What does Are You Lonesome Tonight? mean?

Elvis Presley: Are You Lonesome Tonight? Meaning

Album cover for Are You Lonesome Tonight? album cover

Song Released: 1960


Are You Lonesome Tonight? Lyrics

Are you lonesome tonight,
Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a brighter sunny day,
When I kissed you and called you sweetheart?

Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze...

  1. anonymous
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    Feb 6th 2019 !⃝

    I always felt like the first portion was an angry taunt - oh poor you, are you lonesome (who's sorry now), and the recitation was him admitting vulnerability and his own pain, ending the "shall I come back again" refrain with a different meaning at the end having gone through both emotions.

    I always liked the song because of this interpretation of mine - it made the writer a real person.

  2. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 18th 2011 !⃝

    I heard it was a song about his wife/ex wife and how he still loved her, but the marriage was at rock bottom.

  3. anonymous
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    Oct 3rd 2010 !⃝

    A great song about unrequited love. You really get the sense that he's singing this on stage alone with nobody in the audience. He seems so frail singing this song, unlike Elvis' usual character.
    This is such a sad song, I love it.
    I learned the whole part where he's talking last year and recited it in class and the teachers were like: 'kid, what are you talking about??' lol
    I love his voice in this song, its so serious and sad, love it.


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