King of the Mountain

The song's all about Elvis: his trashy house, women claiming to have had his children, stories that he's still alive, etc.

The Rosebud reference (from Citizen Kane) is just Kate imagining Elvis alive and carefree, playing like a child. I don't understand the wind whistling through the house, is that also a scene from C.K (a film I only vaguely remember)?

Could wind whistling through the house not be when Elvis has left the building (couldn't resist).? Like when he has gone, it's all gone, nothing matters. It's the person not the persona.

more important than the obvious elvis reference...i think this song refers to fame...being so famous that even after your death, stories are made up about you...people refuse to let you go...i think the wind refers to the rumors that elvis is still alive and always just one step ahead of actually being seen...humorous, but also, kate seeing herself in this situation after her own death....

My father thinks that some of this song's lyrics might be to do with a movie named Citizen Kane. He says there's a sledge called Rosebud that a child rides on ("In the snow with Rosebud and king of the mountain"), and an elderly, rich man all on his own ("Why does a multi-millionaire/Fill his home with priceless junk?")

I think this song is about being released after becoming trapped after finding fame. Elvis became hugely rich and successful but he was unhappy. His wealth and all his priceless junk didn't bring him happiness. This compares to Kane in Citizen Kane - who was also very rich but unhappy. On his deathbed he looked back to simpler times (riding on his sledge as a child) which he couldn't go back to life. However, Kate sees death as positive and she believes the soul is released from the stress of life and complications of modern society and goes to a better place.

Elvis is released and he becomes part of nature. He is still King but he is King of the Mountain instead of Rock and Roll. A mountain is a contrast to the screaming crowds in Las Vegas. A mountain he away from people but he has finally found happiness within himself.

The house is whistling because the door is open as Elvis is no longer there. It represents his mortality on earth and what he has left behind. It's an empty shell and Elvis should represent more than Gold discs on a wall, money and all those ridiculous rumours of people who can accept he has gone.

Could you see... ...? Can anyone foresee their future? The mounting pressures? The complications of fame, etc? NO. And how we think we can climb higher and higher without going crazy!

...are YOU out there somewhere looking like a happy man? ...in the snow...and king of the mountain? YES! :o)

What's happened to Kate's poetry? Compare with the early albums; very stilted in comparison

Too much fame will kill you.

This song plays with urban legends about 2 well-known beings living in secrecy: Elvis and the Yeti, both still alive and hiding from humans. The title "King of the Mountain" is a playful merging of the two, with a little Citizen Kane thrown in to highlight the idea of wanting to get away from the glare of fame and fortune,

It's a meditation on avoiding the traps of success, and pairs nicely with "How To Be Invisible" to address why Kate was out of the spotlight for 12 years following "The Red Shoes." Or possibly, why she avoids the media in general.

I'm sure that this song was meant to be taken playfully. However, its lyrics are a little too obscure. She tackled this same theme again (with a bit more clarity) on "Wild Man."

the song's about mortality. listen to the spooky vibe. Kate's mother had died and the album Aerial is about facing up to grief and mortality and choosing to live. This song opens the album and sets the scene. Losing a parent suddenly your own mortality is crystal clear. Fame changes nothing. The wind is whistling through the house. Kate thinks of Elvis and his obvious fear of death, filling his home with junk. Elvis are you out there somewhere? Did he cheat death? Will he rise again? The answer is no. Death not Elvis is King. The wind it blows the door closed.