Music Friday: For Elvis Presley, ‘This Tiny Ring Is a Token of Tender Emotion’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, we feature Elvis Presley singing about the colossal symbolism packed into a tiny circle of gold in his 1973 cover of “She Wears My Ring.”

To a smitten Presley, the ring he placed on his girlfriend's finger is not only an expression of his commitment, but also a signal to the world of their eternal love.

Presley sings, “This tiny ring is a token of tender emotion / An endless pool of love that’s as deep as the ocean / She swears to wear it with eternal devotion / That’s why I sing, because she wears my ring.”

Reinterpreted with English lyrics by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1960, “She Wears My Ring” was adapted from a Spanish-language song, “La Golodrina.” That song was penned by Mexican physician Narciso Serradell nearly 100 years earlier, when the doctor had been exiled to France during the Second Franco-Mexican War.

He wrote “La Golodrina,” (“The Swallow” in Spanish) as a fond tribute to the country he left behind. The song is about a migrating bird yearning to return to her homeland.

Although Presley’s rendition of “She Wears My Ring” is the most memorable, the song was originally performed by Jimmy Bell in 1960 and covered by Roy Orbison in 1962 and Ray Price in 1968.

“She Wears My Ring” appears as the fifth track of Good Times, Presley’s 20th studio album.

Born in Tupelo, Miss., in 1935, Elvis Aron Presley ascended to stardom in the mid-1950s with his good looks, silky voice and outrageous performance style. Not only did he top the charts during the 1950s and 1960s, but he also starred in more than 30 movies, including Jailhouse Rock (1957) and Viva Las Vegas (1964).

Presley met Priscilla Ann Beaulieu in 1960 and married her after a seven-and-a-half-year courtship. The ceremony took place at the Aladdin hotel in Las Vegas and, yes, she wore his ring.

“The King,” as he was known, would eventually become one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music, with more than one billion records sold worldwide. His Memphis home, Graceland, is still a major tourist attraction.

Elvis died in Memphis on August 16, 1977, at the age of 44.

Please check out the audio track of Presley performing “She Wears My Ring.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“She Wears My Ring”
Written by Felice & Boudleaux Bryant. Performed by Elvis Presley.

She wears my ring to show the world that she belongs to me
She wears my ring to show the world she’s mine eternally
With loving care I placed it on her finger
To show my love for all the world to see

This tiny ring is a token of tender emotion
An endless pool of love that’s as deep as the ocean
She swears to wear it with eternal devotion
That’s why I sing, because she wears my ring

She swears to wear it with eternal devotion
That’s why I sing, because she wears my ring

This tiny ring is a token of tender emotion
An endless pool of love that’s as deep as the ocean
She swears to wear it with eternal devotion
That’s why I sing, because she wears my ring
That’s why I sing, because she wears my ring

Credit: Uncredited, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.