These are not lyrics from a current artist, even though they very well could be sung today.
“There must be lights burning brighter somewhere
Got to be birds flying higher in a sky more blue
If I can dream of a better land
Where all my brothers walk hand in hand
Tell me why, oh why, oh why can’t my dream come true”
Elvis Presley first sang these words at his 1968 Comeback Special. He chose this song to honor of Martin Luther King Jr., who had lost his life a few months prior.
Elvis Presley was at his best when he sang straight from the heart.
Elvis’ manager, Tom Parker, wanted him to sing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” for his finale song, but Elvis wanted to close his performance with a song that would mean more during such troubled times. The producer, Steve Binder, and musical director, Earl Brown, of the comeback agreed. So, Earl Brown wrote “If I Can Dream” specifically for Elvis.
Steve Binder explained, “I wanted to let the world know that here was a guy who was not prejudiced, who was raised in the heart of prejudice, but was really above all that.”
Earl Brown’s lyrics are beautifully heartbreaking. The lyrics can see a different world in his dreams, but he is not seeing it come to fruition in real life and wants to know why. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is clearly the influence of the song. The lyrics are tragic when put into context that Martin Luther King Jr. was killed before seeing this dream of equality.
Elvis is holding a candle for all other dreamers to keep this dream alive.
The lyrics are beautifully written, but it is Elvis Presley’s performance that draws the real emotion.
Elvis performed the song on a blacked-out stage with only his name in red lights. He is wearing a white suit and singing so raw. As you watch him perform you can see the pure emotion that Elvis is feeling. He is singing straight from his heart and his heart is pained. At times it is almost as if he desperately pleading for his dream to come true.
The United States felt despair after the loss of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, as did Elvis. By ending his comeback special with such a moving performance, he was letting the entire country know that they were not alone in their sadness but there should still be hope.
The song ends with a heartbreaking plea,
“Still I am sure that the answer gonna come somehow
Out there in the dark, there’s a beckoning candle
And while I can think, while I can talk
While I can stand, while I can walk
While I can dream, please let my dream
Come true, right now
Let it come true right now”
Elvis is known as the King of Rock and Roll and had performed thousands of times, but this performance stands as one of his biggest moments. The Comeback Special of 1968 was his first live performance in over seven years and his performance proved why he was the King.
Elvis Presley’s performance of “If I Can Dream” can still bring viewers to tears and his dream is still being dreamed today.
Watch Elvis Presley’s emotional performance in full, right below.
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