In nineteen fifty-six... The United States of America
Dropped a hi-fi needle on rock and roll
And coast to coast, we started shakin' all over
One nation, under God, out of control

It's The Elvis Thing
It cuts right through you
It tangles you up inside... turns your world upside down
Like a mystery train... screamin' through the night
There ain't nothin' been the same since The Elvis Thing been around

I grew up drivin' a tractor and playin' electric guitar
It's a strange road full of detours and twists and turns
And when I ask myself why I do what I do
The answer is simple... there's a reason my earthly heart burns

It's The Elvis Thing
It cuts right through you
It tangles you up inside... turns your world upside down
Like a mystery train... screamin' through the night
There ain't nothin' been the same since The Elvis Thing been around

Come on, love me tender
Come on, come on, love me true
Just like The Elvis Thing got a hold on me...
I wanna get a hold of you

When they write the history books and try to explain
The second half of the twentieth century
They'll talk about puttin' a man on the moon...
They'll talk about Vietnam...
They'll talk about Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy...
(But you know what they'll really be talkin' about)

It's The Elvis Thing
It cuts right through you
It tangles you up inside... turns your world upside down
Like a mystery train... screamin' through the night
There ain't nothin' been the same since The Elvis Thing been around

Like a mystery train... screamin' through the night
There ain't nothin' been the same since
The Elvis Thing been around