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Solitaire
Words & Music: Neil Sedaka/ Phil Cody
There was a man, a lonely man
Who lost his love, thru his indifference
A heart that cared that went unshared
Until it died within his silence
And solitaire is the only game in town
And every road that takes him, takes him down
While life goes on around him everywhere
He's playing solitaire
And keeping to himself, begins to deal
And still the king of hearts is well concealed
Another losing games comes to an end
And deals them out again
A little hope goes up in smoke
Just how it goes, goes without saying
There was a man, a lonely man
Who would command the hand he's playing
And solitaire is the only game in town
And every road that takes him, takes him down
While life goes on around him everywhere
He's playing solitaire
And keeping to himself, begins to deal
And still the king of hearts is well concealed
Another losing games comes to an end
And deals them out again
And solitaire is the only game in town
And every road that takes him, takes him down
While life goes on around him everywhere
He's playing solitaire
Recorded: 1976/02/03, first released on From Elvis Presley Boulevard
Reactions
This song is heart-breakingly delivered by the King, El lays his soul bare in this absolutely beautiful song.
Boring! Not one of his better efforts. The song just drags along. 1-Star and that's pushing it to be honest.
Never cared too much for this one. I don't know the Sedaka version, but perhaps Elvis had heard the Andy Williams version, for the arrangment is just the same.
For some reason not my favourite by anyone, but Elvis sings it with full commitment and deep feeling, obtaining as much as anybody could from the song with this performance.
This is such a brilliant, emotional and unique song and Elvis easily has the very best rendition of it. It's easily one of my most favorite songs that Elvis ever recorded. It's also my favorite song from the "From Elvis Presley Boulevard Memphis Tennessee" album for sure.
What can you say about this track , emotional , haunting just plain beautiful. Elvis once again showing us why nobody will ever come close to matching him.
Absolutely heart breaking 5 stars TCB
Very often this song is the background song of one of my dreams...I love it very much !!!
I have always loved this song. Elvis' version is so much better than Neil Sedaka's version. It doesn't get any better than this, Elvis at his best - 5 stars :-)
Elvis takes this Neil Sedaka tune and makes it a haunting, yet beautiful track. This song would have been a big hit had it been released as a single in the U.S. (in 1976, it was a country hit in '79). Another of the five stars songs from a five star LP "From Elvis Presley Boulevard..."
Sheer brillance. This is Elvis at his very best. Nobody can sing with as much emotion and feeling as Elvis. This is why they called him the "king."
Available Alternate Versions