. "I was Born 10000 Years Ago" might be the reason why I have such divergent views about two LPs drawn from the same sessions.
Elvis Now? More like Elvis Then and Recently. Terrible hodge-podge thrown together album, and one of the most boring LPs RCA ever managed to release . This is the only song on there with some gusto in his voice it and for that, I like it.
As a snippet on the country lp it works great for me, but as a standalone track it doesn't. .. it's a jam without a climax, it doesn't leads anywhere, gets boring very quickly.
5 stars for the way it was used on country (great lp), 2 for the full version on now (a lousy lp anyway)
1-star. A complete waste of tape and recording; whether a snippet or in completion, if you can call it that. No thanks.
As part of the sequences between tracks on the Elvis Country album I really liked it! It was one of a kind, different approach to an Elvis album. The album remains a fav. But, as a stand-alone track it somehow lacks the punch I felt from Elvis Country. I wonder if the track was speeded up a tiny bit when used on EC?? Still, it's a song I really like! It's that gospel feel!
One of those early gospel inspired folk songs which exists in many different versions, with very different lyrics and even title, based upon an even earlier published song, in this case, "I Am a Highly Educated Man". The correct lyrics of the version Elvis sang was "I saw Jonah eat the whale and Daniel twist the lion's tail". Brilliantly used to link the songs on "Elvis Country", but would have also fitted perfectly on the abandoned 1971 folk album. An underestimated recording and sadly neglected in it's own right. Infinitely better than some of the material recorded at the same session e.g. the lamentable "Cindy Cindy"; "This Is Our Dance" and "Sylvia".
I never liked the snippets between songs on the Country LP, I found it an annoyance. As to the song itself, I’ve never been able to make up my mind. Some days I skip, others I play it. But it has a good rhythm.