ELVIS WEEK, VOL. 3: WENT TO SEE THE GYPSY

What would Rock Turtleneck's historic Elvis Week be without a Dylan connection? One of the best songs on Bob's 1970 lost classic LP New Morning is "Went to See the Gypsy," about a rumoured summit meeting between two of the three greatest American pop originals of the 20th century. Dylan himself has never spoken publicly about meeting the King, and one could only hope for his recollections to be featured in a future volume of his Chronicles trilogy.

For now, we have the lyrics of "Gypsy" below as our gospel. Savor them as you watch the wonderful YouTube tribute above, created by a good soul named ELVISLAND. It features our fallen hero in all his post-comeback glory, probably around the time he and Dylan would have met.

Went to see the gypsy,
Stayin' in a big hotel.
He smiled when he saw me coming,
And he said, "Well, well, well."
His room was dark and crowded,
Lights were low and dim.
"How are you?" he said to me,
I said it back to him.

I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."

Outside the lights were shining
On the river of tears,
I watched them from the distance
With music in my ears.

I went back to see the gypsy,
It was nearly early dawn.
The gypsy's door was open wide
But the gypsy was gone,
And that pretty dancing girl,
She could not be found.
So I watched that sun come rising
From that little Minnesota town.

Who was the other great musical original of the 20th Century, you ask? Francis Albert Sinatra, of course. The Chairman made some famously derogatory comments about Elvis and rock music in general back in the 50s, but Sinatra was nothing if not a pro, and he and the The King traded numbers in this incredible duet from a 1957 TV Special. Go cat go.