He was the first man I ever loved…

His voice was the first poetry I  had ever heard. His music, the first I had ever danced to. I was five years old when I first saw him. He was dressed in white, enshrined in a cape of diamonds and he carried a crown. He composed beauty and created music in every step in every word and in every expression. He was beautiful in a way I had never experienced before and I though he was an angel. I have held him in reverence every since. His name was Elvis Aaron Presley.

As I walked around Graceland one August day I felt a presence, like Elvis Presley was serenading me with a gentle refrain, similar to a lullaby. Although the lullaby originated in Memphis I still hear and feel it’s music everywhere. To me, it is a symphony composed of colour, language and sound, that manifests through, art, literature and music - signifying hope, joy, peace, beauty and love. It’s melody made me realise that dreams can come true. The harmonies remind me that memories are never forgotten and true love will never die. In homage to this legacy, I composed a poem that became a song. I called it, ‘The Memphis Lullaby’ which seems like a fitting epitaph to this extraordinary man who worried that he would never be remembered. Over a quarter of a century later his voice still resonates and so do the dreams it carried.

I have created my tributes to Elvis Presley through literature, theatre, visual art, film and music. It is my way of saying thank you to the man that captured my heart as a child and in whom I found music, inspiration, happiness, spirituality and love. And true love will never fade or be forgotten. I hope I made him proud, because he was the first man I ever loved.

We all remember that dark August day but, ‘The Memphis Lullaby’ will be always.

Linda Ann McConnell, August 16th 2004, Glasgow.