About the song
Among the more introspective entries in **Elvis Presley**’s vast and multifaceted catalogue, **”Help Me”** stands as a quiet yet profoundly moving appeal—a prayer more than a performance. Released in 1974 on the album *Promised Land*, this gospel-inflected ballad captures a deeply personal and spiritual side of **Elvis Presley** that too often gets overshadowed by the glitter of his early rock-and-roll fame or the theatricality of his Vegas years. Yet it is here, in the soft confession of **”Help Me”**, that we encounter a man not in search of applause, but of grace.
The song was written by Larry Gatlin, a member of the country and gospel trio The Gatlin Brothers, and it fits beautifully within **Elvis’s** enduring affection for sacred music. In fact, Presley often said that gospel was his favorite genre, and listening to **”Help Me”**, it’s not hard to believe. His voice—mature, burnished with emotional wear and age—doesn’t overpower the song but rather humbles itself within it. There’s a vulnerability in his delivery, especially in lines like *“Help me walk another mile, just one more mile; I’m tired of walking all alone.”* It’s the voice of a man aware of his limits, searching not for fanfare but for solace.
What makes **”Help Me”** especially poignant is the context of its release. By the mid-1970s, **Elvis Presley** was grappling with declining health, personal turmoil, and the weight of a career that had become as much burden as blessing. And so, when he sings this simple, gospel plea, the listener is drawn into something that feels intimate—almost as if we are eavesdropping on a private moment between a man and his Maker.
Musically, **”Help Me”** is modestly arranged—just piano, light strings, and subtle harmonies. There’s no grandiosity here, no arena-filling crescendos. Instead, the restraint becomes its own form of reverence, allowing the lyrics and **Elvis’s** voice to carry the emotional weight. In many ways, this is a spiritual successor to earlier gospel numbers like “How Great Thou Art” or “Peace in the Valley,” but with a more confessional, less declarative tone.
For those who only know **Elvis Presley** as the swiveling icon of the 1950s or the rhinestone-studded showman of the ’70s, **”Help Me”** offers a window into a deeper, more reflective artist. It’s not merely a gospel song—it’s a human moment, etched in melody.
Video
Lyrics
Lord, help me walk
Another mile, just one more mile,
I’m tired of walkin’ all alone
Lord, help me smile
Another smile, just one more smile,
You know I just can’t make it on my own
I never thought I needed help before,
I thought that I could get by by myself
Now I know I just can’t take it any more
With a humble heart, on bended knee,
I’m beggin’ You, please, help me
Come down from Your golden throne to me, to lowly me,
I need to feel the touch of Your tender hand
Remove the chains of darkness
Let me see, Lord let me see,
Just where I fit into your master plan
I never thought I needed help before,
I thought that I could get by by myself
Now I know I just can’t take it any more
With a humble heart, on bended knee,
I’m beggin’ You, please, help me
With a humble heart, on bended knee,
I’m beggin’ You, please, help me
