I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone

"I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" (sometimes called "You're Right, I'm Left, She's Gone"[2]) is a song written by Bill Taylor and Stan Kesler, and originally recorded by Elvis Presley for Sun Records.[3][4]

"I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone"
Single by Elvis Presley
from the album Elvis Presley (UK edition)
B-side"Baby Let's Play House"
ReleasedApril 10, 1955 (1955-04-10)[1]
RecordedFebruary–March 1955
StudioSun Records' Studio, Memphis

Released as a single in April 1955 (with "Baby Let's Play House" on the opposite side),[1] the song made it into the top 10 of U.S. Billboard's C&W Best Sellers in Stores chart.[5]

Composition

The song was written by Bill Taylor and Stan Kesler, members of a Sun Records band called Snearly Ranch Boys.[3]

Recording

The commercial (released) version was recorded by Elvis in February–March 1955 at Sun Records' Studio in Memphis.[1] The recording features Elvis on acoustic guitar and his regular sidemen Scotty Moore on electric guitar and Bill Black on bass.[1] Both are credited on the record's label (as Scotty & Bill).[6] Session drummer Jimmie Lott was "brought in" for this recording by Sam Phillips.[1]

Description and critical analysis

The song's lyrics deal with a heartbreak, but in a humorous way.[3] The singer says to his friend that the friend was right in warning him that the girl would break his heart. But the singer still had to find out for himself[3] if she was "the one" for him.[7]

According to Susan M. Doll in her book Understanding Elvis, the song "features a common characteristic of country music — the passive acceptance of the singer's fate and the subsequent melancholy it brings," as the person who sings the song "passively resigns himself to the fact" that his girl is gone.[8]

Musically, it is a rockabilly ballad. Originally Elvis Presley recorded it in a blues arrangement, but the version that was released was "something of a novelty", which "was more in line with the commercial considerations of the day".[9]

Mike Eder in his Elvis Music FAQ finds the recording too polished and too similar to other Elvis' songs of that time:

In the case of "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone," the rough edges should perhaps have been left on. It's unwise to place the blame for this totally on Sam [Phillips], since Elvis did after all willingly work on the completed master. Yet it's almost uncanny how close this flip side sounded, mood-wise, to "You're a Heartbreaker" before it and "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" after. That "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" has more of a sparkle to it than the other two titles shouldn't be overlooked, but upon hearing the outtake, one can't help but feel that some of the life was ultimately polished out of it.[10]

At about the one-minute mark, the song features Elvis' "trademark hiccup vocal break".[1]

Track listing
7" single (Sun 217, 1955)[6]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone"Bill Taylor, Stan Kesler 
2."Baby Let's Play House"Arthur Gunter 

Charts
Chart (1958) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 21

Other recordings

Jerry Lee Lewis, Hayden Thompson, Billy Joe Royal, Billy Fury, Billy Swan, Tom Jones, and Teddy Thompson have also recorded the song.

References
  1. "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone". Elvis Presley Official Web Site Elvis The Music. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  2. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (August 6, 1955). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone by Elvis Presley". Songfacts. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  4. "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone by Elvis Presley - Samples, Covers and Remixes". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
    "Cover versions of I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone by Elvis Presley, Scotty & Bill". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  5. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (August 6, 1955). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. "Elvis Presley, Scotty & Bill – Baby Let's Play House / I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Vinyl)". Discogs. April 1955. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  7. "Elvis Anos 50". Clube de Autores (managed). 17 February 2015 – via Google Books.
  8. Doll, Susan M. (December 5, 2016). Understanding Elvis: Southern Roots vs. Star Image. Routledge. ISBN 9781317732976 – via Google Books.
  9. "Elvis Anos 50". Clube de Autores (managed). 17 February 2015 – via Google Books.
  10. Mike Eder (1 September 2013). Elvis Music FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King's Recorded Works. Backbeat. pp. 35–. ISBN 978-1-61713-581-1.
  11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
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