When will they cancel Elvis?

By Silvio Canto, Jr.

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on this day in 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. I won't bore you with his biography because you probably know that he went on to sell millions of records, and apparently the cash registers are still going strong today. And you probably know that he died in August 1977.

By the way, Elvis was popular not just in the U.S. My late uncle told me stories of how they used to listen to "Hound Dog" at the University of Havana circa 1957. Elvis's songs were apparently heard quite a bit on Cuban radio. He was especially popular with young couples at that time.

Over the years, I've grown to love an Elvis tune called "American Trilogy." As I remember, my brother brought home an LP of one of his concerts, and that's how I learned about it. As a fan of U.S. history, and specially the Civil War, I loved the tune. The song has interesting words. Here is a bit of it:

Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton
Old times there are not forgotten
Look away, look away, look away Dixieland
For in Dixieland, I was born
Early Lord one frosty morning
Look away, look away, look away Dixieland

Glory, glory hallelujah
Glory, glory hallelujah
Glory, glory hallelujah
His truth is marching on

So hush little baby
Don't you cry
You know your daddy's bound to die
But all my trials Lord, will soon be over

Glory, glory, hallelujah
His truth is marching on
His truth is marching on

Loved the song. I always interpreted the lyrics as a song of reconciliation a hundred years after the fighting. Elvis grew up in the South and was heavily influenced by the history of the region, the music he heard in black churches, and the blues vocalists on the street corners.

Of course, songs about reconciliation and remembering your Southern heritage will get you canceled these days.

Will they call to cancel this one? I hope not. "American Trilogy" is exactly the message of reconciliation that we need in the country. The past is past and sometimes not nice. However, we live in the present and move to the future.

Reconciliation, not reparations, is the best way to move ahead for all concerned. Maybe someone can send Representative Cori Bush a copy of this post after her outrageous remarks about her colleague Representative Byron Donalds.

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