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Milkcow Blues Boogie |
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Written by: James (Kokomo) Arnold Recorded: December 12-20, 1954, Sun Studio, Memphis Single:w/ "You're A Heartbreaker", Sun 215 (45rpm and 78rpm), December 28, 1954 Also released on RCA, 47-6382 (45rpm), January 23, 1956 Also released on RCA, 20-6382 (78rpm), January 23, 1956 Also released on Gold Standard Series, 447-0603, September 30, 1958 Highest U.S. Charts Positions: Didn't chart 1st LP release: A Date With Elvis - September 1959 |
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"Milkcow Blues Boogie" would be a classic even without its famous opening in which Elvis promises to "get real real gone for a change"! That's just a little bit of theatrics to get your attention. After he's got it, that's where the fun begins! Kokomo Arnold had already added some ancient blues phrases to his original, but Elvis, Scotty and Bill kick it up a few notches, and mix in some very countrified boogie. Elvis seems to be having a blast with his vocals, too, like that line where he jumps into falsetto for "You're gonna neeeeeeeed...", then swoops down almost to the bottom for "yeah, yer gonna need yer lovin' daddy here someday...". So, yeah, he makes good on his promise: he does get real real gone. |
Other Spins(What did the critics and fans say?)"Milkcow Blues Boogie" is one of Presley's most important Sun recordings. It begins slowly, and very well, before Presley stops and says: "Hold it fellas. That don't move me. Let's get real, real gone for a change!" He then launches into a faster version, with a fine lengthy guitar solo, before the song fades out. This was the first Presley recording to adopt this trick. Robert Matthew-Walker, Elvis Presley: A Study in Music, 1979 Sun rockabilly classic, which starts off with Elvis talking about the old milk cow and saying, "Hold it fellers. That don't move me. Let's get real, real gone for a change!". And that's exactly what Elvis, Scotty and Bill do - with a vengeance. A unique bit of hillbilly boogie. Martin Torgoff  , The Complete Elvis, 1982 Lesson #1 is that rock music is in the fighting spirit, not in the amperage of the guitars; indeed, some of the toughest rocking has come from all, or mostly acoustic bands; Elvis presented a primer lesson from the famous Sun sessions, with a simple blues song through the most famous faux false start in rock history; he and the boys start out all slow and bluesy, before stopping the band cold and calling it out like the hippest beat poet: 'Hold it fellas. That don't... move me. Let's get real, real gone for a change'. Then they did, let it loose, turned every bit of intensity in their beings into a jumping arrangement, much faster and more rhythmically nuanced a performance than the opening. Much of the intensity is in the fast and furious, but precisely laid out detail work; there is a strong sense of spontaneity and discovery, but what ultimately makes this a hall-of-fame performance is the vocal performance; Elvis doing tricks, making sudden octave wide jumps. "If you see my milkcow..." There is a charismatic determination of spirit that Nietzsche would no doubt have recognized as the will to power; when the King got through with it, it was no longer anything to do with a high calcium drink, but about the singer's assertion of his place in the universe. - MoreThings.com ...It's a magnificent readying of the song - it's one of Elvis' finest vocals of this period and the spontaneity of the musicianship is simply a joy. One of the masterpieces of Sunrise. Thomas Ward, from the AllMusic review of "Milkcow Blues Boogie" Check out other Elvis fans' opinions on the Elvis News page for Milkcow Blues Boogie Check out other opinions at Rate Your Music "Milkcow Blues Boogie" Links
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Well I woke up this morning and I looked out the door I can tell that old milk cow by the way she lowed Hold it fellows that don't move me Let's get real real gone for a change Well I woke up this morning and I looked out the door I can tell that that old milk cow, I can tell the way she lowed Well if you've seen my milk cow, please ride her on home I ain't had no milk or butter since that cow's been gone Well I tried to treat you right, day by day Get out your little prayer book, get down on your knees and pray For you're gonna need You're gonna need your loving daddy here someday Well then you're gonna be sorry for treating me this way Well good evenin', don't that sun look good going down? Well good evenin', don't that sun look good going down? Well don't that old moon look lonesome when your baby's not around Well I tried everything to get along with you I'm gonna tell you what I'm going do I'm gonna quit my crying I'm gonna leave you alone If you don't believe I'm leaving you can count the days I'm gone I'm gonna leave You're gonna need your loving daddy here someday Well then you're gonna be sorry you treated me this way |
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