Lisa Marie Presley’s life was inextricably linked to her father, Elvis Presley, and his legacy, including the iconic Graceland mansion where she spent her early childhood. While her memories of that time were a mix of joy and later complexity, particularly regarding the family graveyard on the property, her connection to her father’s music remained profound. Following her unexpected passing on January 12, 2023, just days after appearing at the Golden Globes, the focus returns to the deep bonds and shared experiences reflected in his work, including a specific Lisa Marie Presley Song About Elvis—or rather, an Elvis song directly referencing his young daughter during a difficult time.
Lisa Marie Presley attending the Golden Globes shortly before her passing
Lisa Marie’s Connection to Elvis’s Music
While Elvis Presley became a global icon through countless hits, he wasn’t primarily a songwriter, meaning few songs were deeply personal narratives of his own life. He brought unparalleled vocal talent and charisma to every recording and performance, making universal themes resonate. However, Lisa Marie, herself a recording artist later in life, gravitated towards a specific era and emotional tone in her father’s catalogue.
Elvis Presley with wife Priscilla and young daughter Lisa Marie at Graceland
“I’m more prone to the Seventies stuff because I was around then,” Lisa Marie once shared. “They bring back more memories. The sad ones, I get into… The dark ones that weren’t particularly a hit on the radio. Mary in the Morning. In the Ghetto. Just Pretend. Solitaire. Those I love.” She elaborated elsewhere, “There was some great stuff that never made it to the radio: a song called Mary in the Morning, which I loved… In the Ghetto.” Yet, one song stood out for its intensely personal and painful connection.
Timeline graphic highlighting key moments in Lisa Marie Presley’s life
The Painfully Personal Song: “Separate Ways”
“I like the darker songs, the sad ones,” Lisa Marie confessed. “There’s a song called Separate Ways that was treacherously painful.” Released in September 1972, shortly after Elvis and Priscilla separated, “Separate Ways” featured the iconic ballad “Always On My Mind” as its B-side. The timing and subject matter were deeply intertwined with the changes happening within the Presley family.
Lyrics Reflecting Family Turmoil
The lyrics of “Separate Ways” directly address the breakdown of a relationship and its impact on a child, mirroring Elvis and Priscilla’s situation with four-year-old Lisa Marie.
The song begins: “I see a change is coming to our lives, It’s not the same as it used to be, And it’s not too late to realise our mistake, We’re just not right for each other. Love has slipped away left us only friends, We almost seem like strangers, All that’s left between us are the memories we shared, Of times we thought we cared for each other.”
It then explicitly references the pain of explaining the separation to a daughter: “There’s nothing left to do but go our separate ways, And pick up all the pieces left behind us… Some day when she’s older, maybe she will understand, Why her mom and dad are not together. The tears that she will cry when I have to say goodbye, Will tear at my heart forever.”
Elvis Presley sitting with a young Lisa Marie Presley at Graceland
The Surprising Songwriter: Red West
Remarkably, the song was co-written by someone within Elvis’s inner circle, Robert ‘Red’ West, one of his bodyguards and a member of the ‘Memphis Mafia’. He penned the lyrics in May 1972 with songwriter Richard Mainegra. Mainegra initially doubted Elvis would record such a personal track about his own life, which was already under intense media scrutiny following the separation.
“We started leaning the storyline toward Elvis’ break-up with Priscilla and how it affected their daughter,” Mainegra recalled. “He (Red) told me when it was finished Elvis was going to cut the song. I let that go in one ear and out the other. I thought, ‘No way!’ First of all, why would Elvis want to sing about his personal life…?” Despite the raw subject matter, Elvis embraced the song, even using it as the title track for a compilation album released the same year.
Lisa Marie’s Later View on the Songwriters
The story of Red West took a contentious turn later. He, along with Sonny West and David Hebler, was fired by Elvis and co-authored the controversial tell-all book, Elvis, What Happened?. Released just two weeks before Elvis’s death in August 1977, the book reportedly caused the singer significant distress.
Lisa Marie expressed strong feelings about the authors years later: “These idiots were so disgusting… they helped him go down and were actually worse than he was. It infuriated me. They were trying to take away his dignity, the one thing that was most important to him.” This adds a layer of complexity to the fact that one of these men penned the lyrics to a song that resonated so painfully, yet personally, with both father and daughter.
Conclusion
While Elvis Presley recorded many emotional songs, “Separate Ways” stands out as a poignant reflection of a specific, difficult chapter in his life, directly involving his separation from Priscilla and the impact on their young daughter. For Lisa Marie Presley, it remained a “treacherously painful” reminder of that time, a testament to the power of music to capture and preserve the most personal and complex family dynamics, forever linking her memory to this particular Lisa Marie Presley Song About Elvis‘s own heartache.
