Back to Tupelo Lyrics

Performed by Mark Knopfler

around the time of ‘clambake’
movie number twenty-five
you and the lying dutchman
are still in overdrive
you’re as strong as when you started
mississippi in your soul
you can still be marlon brando
and the king of rock and roll

it isn’t just the records
no, you must have hollywood
the songs alone are not enough
that much is understood
you’ll soon be back in memphis
maybe then you’ll know what to do
the storylines they’re giving you
are just not ringing true

oh, it’s a ways to go
back to tupelo

when you’re young and beautiful
your dreams are all ideals
later on it’s not the same
lord, everything is real
sixteen hundred miles of highway
roll back to the truth
and a song to give your mother
in your first recording booth

around the time of ‘clambake’
that old dream’s still rolling on
sometimes there’ll be the feeling
things are going wrong
the morning star is fading
lord, the mississippi’s cold
you can still be marlon brando
and the king of rock and roll

but it’s a ways to go
back to tupelo



Please Click here to submit the Corrections of Back to Tupelo Lyrics

Please Click Here to Print Back to Tupelo Lyrics


career turning point | Reviewer: Dave Nelson | 12/19/10

I would agree except that Clambake was Presley's 25th movie. He had shifted his focus long before movie number 25. I think he started to realize that the moviestar dream wasn't really going anywhere; he wasn't getting real, meaty acting parts. It was just "fluff", a showcase for his singing. Good promotion nevertheless for that. More fans got to see him and not just hear him. I guess you could think of those movies as his form of music videos. The real turning point in his career was agreeing, in the beginning, to pay Colonel Parker a 50% commission on all his deals; it was and is illegal for any agent or manager to charge that percentage. It's illegal in every state in the union. The limits vary from state to state but no state allows more than a 25% cut and that is pretty high. In all fairness, I don't think Parker knew about these legal limits either. I guess there might be a good reason to have lawyers afterall. You just have to know when to use them.

---

Great song | Reviewer: Mike | 6/6/09

In this song Mark tells us about Elvis Presley's career turning point, when he started playing in movies ("you must have hollywood the songs alone are not enough") and lost his primary focus, the thing he was best in (rock and roll) and his career became to fade away ("the morning star is fading").

Tupelo, MS is Elvis's home town. His first song ever recorded was done for his mother ("and a song to give your mother in your first recording booth")

---

The following area is only for review, if you want to submit the lyrics or the corrections of the lyrics, please click the link at the end of Back to Tupelo Lyrics.

• Mark Knopfler Biography
• Mark Knopfler Albums
• Mark Knopfler Lyrics
• Mark Knopfler Gallery