As a musician and 30-something, I’ve played or listened to Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” at least three thousand times. The 1961 love song has been a staple at countless wedding ceremonies and receptions in the decades since its initial release on the Blue Hawaii soundtrack.
Yet, every time I hear or sing the words to the first verse, I get thrown off by how clunky the rhyme pattern feels. Sure, there are abstract rhyme schemes that don’t follow a specific ABAB or AABB format. But something that feels like ABCD? In a mainstream song that topped the charts for a month straight? As it turns out, there is a reason behind the song’s odd cadence.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Can’t Help Falling in Love” Originally Had a Different Title
When I say I’ve played or heard “Can’t Help Falling In Love” at almost every wedding I’ve been to or worked at, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s a reason why the song has stayed so popular all these years. It’s a classic love song sung by the ultimate heartthrob at the peak of his career. If the first half of the song gets people in a lovey-dovey mood, then the minor “like a river flows” section twists the heartstrings that much further. It’s a great track.
However, it started out with a much different title. According to Songwriting for Dummies, songwriters Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, and George Weiss originally wrote Elvis’ future hit for a woman. The title was “Can’t Help Falling In Love With Him”. And just like that, all those awkward rhymes in the verses make sense. “Wise men say, ‘Only fools rush in’ / But I can’t help falling in love with him.” “Shall I stay? Would it be a sin / if I can’t help falling in love with him.” In this version, the rhyme pattern feels much more standard.
After Presley expressed interest in cutting a version of the song, the songwriters scrapped the female perspective and switched it to a first-person narrator. Nevertheless, the clunky cadence hasn’t stopped this track from holding its place as one of the most ubiquitous love songs of all time.
“Can’t Help Falling In Love” is triple-platinum in the U.K. and double-platinum in New Zealand. Presley’s Blue Hawaii version topped the U.K. charts but stopped short in the U.S. at the No. 2 spot, unable to beat Joey Dee and the Starliters’ “Peppermint Twist”. But no one really plays that one at their wedding, so which song really won?
Photo by Paramount Pictures/Courtesy of Getty Images
More Behind The Song
-
Portrait of The B-52's, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson, Kate Pierson, Ancienne Belgique (AB), Brussel, Belgium, 23 September 1989. (Photo by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images) -
ohn Travolta (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) -
KENT, WA – DECEMBER 06: Country music singer and songwriter Luke Combs performs on stage during The Hometown Holiday show hosted by 100.7 The Wolf at ShoWare Center on December 6, 2018 in Kent, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images) -
Jamaican singer Jimmy Cliff performs on stage at Porte de Pantin, in Paris. (Photo by John van Hasselt/Sygma via Getty Images) -
Left to right: Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page, of British heavy rock group Led Zeppelin, performing at Earl's Court, London, May 1975. The band were initially booked to play three nights at the venue, from 23rd to 25th May, but due to public demand, two more concerts were later added, for 17th and 18th May. Total ticket sales were 85,000. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images) -
Portrait of country singer Eddie Rabbitt in Memphis, Tennessee, May 31, 1981. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES – FEBRUARY 22: 31st Annual Grammy Awards. Broadcast February 22, 1989. Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. Pictured accepting award is Bobby McFerrin. His song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. Also Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images) -
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 03: Singers Mike McGuire (L) and Marty Raybon of Shenandoah attend the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 3, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Rick Diamond/ACM2016/Getty Images for dcp)