Talk:Walking in Memphis

Mis-attributed

how could this song ever be mis-attributed to Cher, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Michael McDonald, Bruce Hornsby or Bob Seger? i could see Michael Bolton, never heard Wouter, but really how could people misattribute this song to them? i never heard of Marc, but he has a distinct voice. --66.218.11.137 02:17, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

well, it sounds alot like springsteen. I myself was surprised when i found out it wasn't springsteen. And it's not mis-attributed to Cher, she did a cover of it.- -[The Spooky One] | ^{[t c r]} 12:05, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

This whole section is completely speculation and does not cite any references. It also refers to the "Jungle Room" at the famous Graceland Mansion as a room where the "crew would take care of business," when in fact, the "Jungle Room" was a children's play room. The following text was removed: (some items are accurate, some are not. I've been to multiple Marc Cohn performances which were small in nature and he has explained the nature of the song several times - I'm putting notes in parentheses to clarify the items - mm)

"The reference to "Blue Suede Shoes" is not actually about Elvis Presley, but about Carl Perkins, who recorded the song in Memphis for Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Perkins' ill-luck in a car wreck stopped him from touring to promote the record, allowing Elvis' cover version to become a massive hit. Presley's copy was recorded at RCA studios in Nashville. The narrator tells of seeing "The ghost of Elvis up on Union Avenue and followed him up to gates of Graceland." Sam Phillips' studios were called "Memphis Recording Service" and were at 706 Union Avenue. Elvis' start on the journey to fame and fortune (i.e. Graceland) is usually attributed to the success of "Blues Suede Shoes" - and that of "Heartbreak Hotel." (these are correct - mm)

"Now, security did not see him" is probably a comment on the story that Bruce Springsteen once successfully scaled the wall at Graceland, trying to deliver a song he wrote. Apparently, Elvis wasn't there. (I believe the preceding is a comment on Elvis' sprit at Graceland and not the Springstein - this is one I cannot 100% confirm - mm).

"There's catfish on table and gospel in the air" marks the dichotomy between secular and sacred. Catfish is the standard Blues metaphor for sexual intercourse. (The word is also interchangeable with the slang expression for the female sex zones). "Catfish" thus would appeal to the bodily instincts, whereas "gospel" would be to the intellect. The metaphor gains more credence since Al Green supposedly renounced secular music after being scalded with grits by a jealous girlfriend. (this is totally incorrect...Marc Cohn went on a trip to Memphis to be inspired to write new material, he went to a sermon by Al Green and said even though he is not a Christian, he was practically inspired to become a Christian. He said it was one of the most impactful events of his life in that the sermon was powerful, engaging, motivating, and went on for about 2 hours with everyone hot and sweaty, Al Greene nearly soaked from sweat, but everyone still wanted to hear every word the man said. Gospel is obviously part of the culture there as well as Catfish....that's all they mean, he immersed himself in the culture to be inspired goign to the service with Al Green, immersing himself in the gospel music, and eating the cultural foods of the area - mm).

The lyrics refer to the girl waiting in the Jungle Room. This was the name of the play area at Elvis' Graceland mansion where he and the crew would take care of business (TCB)." (I can't 100% verify, but I do believe this is close but still incorrect - mm) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.167.199.91 (talk) 07:53, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

Raving I'm Raving

There's no mention on the page of when UK dance act Shut Up And Dance released their version, called "Raving I'm Raving" in 1992. Mark Cohn got wind of it as SUAD didn't get clearance for the sample and in the end they had to compromise, by releasing it as a limited single, and that it would be deleted and all the royalties go to charity. It reached No.2 in the UK charts, then fell to No.38 the week after and then disappeared. They even used bits of their version when they remixed Cher's version of Mark's song. Andrew07 (talk) 18:40, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Editing Mess Up

I added a "Critical Reception" and a "Writing and Inspiration" section, I just (stupidly) forgot to put on the "Edit Summary" what I was doing. I apologize and hope this is not a major problem. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Upikedaltonwb (talk • contribs) 20:17, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

Year Contradiction

In one spot, this article says Cohn was inspired to write the song in 1985. In another, the date is given in a quote by Cohn as 1986. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.31.5.26 (talk) 03:55, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

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