Elvis at the Wheel

Album: Sparks of Ancient Light (2008)
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Songfacts®:

  • Al told his audience that the song is based on a weird time in the life of Elvis during the '60s rock revolution. The cloud incident that the song relates is true. It led Elvis to an intense religious experience and to his serious contemplation of becoming a Christian monk - an idea which perturbed his "entourage." Al, in fact, read of it in Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Robert - Long Beach, CA
  • The lyrics relay how Elvis once saw a vision of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the clouds during a drive through Arizona:

    He's looking up
    The sky has something to reveal

    It is the face of Joseph Stalin
    That is formed by drifting clouds
  • A music video, directed by Bruce D. Northey, was filmed in Arizona in 2013. It closely follows the story presented in the lyrics, with Stewart visiting an independent bookstore and reading the story of Elvis's vision in Careless Love.

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