Song Description

"50 Miles from Graceland" is about longing for the unattainable. The song begins with the protagonist heading toward the mecca of Graceland with the messiah figure of Elvis by his side ("I got Elvis on the Bluetooth singin' like he's sittin' right next to me"). In the first verse he is jubilant, believing that he is nearing Graceland, and references four Elvis tunes in succession. During last the chorus, however, a storm develops and the narrator realizes Utopia is unreachable. He resigns himself to "keep cruisin' down the highway because moss don't gather on a rollin' stone."

Lyrics

50 miles from Graceland
An hour south of Memphis, Tennessee
I got Elvis on the Bluetooth
Singin' like he's sittin' right next to me
There's a highway out my window
Where horses used to roam
There's billboard walls and shopping malls
All tryin' to get water from a stone
I'm 50 miles from Graceland
And just about a million miles from home.

I trail the endless motorcade
As the sun sets in the west
I finally come to realize
I'm no different from the rest
My hands upon the steering wheel
My foot upon the gas
I'm a desperate man in a blue sedan
Getting nowhere fast.

50 miles from Graceland
An hour south of Memphis, Tennessee
I got Elvis on the Bluetooth
Singin' like he's sittin' right next to me
There's a train outside my window
16 coaches long
There's Milk Cow Blues and Blue Suede Shoes
Kentucky Rain it soaks you to the bone
I'm 50 miles from Graceland
And just about a million miles from home.

There's a storm across the Delta
Rollin' in from the Gulf of Mexico
I'm closin' in on Graceland
Or maybe I drove past it long ago
Though your burdens may be many
Know you're not alone
Just keep cruisin' down the highway
'Cause moss don't gather on a rollin' stone
Yeah, I'm 50 miles from Graceland
And just about a million miles from home
I'm 50 miles from Graceland
And just about a million miles from home.