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Cross My Heart and Hope to Die

Rating:
3.2 / 5

Words & Music: Ben Weisman Sid Wayne

I can explain about last night
Though things didn't look just right
Please believe me there was nothing wrong
I thought about you baby all night long
Cross my heart, I hope to die
Well I wouldn't tell you no lie, mmm

Talk about a piece of rotten luck
You do a friend a favor and you wind up stuck
She couldn't hold a candle to you, no siree
Very hard to handle like a Model T
Cross my heart, I hope to die
Well I wouldn't tell you no lie

Please believe me when I say
Wild horses couldn't drag me away
From you 'cause I don't have to look too hard
To see what I've got in my own back yard
So please forgive me and forget
Don't say my alloy's all wet (?)
I miss those kisses from your honeycomb
This humble bumble bee just wants to fly back home
Cross my heart, I hope to die
Well I wouldn't tell you no lie

I wouldn't tell you no lie
No no no no no no
I wouldn't tell you no lie

Recordingdate: 1964/06/11, first released on: Girl Happy (album)

Musicians

Musicians who contributed to the first recording of Cross My Heart and Hope to Die:

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

Availability

Find available albums with Cross My Heart and Hope to Die.

dgirl wrote on April 14, 2009
I liked this as a teenager in 1965, but now I see why these movie songs take a lot of heat. its really a piece of fluff for a singer like Elvis.
old shep wrote on September 25, 2009
Trite, crass and unworthy of Elvis' great talent and that goes for the film too.
Steve V wrote on September 25, 2009
Real fluff, bubble gum stuff but a lot better than Wolf Call or the horrible Ft Lauderdale COC. Lord!
jeremytcb wrote on September 25, 2009
I don't know what the point of putting movie songs up for review is. The reactions are always the same, fluff unworthy of Elvis' talent. Like dgirl said, she liked it when it came out! I don't feel bad about liking the movie songs and I don't fancy myself some musical expert...if I like it, I like it...and lots of people did and still do. Maybe that is why it was a Top Ten album? It wasn't like people didn't know what they were getting. These albums did very well for a long time. Sure, there is some crap on some of those soundtracks, but there are a lot of really fun stuff too. Everything does not have to Suspicious Minds or If I Can Dream...that is what is great about Elvis' catalog plenty of solid songs and some good natured "fluff" for a lighthearted summer day. His music isn't like the the movies where you lament the fact that he never really got to show us what he could do...he showed us plenty of great songs.
derekd wrote on September 25, 2009
I'm in favour of doin remixes of Elvis recordings, but not the good ones, they don't need to be remixed. ALLC was really a flop when released first time round, then it was brought up to date with it's remix. So that showed what could be done. Maybe 'Cross my Heart' follows this line. As it is it's not one that i would hunt out to listen too.
Marty_TCE wrote on September 25, 2009
Not a great song but I quite like this album, simple and unoffensive - yes a waste of a great, great talent but hey, good fun too?
Josee wrote on September 25, 2009
I've made an amazing discovery. I've got myself an iPod and I've been busy transferring my Elvis cd's to it. For the soundtracks I chose to make up my own compilation of favourite songs and I've come up with a staggering total of 80 songs and this compilation does not even include Elvis' first 4 movies or G.I. Blues and Blue Hawaii. I had doubts about "Cross My Heart", but in the long end I included it. I surprise myself listening a lot to this compilation and loving it.
JimmyCool wrote on September 26, 2009
Not a great song, but not the worst either. I have a soft spot for the movies soundtracks... Even hard-core fans tend to see Elvis' soundtracks as an abomination but they're judging these songs comparing them with Elvis' greatest hits... and you just know you can't do that... it's like mixing oil and water... Soundtracks are light, easy-listening kinda music... the kind of music that is harmless, you can put it as background music... and you can't deny it's much better than elevator music, don't you think? They are just plain fun, harmless little movie songs. I'm tired of hearing people complaining about them all the time...
Swen wrote on December 29, 2009
I think this sound track was different from the rest of them, and I remember I was worried for Elvis when it was realeased. Because for the first time E. didn´t even sing well. He was hoarse and strained, and the single from the film was a total disaster. The worst single release of his entire career. Comparing his performance on this sound track to the beauty of his Nashville recordings from 60 to 63 was really heart breaking. Is this the same guy people would ask understandably?
Deano1 wrote on December 29, 2009
A decent, situational movie tune from the 1965 movie and soundtrack LP "Girl Happy". Nicely worded lyrics except for the lines "Wild horses couldn't drag me away" and the next line starting with "From You 'cause I don't have to look too hard". The way he completes his thought from the one line to the next always bugged me. Also in the the 2nd verse, it should read "Don't say my alibi is all wet. I always liked this movie a lot and the LP is good except for a couple of songs. The good ones such as the title song (should have been a single), "Spring Fever", "Do Not Disturb", "Meanest Girl In Town", and "Puppet On A String" are good enough to make the album enjoyable and even the silliest songs ("Wolf Call" and "Do The Clam" and Fort Lauderdale COC") bring a smile to my face remembering the movie.
theoldscudder wrote on December 29, 2009
Whenever I play this my cat runs out of the house.
NONE000000 wrote on December 29, 2009
Sadly, I didn't really get into Elvis until he died, and so my discovery of Elvis was not chronological. I had "Elvis In Concert" and a few Camden/Pickwick compilations and the soundtrack to Loving You and King Creole---plus my dad's 78s of Love Me Tender/Anyway You Want Me and Blue Christmas/Santa Claus Is Back In Town. The next album I got was "Girl Happy" and I loved it. Also, I was 9 years old. But that's the thing about the move soundtracks; any serious critic or even student of Elvis Presley music hates most of the soundtracks, and from that point of view, so do I. But as a kid, I loved them! In fact, when I was given "The Sun Sessions" shortly after "Girl Happy", I preferred "Girl Happy" easily! And this track, "Cross My Heart and Hope To Die" was one I especially liked! Hard to mount a strong critical defense for it, but I like it and would place it in the top 75% of the movie songs--better than Ito Eats and No Room To Rhumba.....
ElvisSacramento wrote on October 28, 2012
I've never liked this song and it's easily one of the very worst songs that Elvis ever recorded. It's been years since I've listened to this song and I highly doubt that I'll ever listen to it again. It's from the very disappointing "Girl Happy" soundtrack album.
sugartummy wrote on March 01, 2013
After a soft short intro, Elvis sounds way too loud in my ears over the headphones. Was the production so bad? A so-so song.
sugartummy wrote on May 08, 2013
It has a late night club sound, with the wonderful Bob Moore on double bass and jazzy piano by Floyd Cramer. I like it better already than 2 months ago. Maybe I dislike it again in August.
Gorse wrote on July 29, 2013
I always found the film more enjoyable than the songs on vinyl but this ballad does transfer well with its intimate smoky night club feel. I add echo to this album and my listening pleasure markedly improves.
RobIreland wrote on August 16, 2014
Great tune with that night club feel for sure ! Loved the album with Evis in different voice than usual exhibiting another lovely quality to his singing. An almost "Jazzy" feel to this unusual mid sixties tune.
sugartummy wrote on August 01, 2015
This is still not a great song to my ears, but I can enjoy it. Nice that others too hear the night club sound.
Cruiser621 wrote on October 16, 2017
From one of his fluff inspired movies; crap in, crap out. Does not do anything for me.
atomic powered poste wrote on October 18, 2018
The best of the songs from the girl happy soundtrack (i don't count you'll be gone, even if it's on the album), but still not worth more than 2,5 stars. I like the movie, but the soundtrack is crap.
The Hawk wrote on May 23, 2022
I've always really like (but not loved) this particular soundtrack selection by Elvis. It's the King himself doing late nightclub jazz, with Floyd's piano, Bob's double-bass making it sound so groovy. "Cross My Heart and Hope to Die" ain't no "Girl Happy" (the title track, that is) or "Spring Fever" or "The Meanest Girl in Town" or "Puppet on a String," but it's miles ahead "Wolf Call."
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