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Confidence

Rating:
2.2 / 5

Words & Music: Sid Tepper Roy C. Bennett

When everyone thought the world was flat
Columbus said "It's round"
He went down in history
And America was found

'Cause
He had confidence
A little thing called confidence
There's no job too immense when you've got
Confidence

With a "C" and an "O" and an "N" and an "F"
And an "I" and a "D" and an "ENCE"
Put 'em all together and what have you got

Confidence

You'll be surprised what you can do
If you will only try

Remember the tortoise and the hare
Who had that famous race
The speedy hare wound up nowhere
And slow poke took first place

'Cause
He had confidence
A little thing called confidence
There's no job too immense when you've got
Confidence

You'll be surprised what you can do
If you will only try

How do you know that you can't ride a rainbow in the sky

You'll be surprised what you can do
If you will only try

All you need is confidence
A little thing called confidence
There's no job too immense when you've got
Confidence

With a "C" and an "O" and an "N" and an "F"
And an "I" and a "D" and an "ENCE"
Put 'em all together and what have you got

Confidence
Confi ..... Confi .... Confidence

Recordingdate: 1967/02/22, first released on: Clambake (album)

Musicians

Musicians who contributed to the first recording of Confidence:

(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(steel guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(drums)
(piano)
(piano)
(harmonica)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(sax)

Availability

Find available albums with Confidence.

Jerome wrote on June 16, 2008
it took confidence to even record this song, that's for sure..
Dixieland Rock wrote on June 23, 2008
This is an example of the Money Machine running at full speed with the Captain of the ship, The Coloniel, asleep at the wheel & a crew with no direction. If Elvis would have just put his foot down & refused to record until they handed him something of substance. maybe then we could have been spared of this. There is no evidence in this song of the Sun era Elvis when there was vision & purpose. The opportunities they missed thanks to songs like this.
Natha wrote on June 23, 2008
Within the framework of the movie it fits. Cute to see Elvis with the kids and singing this song. But as with quite a number of this type of movie songs that is about it. A nice in-between song.
Steve V wrote on June 23, 2008
Just seeing this title makes me cringe. By the time Clambake came out, I had given up hope on Elvis movies & their songs. Years of taking the LPs home only to hear songs like this made me wonder if this was the same guy who turned out those great records of years gone by. Thank goodness there was only one more soundtrack LP to come. Yes, I hate this song.
Pedro Nuno wrote on June 23, 2008
I Have to say: If i didn't knew The Real Elvis Presley Music, i would lost all my Confidence in him after this record...
Clambake67 wrote on June 23, 2008
as a kid me and my siblings would always sing along with this song. Certainly not a song to recruit new elvis fans with but it may work with young kids.
Monster wrote on June 23, 2008
This is just goofy new lyrics put to the tune of the song High Hopes by Frank Sinatra. Lazy, cynical writing which shows nothing but contempt for Elvis as an artist not to mention fans of his music. A crap song fills an album or a movie just as much as a good song but it takes more time and effort to come up with a good song so guff like this was churned out quickly to maximize profits for the record company and film stufdios. Oh, and the Colonel's machinery.
theoldscudder wrote on June 23, 2008
Hmm lets see 1967, Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields, Good Vibrations, Light My Fire, Ruby Tuesday, & Confidence! If this had been the first song I ever heard or first LP I ever bought by Elvis, there would never have been another purchase despite the wedding bonus photo! I wonder how many folks fell into that category. What a shame his career was at this point at such a crucial time in pop music.
old shep wrote on June 23, 2008
I bought the soundtrack to Clambake when it first appeared. The only songs I ever played were the "bonus" songs. Confidence is bad, but there were many more in the movie years to equal this rubbish
Rob Wanders wrote on June 23, 2008
this is the worst Elvissong I know (and I know them all). Well maybe Old macdonald is even worse. Bbbbbbbbbrrrrrr.
ElvisDayByDay wrote on June 23, 2008
When I was a young Elvis fan I actually liked it :-)
My boy, my boy wrote on June 24, 2008
They should've given this one to Sesame street instead !
Tony C wrote on December 01, 2008
I'm afraid I would have to rate this as one of the poorest songs ever recorded. Added to it's pure musical qualities is the fact that it is not even original, it's a complete rip-off of Frank Sinatra's "High Hopes". I try to keep the existance of songs like "Confidence" out of my head and pretend that they were never recorded.
Marty_TCE wrote on December 01, 2008
oh dear! :u( Never mind, it would soon be 1968 and all would be forgiven!
Volker Stockel wrote on December 01, 2008
It´s a nice song and a nice musicvideo in that movie. I like it very much. thats how You have to see it as a song from a musical movieand that long before MTV was there. Elvis did make music for everybody, so also for children too.
ElvisBR wrote on December 01, 2008
the worst song ever.
NONE000000 wrote on December 01, 2008
Pretty hard to argue in favor of this. Still, I think you have to look at it like Elvis became a children's entertainer briefly during the 60s. I can remember my little sister liking this song and asking me to play it. And sure, it is a total rip off of Sinatra's "High Hopes" but is that song much better? (at least it was original, I guess) It certainly is not a song I listen to or enjoy, and watching Elvis sing it in Clambake is painful. But from a certain point of view, for what it is, it's ok. (From Col Parker's point of view I'm sure it was perfect. Artistically sad though...)
JimmyCool wrote on December 01, 2008
I used to like this song a lot as a kid, along the other songs included on "Elvis Sings Hits From His Movies" (Vol. 1) Oh, well... I was only 7 back then.
GEORGE (GK) wrote on December 02, 2008
when we were children, we all, pretty much, loved this song! (same goes for "Old MacDonald", "Old Shep" etc) We got older, and our musical tastes, changed. The song is nothing more than a "movie song" aimed at Family entertainment and it did the trick. Thankfully Elvis was good enough to survive, and move on with better songs.
Deano1 wrote on February 22, 2010
A "kiddie" song recorded for the movie "Clambake". The scene in the movie is cute as Elvis plays with the children and it is bearable on the record, but not great. This is not a rip-off of "High Hopes" anymore than "Tell Laura I Love Her" is a rip off of "Teen Angel". It is in the same vein as "High Hopes", but that doesn't constitute a rip-off. And unless you dropped the needle on your record when you first bought it, this couldn't be the first song you ever heard. Sinatra actually put his kiddie record on a single, this was just an album cut. If "Strawberry Fields Forever" had been the first Beatles song I heard, I wouldn't have ever listened to any of their good material.
Polk Salad Robert wrote on February 26, 2011
I kinda like this song even though its childish...but I cant find any alternative takes !?
bajo wrote on May 30, 2011
One thing is that Elvis had to record it to fit a scene in the movie. Another thing is that they should have kept it from release on record, as they did with the horrible movie version of You Don't Know Me. The album could have been filled with the first recorded version of Suppose to fill the gap. Or, left it as a 11 track album. Clambake is by far the worst soundtrack ever released with Elvis' name on it. The studio recordings added to it showed some promised though and as such saved the album.
LonElvis wrote on March 26, 2012
This is the first Elvis song that my son ever liked so it makes me sentimental. He was struggling a little in elementary school and this song encouraged him and we listened to it often and even sang it ourselves on the way to school each day. Sure this isn't Suspicious Minds but it wasn't supposed to be. This was geared towards children and I think they enjoyed it.
freedom101 wrote on March 26, 2012
Music like this was purposely put out to make Elvis family friendly. The reasons Elvis didn't object was his manager signed contracts three years in advance and Elvis didn't want things to go back to the way it was in the beginning when people were calling him a bad influence and vulgar. You have to see things from his perspective. With that said, when I was a child songs like this one did build up my confidence but I also knew of Elvis' other music. The really great stuff. I was awed by this man who could put out a kid friendly song and then cut lose with some of the greatest recordings in history. I'm still in awe of the guy. Always El! ;)
GEORGE (GK) wrote on March 26, 2012
A nice movie moment and a song with a nice message, but sadly, the music critics, and some of the fans, hated the fact, that Elvis was doing "Family Friendly movies and songs", they wanted the Rebel of the 50s back, and a year later, Elvis was back "rockin" in black leather, and rocking the world. I personally enjoy Elvis, in every stage of his career, because he was still Elvis ! But like all fans, I too have my favorite Elvis eras (time lines)
GEORGE (GK) wrote on March 26, 2012
GK REPLAY: when we were children, we all, pretty much, loved this song! (same goes for "Old MacDonald", "Old Shep" etc) We got older, and our musical tastes, changed. The song is nothing more than a "movie song" aimed at Family entertainment and it did the trick. Thankfully Elvis was good enough to survive, and move on with better songs.
Steve V wrote on March 26, 2012
The family friendly argument is weak beyond reason. That started with GI Blues(Big Boots) and now it is 7 years later and ELvis is still recording this stuff and making worse movies. C'mon it was time to give it up. And yes, this was a blatant rip-off (and not nearly as good) as Sinatra's High Hopes and that was Sinatra in 1959, so please there is no excuse for this in 1967. I wont even get into the Beatles comparisons. Listen to the songs back to back, listen to the difference in musical production, instrumentation and recording technique. Yeah they were just like Confidence!
LonElvis wrote on March 26, 2012
So the Beatles are beyond comparison? The Beatles were a great rock band. That's a given. But they recorded "Why Don't We Do It In the Road," "Mr. Moonlight," "Wild Honey Pie," and the great "You Know My Name, Look up the Number," which consists of nothing but the name of the song being said over and over. Those are far from classics. Can they be fun? Of course. The same is true of Elvis' movie songs and his kid focused songs. Elvis sang a little something for everyone - including kids. As Elvis often said himself, "You can't win 'em all."
freedom101 wrote on March 27, 2012
Certain members just can't let others have their say. I gave my opinion about a song and the reasons Elvis had for doing these types of songs and I get attacked because I wasn't there. Get off my back! Confidence was a innocent little tune that Elvis and his people knew wasn't going to be a huge hit. It was a situational song to fit a scene in the movie. Most Beatles songs weren't huge hits either. Just leave it alone!
alanfalk wrote on September 13, 2012
I like the fact that Elvis cut songs for the younger audience to, why should they not have music suited for them. I became an Elvisfan at the age of 11 ( I am 39 now ) and songs like this one and the songs from Follow that dream and Kid Galahad was my favourites . Is it not one of the great thing about Elvis that he made so much different music for different agegroups and different tastes. Sometimes people get upset about the Elvistunes that they dont like, it is like they allmost hate Elvis for not only makeing music they like. I love Elvis for the many many hours of joy he has been giving me, even when I was young .
Cruiser621 wrote on December 19, 2012
Talk about absolute crap. This is it! Sounds a little bit too similiar to something, one, Mr. Frank Sinatra recorded. I'm surprised the writers of this song weren't sued for plagiarism.
sugartummy wrote on March 01, 2013
Elvis sings it with clear detest in his voice. I'm glad traitor Red West was dragged into the scene of the movie as ice cream sales man. Probably Elvis worst song.
Gorse wrote on July 10, 2013
Yes there is an echo of High Hopes in the song, which lacks the charm of his other children musical offerings. In the film passable but outside those confines on vinyl not at all.
McHobbit wrote on February 12, 2014
This is probably my least favorite Elvis song. I really cannot say anything to defend this. At all. Maybe it's because I didn't hear it when I was still a kid. It doesn't even work in the movie the way songs like Big Boots or How would you like to be did. Love em, like em, hate em, they worked in the context of the movie if not outside of that. The scene with the kids in Clambake was completely contrived (not to mention pointless) though. The first time I saw it I felt like I was watching Elvis appear on a special episode of Sesame Street or something like that. I guess we should be thankful the Colonel didn't think of that.
sugartummy wrote on January 09, 2015
Elvis in Sesame Street? No thank you. But Elvis on The Muppet Show would've worked.
atomic powered poste wrote on May 02, 2019
Sing songs for children? Yeah, why not? But a crappie children's song, sung without any motivation, packed on an lp with stunning songs like guitar man (and garbage like who needs money?)? No, not really. Listen to this horrible test of my musical patience once in a life is more than enough. 1 star.
Milky White Way wrote on August 31, 2020
I find it difficult to read so many Elvis fans slating his movie songs. I personally have a soft spot for this song. It’s not meant to compete with chart songs of the day, it’s a movie song sung to children. I love most of his movie stuff and would listen to Confidence 20 times in a row than Yellow Submarine once. 3 stars.
bajo wrote on August 31, 2020
What was obvious during the recording sessions for this soundtrack, was that Elvis didn't like to record at all. The same can be heard on Easy Come Easy Go and Double Trouble. This trio of soundtracks was Elvis' low point! But, he got better on the following and final soundtracks. Better songs and Elvis sounding so much better. As for Confidence, it is what Milky White Way said: It's a movie song to fit a scene. I can actually listen to the song on record, but the scene in the movie ....Elvis is not comfortable at all...
DerekH wrote on August 05, 2022
Shocker, lock it away.
GBK42 wrote on November 06, 2022
Passable in the film, not so much on the soundtrack album. A two-star cut at best.
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