Elvis' 1965 movie, \"Tickle Me\" has unquestionably the strangest soundtrack of all of Elvis' movies being that every song was pulled from studio leftovers rather than songs written specifically for the movie. This quirk meant that the film contains a musical soundtrack far superior to the movie itself indeed more superior to many of his movies around the time.
Probably the best of the bunch, \"(It's A) Long Lonely Highway\" is heard over the opening credits and was recorded by Elvis at RCA's Studio B in Nashville on 27 May 1963 and only two takes were attempted, both complete versions. Both takes became RCA masters with first as the single and the second as the album master with the two only distinguishable by the line \"my drinking water's muddy\" being preceded by a \"well\" on the single version.
What often goes under the radar is the possible darker tone to this song with what could be interpreted as a reference to possible suicide in the final verse when you take lines four and eight together.
I gotta rock for my pillow 'neath a weeping willow
And the cool grass for my bed
My drinking water's muddy so don't you tell me buddy
That I wouldn't be better off dead
It's a long lonely highway gettin' longer all the time
And if she don't come and get me
Well, I'm gonna lose my mind
So if you read about me tell her she's the one to blame, oh yes
You gotta keep on goin', on that road to nowhere
Gotta keep on goin', though there's no-one to care
As with all of these videos, to get the most out of the re-edited audio, I highly recommend you use ear /headphones and turn the volume up as much as you dare!
