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Once Is Enough

Rating:
3.4 / 5

Words & Music: Sid Tepper Roy C. Bennett

All you got is one life
Living once can be rough
But if you live every day all the way
Once is enough

You can own just one suit
Worn and torn at the cuff
But if you're livin' the life that you love
Once is enough

What's the good of reaching ninety
If you waste eighty-nine
You got one life so live it
If you don't it's a crime

Life's a playful puppy
You can grab by the scruff
And if you live every sec' what the heck
Once is enough

Never wait until tomorrow
What if it never comes
Life is a seven layer
Don't you settle for crumbs

Life's a playful puppy
You can grab by the scruff
And if you live every sec' what the heck
Once is enough
And if you live every sec' what the heck
Once is enough
And if you live every sec' what the heck
Once is enough

Recordingdate: 1963/09/29, first released on: Kissin' Cousins (album)

Musicians

Musicians who contributed to the first recording of Once Is Enough:

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

Availability

Find available albums with Once Is Enough.

Steve V wrote on January 28, 2009
Yes, Once Is Enough for this song.
dgirl wrote on April 27, 2009
A waste of vinyl. The Kissin Cousins LP left me shaking my head and wondering what had happened to the quality of Elvis' records & films?
Deano1 wrote on February 25, 2010
If you were still listening to this album after "Barefoot Ballad" (the 2nd song on side 2), then you got to hear this song. This is not Elvis at his best, but compared to BB, it is "Return To Sender" and "Jailhouse Rock" rolled into one. Seriously, this is a 2 1/2 star track that has a nice message and at least has Elvis singing in his normal voice and not that hokey country accent he used for BB and parts of "Kissin' Cousins".
Deke Rivers 6 wrote on April 25, 2010
The fast version of "Kissin' Cousins" is a good track,it has to be said.
1 BILLION SOLD wrote on April 25, 2010
Ya know, we all know this is not El at his top, (including Elvis himself, oh he knew...), but when I was a kid and heard this, for some reason Elvis sayin,..."What's the use of reachin' 90, if you waste 89" has always stuck in mine and my brother's head, cuz its simple but true! I know this is no Heartbreak Hotel or Burnin' Love, but I still always liked its simplicity! Elvis could make simple stuff cool! It must've been hard to live up to bein him!!
shoesuedeblues wrote on April 25, 2010
Not a great song but not as bad as some of the material from this album or indeed many Elvis soundtracks from around this period.
old shep wrote on April 25, 2010
I haven't played this soundtrack for at least forty years but I still remember most of the tracks. This one is not a particular memorable song but certainly not as poor as some of the numbers Elvis got lumbered with in the 1960s.
derekd wrote on April 25, 2010
I my be wrong, but was this not named as a bonus song? Either way the skip button is very overused on this track. Once was enough. That said at the time od release I liked the album. The single KC did well in the Uk geting Elvis back into the top 10 after 3 misses. The KC album even got to #5.
JerryNodak wrote on April 25, 2010
Fun song. I like it. Fits movie song perfectly. I always get a great response when I sing it at karaoke.
JerryNodak wrote on April 25, 2010
Sorry. Should read fits movie SCENE perfectly.
NONE000000 wrote on April 26, 2010
Elvis did a lot of songs like this and with this basic theme. "Follow That Dream" might be my favorite of that group of "Live everyday, don't wait until tomorrow, follow your dream, go beyond the bend and have a clambake because I'm just a roustabout and it's a wonderful world and we're going aboard the showboat tonight and so on and so on...". This is one of the lesser of those songs. But, you know, it's ok basically. I mean, if Elvis wants to sing me about the way to live and be happy in life, I can live with that. When you're about 10 or 11, these are really enjoyable and really do have a nice message. (But....yes, I know the song is pretty much crap to anyone who listens to music critically--like an adult......like me)
Marty_TCE wrote on June 20, 2010
I have always loved this song! It's no Jailhouse Rock but even so, very good. :u)
Cruiser621 wrote on June 20, 2010
I happen to like this song from the soundtrack of "Kissin' Cousins"; matter of fact, I like most of the songs from this flick.
Gorse wrote on January 10, 2013
The saxophone break more than anything else here, lifts this song from being just another forgettable film song, and makes it worth 3 stars.
sugartummy wrote on September 01, 2013
An enjoyable song with a strange sax solo by Boots. I like it.
cookingfat wrote on November 03, 2013
One of the better songs from this wilderness period of Elvis' career.The movie was feeble to say the least as was the soundtrack but it got worse
ElvisSacramento wrote on November 04, 2013
I've always liked this underrated movie song and Elvis' rendition of it was excellent. I've never skipped it. I've always enjoyed the saxophone solo by Boots Randolph immensely too.
shawnrw wrote on January 07, 2014
"Kissin Cousins: wasn't Elvis's best soundtrack by far, but I always sort of liked this bouncy little tune with its philosophical lyrics.
Miknik7077 wrote on October 07, 2020
Solid movie song. Very upbeat and catchy. Good tune.
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