Memphis, Tennessee Lyrics
Help me find the party trying to get in touch with me
She could not leave her number, but I know who placed the call
'Cause my uncle took the message and he wrote it on the wall
She's the only one who'd phone me here from Memphis Tennessee
Her home is on the south side, high up on a ridge
Just a half a mile from the Mississippi Bridge
Only that I miss her and all the fun we had
But we were pulled apart because her mom did not agree
And tore apart our happy home in Memphis Tennessee
With hurry home drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye
Marie is only six years old, information please
Try to put me through to her in Memphis Tennessee
Can anyone tell me whether this is a young boy talking about his girlfriend, or a man talking about his daughter?
As far as i know it's a guy talking about his daughter. Aren't there more verses?
It is about his daughter. This line indicates it: And tore apart our happy home in Memphis Tennessee
I assume there was a breakup and she got the daughter.
It's clearly a break up and the mother doesn't want him to see his daughter. No girlfriend could be six years old! I thought this song's name was 'Memphis Tennessee', not just 'Memphis'.
@Tiger King It was originally titled "Memphis, Tennessee" by CB but has been recorded by numerous artists (most successfully by Johnny Rivers in 1964) as "Memphis," and re-recorded by CB himself under that title. As for the song meaning, it is just as it sounds: through almost four verses you think it's a teenager or young man who can't see his girlfriend any more because of her stern, hating mother. Then you learn at the end that the man is in fact trying to get in touch with his daughter, whom he has lost in divorce (resulting in his now...
@Tiger King It was originally titled "Memphis, Tennessee" by CB but has been recorded by numerous artists (most successfully by Johnny Rivers in 1964) as "Memphis," and re-recorded by CB himself under that title. As for the song meaning, it is just as it sounds: through almost four verses you think it's a teenager or young man who can't see his girlfriend any more because of her stern, hating mother. Then you learn at the end that the man is in fact trying to get in touch with his daughter, whom he has lost in divorce (resulting in his now living with his uncle), and the girl's mother is in fact his ex-wife.
this song has always made me think of elvis and lisa marie presley.
I agree with Tiger and deranged. Seems to be a man trying to contact his daughter after a divorce where the wife got custody of the little girl. Awesome song.
What’s so clever about it is, you don’t know until the last line that it’s his daughter. Up to that point it sounds like an ex-wife.
What’s so clever about it is, you don’t know until the last line that it’s his daughter. Up to that point it sounds like an ex-wife.
Then again, it could be a about a little boy is calling information to find out about the little girl he was in love with. The happy home could have been an imaginary one for the author and little Marie.
I always thought the mom was his mother-in-law, but Tiger is right: He wouldn't sing about a romance with a six-year-old - even if it had been written in this era.
'Little Marie' is the sequel to this song, and gives the second half of the story. The mom calls and leaves a message with his uncle; he calls her back and she asks him to come back and provide financial support.
Woops, I thought they were about the same call but they're not. Sometime after this song, she makes a collect call and asks him to come back.
I originally thought of this song in a different context i.e. he's a little boy and Marie is his white playdate. He does sing in a gentler voice for the song, kind of like a kid.