Words & Music:
You came when I was happy in your sunshine
I grew to love you more each passing day
Before too long I’d filled my world around you
Yeah and I prayed you loved enough of me to stay
If you love me let me know
If you don't let me go
I can't take another minute of the day without you near
If you love me let it be
If you don't set me free
Take the chains away that keep me loving you
The arms that open wide to hold me closer
The hands that run their fingers through my hair
The smile that says hello it's good to see you
Any time I turn around and find you there
It's this and so much more that makes me love you
What else can I do to make you see
You know you'll have whatever's mine to give you
Yeah but a love affair for one it can never be
If you love me let me know
If you don't let me go
I can't take another minute of the day without you near
If you love me let it be
If you don't set me free
Take the chains away that keep me loving you
Take the chains away that keep me loving you
Recordingdate: 1977/04/25, first released on: Moody Blue (album)
Musicians
Musicians who contributed to the first recording of If You Love Me (Let Me Know):
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(piano)
(electric piano)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
Others*
(baton)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(piano)
(percussion)
(bass trombone)
(trombone)
(trombone)
(trumpet)
(trumpet)
(trumpet)
(trumpet)
*Orchestra, overdubs
Availability
Find available albums with If You Love Me (Let Me Know).
One of two Olivia Newton John songs that found their way into Elvis' concerts. This one is not quite as strong as "Let Me Be There", but it is still a fun song that Elvis normally did very well. I prefer the "Elvis In Concert" version slightly over the "Moody Blue" version and I like how Elvis tell Charlie Hodge, "I can't hear you" after the line "the smile that says hello it's good to see you". You can tell that even though each night was often a struggle for Elvis in 1977, he still cared and wanted the sound of the song to be right. I also like the version that appeared on the eight record set "Elvis Aron Presley" that was taken from a concert in June of 1975. A concert that should have been released on record in 1975 as an album after "Elvis Today".
All I can say is why. Why Elvis did you decide to cover wimpy ONJ songs? I skip it every time.
It´s a pretty good song but the In Concert version is one of the few versions that I actually like. Elvis usually sung this well, it was just done too many times. Elvis sang the same songs concert after concert, he really was bored.
As a big onj fan (and a even bigger Elvis fan) it's great to hear one do a cover of the other. In this case it's Elvis doin a very good cover of the big onj hit. Both these artises are tops doing c&w. I like the Moody Blues Lp verison the most but would glady listen to any of them.
Elvis recorded Lovin Arms in the 70's, Why in the world didnt he sing it in concert and choose this song instead? It could have been a classic. Of course he had a lot of other songs in his catalog to sing as well. This song? Sorry, a bore.
Sorry folks, this is NOT Elvis-material! But then again - he actually recorded a lot of not-Elvis material, so there you have it:The Story Of Presley's career!
The 2 Olivia Newton John songs, that Elvis covered ("If you Love me let me know" and "Let Me be there") which were recorded in concert performances, and not in a studio, worked well on stage, and Elvis, obviously enjoyed singing, the songs. (Nothing wrong with that! ) And, I think the songs, were selected mostly, with J.D. Sumner in mind, because the original versions, featured such good bass parts, in the backup vocals.. that were perfect for JD to sing.
I never will understand Elvis' choice of suitable concert material, Mess of Blues,So Glad Your Mine,Ain't That Loving You Baby or even Viva Las Vegas and Bossa Nova Baby to fall back on. And he chooses this kind of stuff.
This is a song that Elvis seemed to have enjoyed singing on stage, though lyrics and feeling of the song do not entirely match. It is passable, nothing special in the Elvis catalogue. Two stars from me.
not a bad song,i quite like this but and there's always a but,once elvis started doing this song and many others from his set list he done them to death.i still can't fathom out why in 1975 when he changed his set list, it met with a so called luke warm response.it was a breath of fresh air,anybody would be bored singing the same songs night after night,some cases year after year.no stimulation = no creativity musically speakimg.
I am sorry but both of these ONJ songs are lame and the King of R&R was above these songs. Somehow the concert catalog slipped bad after the Aloha concert. Elvis was too young to be a easy listening middle of the road singer in the mid seventies. He recorded some decent songs from 74-77 but chose not to sing them live. Promised Land was a good example. I wish he would have stopped singing the two minute medleys of his biggest 50s hits and sang some of his other great songs in his 50s and 60s catalog. I believe laziness set in and he just did not want to rehearse with the band anymore after around 1973 or 1974.
I honestly think that Elvis selected the songs, for two reasons, He liked the songs (fun to sing) and the bass parts were perfect for J.D. Sumner's voice.
I´ll give this 3.5 stars, it has a nice swing to it, but of course his own songs are better, but I never skib any of his to ONJ songs, so I must enjoy them too. When listening to the responds he always got no matter what, I can see why he didn´t change much song wise, people went wild no matter what.
This is such a magnificent, catchy and fun song and I'm so very glad that Elvis decided to sing it at so many of his concerts. All of Elvis' renditions of it were spectacular. I rate this song and all of Elvis' renditions of it 5 Stars.
Elvis clearly loved the song and had fun singing it. But I wish he'd have maybe performed it once or twice and not again. I know Elvis could sing anything! But why he did this and Let Me Be There often in late 70s concerts, I really don't know. They're wonderful by Olivia N-J, but I really wish Elvis would have gone into his own extensive catalogue more in concert. So many amazing songs of his own he never did live! From A Jack To A King would have been a similarly fun song to try live. I would have loved to hear Any Day Now live! So very many better choices. In the mid-70s, Elvis could have even chosen to cover Springsteen or Bread (it kills me that Elvis never tried Aubrey, but had horrific Sherril Neilson sing it at one bootlegged show). Oh well, we have what we have :-)
A nice bouncy country number that allowed Elvis to interact with his backing group and I assume allow his seemingly greatest love, namely singing harmany with them. He had no idea his concerts would be available years later and dissected by all but we can see that for whatever reason he was not that interested in singing much of his vast back catalogue
A forgettable song, although a fair concert segment, that without any plausible explanation was re-released in Moody Blue. Just shows how Presley from 1975 on was really letting himself go down, down, down... Something was very very wrong with him and with all that surround him.
Pedro, your confusing "If you Love me (Let me know)" with "Let me Be there". Both are, Olivia Newton John songs, that Elvis peformed at his concerts. "Let Me be there" was originally recorded on Stage in Memphis in 1974, and was first featured on the "Live Memphis album" and then featured again on the "Moody Blue album". "If you Love me (Let Me know) was recorded on stage in early 1977, and appeared for the first time on the "Moody Blue album". Another live version of this song, appeared on the followup album called "Elvis in Concert".
I personally think this was a "Fun concert" song. And Elvis, obviously loved the song, and it worked well with his band and backup singers (especially J.D. Sumner) I disagree with Pedro. Elvis, was not going downhill, in 1975. Listen to the "Elvis-Today" (1975) album, and listen to some of the concerts in the spring and summer of that year. He sounded like he was enjoying himself, more so, in 1975.
Elvis said this song made him feel happy. Who are we to judge him? Did we walk a mile in his shoes? I think not. I like the fact that Elvis liked some of the songs he recorded at the end of his life, even if his critics didn't. We all have our personal wishes as to what songs Elvis should have done, but he did what he did. Period.
Songs like this helped to keep Elvis' concert material current. But. I always wonder, "If Elvis could get great new material for the American Sound Sessions, then why did subsequent sessions rely more and more on cover songs?"
I don't care for this country-pop thing in general, not my cup of tea, but that's not the real problem here. The problem is, that Elvis sounds as if hes already dead. His vocals are awful, he sounds like if he doesn't even know where he is, he couldn't breath properly, hes stumbeling through the song without power or timing, it's sad. All the studio tricks in the world couldn't rescue this live in concert desaster. Some might say that it's not very respectful to say that this is a desaster, that it shouldn't be released, but personally i think that it shows a lack of respect to praise even elvis worst recordings, to say that they are masterpieces. If one praise this desaster, he shows no respect for the many many brilliant recordings elvis made. This is not even close to his usual standard, this is bloody awful. If i only judge elvis vocal deliver, this is, together with little darlin', probably the worst performance released during his lifetime. 1 star.
Elvis liked the song. It's a feel good song, that made him feel good. So, he sang it. I don't have a problem with that. If I were in the audience would I have wished that he sang one of his own hits instead, No. I already knew that they sounded like. I loved hearing him his his version on a fellow artists song. Whether he totally redid it or just laid his voice on the original arrangement.j
Should read: I already knew what they sounded like. I loved hearing him do his version of a fellow artists song.
Sorry for the typos.
3-stars. Nothing to write home about. It's amazing with his back catalog, why he couldn't stick to his own music. Theoretically, he already knew the lyrics and songs or did he anymore? As we found out in his later years his memory no longer functioned as to his own songs. So sad.
Good c&w song and Elvis is in good form, would love to had a full album of these.