"Helpless"

I recently listened to Out of the Shadows and realized something about "Helpless."  A few years ago I discovered that some of the lyrics quote Elvis' "All Shook Up," and at the time I was just excited that I'd found such an obvious Elvis reference in a Rod Argent song.  When I listened to it recently though, I realized the significance of that quotation.

The premise of the song is that the singer/speaker is unable to communicate with someone:  "I just want to communicate / I try so hard but my tongue frustrates."  The content of the Elvis quote fits the context of the song (the speaker/singer is "shaking" and "Can't seem to stand on [his] own two feet" because he can't communicate and therefore sees himself as "helpless"), but the fact that it's a quote also fits the song.  The singer/speaker is having trouble "get[ting] through to you," so - with that Elvis quote - he's trying to use someone else's words rather than his own, hoping that perhaps that will allow him to "get through to you."

"Helpless"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

---&---

I was transcribing "Helpless" from Out of the Shadows a few days ago, and after I typed out these lines, I realized that they sounded familiar:

My hands are shaking; my knees get weak
Can't seem to stand on my own two feet

I actually ended up Googling them and discovered that they're from Elvis' "All Shook Up."  This morning, I listened to an Elvis compilation album with "All Shook Up" and started transcribing it.  I finished the relevant lines at least:

Well, my hand is shaky, and my knees are weak
I can't seem to stand on my own two feet

It's not an exact quotation, but it is an obvious reference.

I knew that Rod Argent was inspired by Elvis (I don't know how many interviews I've read or seen where he mentions the whole "I liked only classical music until Jim Rodford played me 'Hound Dog,' and then later I discovered that Elvis had our songs on his juke box!"), but I don't think I'd ever found anything in the music to demonstrate this.  So finding this quotation from "All Shook Up" was really exciting.