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Peace in the Valley
Words & Music: Thomas A. Dorsey
Oh well, I’m tired and so weary
But I must go alone
Till the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yes
Well the morning's so bright
And the lamp is alight
And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes
There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me
Well the bear will be gentle
And the wolves will be tame
And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes
And the beasts from the wild
Shall be lit by a child
And I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes
There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me
Recorded: 1957/01/13, first released on EP
Reactions
Back in the day, I didn't fancy the early gospel too much. But, as time has gone by (ooh too fast), those songs have grown on me. The sincerity and feeling that Elvis offers makes them very listenable. I like them all so much better now! I think the Ed Sullivan performance was good because of the sincerity, again, that Elvis put in it! We all know what followed! Even though I'm not a religious person, I really love Elvis' gospel songs! It's all about HOW he performs them!
One of his all time great religious songs. I remember receiving his EP "Peace In The Valley" I believe for my confirmation, back in the day as they say 1957.
The Dick Van Dyke Show episode "Twizzle" captured this phase of Elvis' career, "We want our boy to sing a serious song". Nevertheless, I enjoy Peace in the Valley whenever I hear it.
Elvis' performance may not be his best vocals on a sacred song (still very good), but it is full of sincerity and emotion. The Jordanaires and arrangement are top-notch and I easily give it five stars. Great song, great EP!
I really like this song. It's the only song I like on the "Peace In The Valley" ep.
I much preferred the live performance on his last Ed Sullivan tv appearance. The voice was just was not good enough at this stage to make these 4 gospel numbers shine in 1957 and paled in comparison to the gospel efforts that followed. A shade better than the dire I Believe and probably the 3rd best out of the 4 - I award 2 1/2 stars.
Written by a guy who used to write "dirty" songs. A solemn, but engaging performance by Elvis.
This is such a beautiful gospel song and all of Elvis' renditions of it are brilliant. The best gospel music will definitely always be Elvis' gospel music and no one will ever be able to sing gospel songs as well as Elvis sang them.
This is the first gospel song I heard Elvis sing. I was too young to really appreciate it, but I still loved the performance.
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