About the song
Few artists have managed to fuse musical tradition with cultural commentary as potently as **Elvis Presley** did with **“An American Trilogy.”** This remarkable medley, first released in 1972, stands as one of the most ambitious and emotionally resonant performances of **Presley’s** career. While he is often celebrated for his rock and roll bravado or his hip-shaking charisma, it’s in pieces like **“An American Trilogy”** that we glimpse a more reflective, even reverent, side of the artist — a man deeply aware of the country he called home and the contradictions it embodied.
**“An American Trilogy”** is a powerful combination of three 19th-century songs: **“Dixie,”** a minstrel song associated with the American South; **“The Battle Hymn of the Republic,”** a Union anthem from the Civil War; and **“All My Trials,”** a Bahamian lullaby that had become a staple of the American folk protest tradition. The choice to unite these three very different songs into a single medley was not accidental. In doing so, **Presley** — guided by arranger **Mickey Newbury**, who originally crafted the medley — invites the listener into a layered meditation on the **American identity**, rife with conflict, sorrow, and spiritual yearning.
What makes **Presley’s** rendition so moving is not just the arrangement, but the performance itself. He sings with conviction, navigating from the romanticized nostalgia of **“Dixie”** into the somber spiritual depth of **“All My Trials,”** and then soaring with gospel-like intensity through **“The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”** The transitions are seamless yet emotionally jarring, forcing the listener to confront the uneasy marriage of pride and pain that defines much of American history. His voice, rich with emotion and gravity, carries the weight of a nation’s past without ever lapsing into sentimentality.
At a time when America was still grappling with the aftermath of the 1960s — civil rights struggles, the Vietnam War, generational divides — **“An American Trilogy”** felt both like a eulogy and a prayer. It’s a piece that doesn’t offer easy answers but instead asks us to sit with complexity. That **Elvis Presley**, the so-called “King of Rock and Roll,” chose to embrace this song so fully in his live performances speaks volumes about his evolving artistry and the seriousness with which he approached his place in the American story.
Today, **“An American Trilogy”** remains a stirring and sometimes polarizing piece. But love it or question it, it is impossible to deny the emotional force behind it — a testament to **Presley’s** enduring power as an interpreter not just of songs, but of the spirit of a nation.
Video
Lyrics
One, two
One, two, three, four
We’ve got to patch it up baby
Before we fall apart at the seams
We’ve got to patch it up baby
We can’t let time unravel our dreams
Let’s go back and touch the past
One more night is all I ask
Get that feeling, that old feeling, feelin-eelin’
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
Patch it up with a whole lotta love
We got to patch it up baby
Let’s sweep out all the cobwebs in our hearts
We’ve got to patch it up baby
Before indifference pulls us apart
Don’t let a good love die
Let’s give it just one more try
With that feeling, that old feeling, feelin-eelin’
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
Patch it up with a whole lotta love
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
Patch it up with a whole lotta love
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
Patch it up with a whole lotta love
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
Patch it up with a whole lotta love
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
We can patch it up baby
Patch it up with a whole lotta love
With a whole lotta love
