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Elvis SongPedia: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face




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Basic Stats

(Just the facts, ma'am!)

Written by: Ewan McColl

Recorded: March 15, 1971, RCA Studio B, Nashville
Released master is take 12.

Single:w/ "American Trilogy", 74-0672, April 4, 1972

Highest U.S. Charts Positions:
Didn't chart

1st LP release: Elvis Aron Presley - August 1980
Click to download or buy
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
now from Amazon!



or download from iTunes:


For other versions, see
Lyrics and Downloads section below.



My Spin

(Just my opinion. Give us yours!)

Elvis' take on "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" follows the Peter, Paul & Mary version closer than Roberta Flack's, but then again, he almost certainly hadn't heard her version yet. Roberta's version was just an album cut at the time that Elvis recorded his version, but would become a huge hit before Elvis' was released.

I'll go on and on about it some more later, but for now, sit back and listen or click on stuff!

Other Spins

(What did the critics and fans say?)


"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" became a big hit for Roberta Flack the following year. This is a song which everyone admires and many singers perform, yet which was not a hit when it first appeared. It is surprising that Presley's was not the hit single. But it was the first song recorded [in this session], and the result is stiff and inflexible. The song needs a fluent, plastic performance and its best qualities are not apparent here.

Robert Matthew-Walker, Elvis Presley: A Study in Music, 1979




Elvis' treatment was lush but not epic, competent but not overwhelming.

The Complete Elvis, edited by Martin Torgoff, 1982




Check out other Elvis fans' opinions on the Elvis News page for The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face



Check out other opinions at Rate Your Music




"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" Links


"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" Lyrics and Downloads

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and the empty skies my love
To the dark and the empty skies

The first time ever I kissed your mouth
I felt the earth move in my hands
Like a trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command my love
That was there at my command
That was there at my command my love
That was there at my command

The first time ever I kissed your mouth
I felt the earth move in my hands
Like a trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command my love
That was there at my command
That was there at my command my love
That was there at my command


Download the Karaoke Version!

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face karaoke - Elvis PresleyThe First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Elvis Presley


Download or just listen to different versions from Amazon!





What's YOUR Spin on "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"?
Yea or Nay?

Yea! Elvis Does It Justice!

Nay! Just Dark and Empty Skies!


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Study Up Some More!

Elvis song reference books on Amazon!

Ernst Jorgensen's complete chronicle of Elvis' recording sessions, with loads of detailed information about each session and each song.
This is the definitive encyclopedia on Elvis' life details, as well as all the background and trivia you need for all the songs, movies, and TV appearances. Authors are Fred L. Worth and Steve D. Tamerius.
The subtitle of Ace Collins' book says it all: "The stories behind Elvis' #1 hits"!
"Elvis The #1 Hits: The Secret History of the Classics". Another self-explanatory book title. :)