About the song
Few songs in the popular canon possess the sweeping emotional depth and timeless resonance of ***Unchained Melody***, and when **Elvis Presley** put his voice to it, he gave the classic a unique and deeply personal inflection. While the song was originally penned in 1955 by Alex North and Hy Zaret for a little-known prison film titled *Unchained*, it was the 1965 version by The Righteous Brothers that most listeners associate with its dramatic romanticism. Yet when **Elvis Presley**, often referred to simply as *The King*, approached the song in the final years of his life, he transformed it into something raw, intimate, and heart-wrenchingly human.
***Unchained Melody*** had long been a staple of Presley’s live performances, but perhaps the most memorable rendition came in 1977, recorded during a concert in Rapid City, South Dakota—just weeks before his death. In this performance, **Elvis Presley** sits at the piano, visibly frail and physically diminished, yet vocally powerful and emotionally present. His interpretation feels less like a showpiece and more like a confession, as if he’s reaching out one last time for connection, for understanding, or perhaps for forgiveness.
What makes ***Unchained Melody*** such a moving piece in Elvis’s hands is the juxtaposition of lyrical yearning with the stark vulnerability of his performance. The lyrics speak of longing, of love sustained across time and distance—“*Oh, my love, my darling, I’ve hungered for your touch…*”—and in Elvis’s voice, those words feel lived-in, as though they carry the weight of a man who has truly known absence and ache.
It’s not just the technical execution that makes this version unforgettable; it’s the sincerity behind every note. **Elvis Presley**, by then no longer the slick-haired heartthrob of the 1950s but a weathered soul clinging to something real, gives us a ***Unchained Melody*** that is both a swan song and a prayer. For fans, it remains one of his most powerful statements—not of fame or showmanship, but of raw, emotional truth.
Video
Lyrics
Oh, my love, my darling
I’ve hungered for your touch
A long, lonely time
Time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine?
I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me
Lonely rivers flow
To the sea, to the sea
To the open arms of the sea
Lonely rivers cry
Wait for me, wait for me
I’ll be coming home, wait for me
Oh, my love, my darling
I’ve hungered for your touch
A long, lonely time
I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me
