If you are a fan of Elvis Presley, you might have heard his song “Polk Salad Annie”, which he performed live in Las Vegas in 1970. But do you know what polk salad is, or who Annie was? In this blog post, we will explore the background and meaning of this catchy tune.
Polk salad, also spelled poke sallet or poke salad, is a dish made from the leaves of the pokeweed plant, which grows wild in the southern United States. The plant is toxic if eaten raw, but can be boiled and drained several times to make it edible. Polk salad was a staple food for poor people in the South, especially during the Great Depression. It is often served with bacon, eggs, or cornbread.
Annie is a fictional character based on the women that Elvis Presley saw growing up in Mississippi and Tennessee. She is a tough and wild girl who lives in the swampy area where the alligators are. She picks polk salad for her supper, because that’s all she has. Her mother works on the chain gang, a form of forced labor for prisoners, and her father and brothers are lazy and good-for-nothing. Annie is not afraid of anything, not even the alligators. She is a symbol of the rebellious and independent spirit of the South.
The song “Polk Salad Annie” was written and originally recorded by Tony Joe White in 1968. He was inspired by a girl he saw picking greens by the roadside. Elvis Presley heard the song and liked it so much that he decided to cover it in his live shows. He added his own flair and humor to the performance, imitating the sound of an alligator and making jokes about Annie. The song became a hit for Elvis, and one of his signature songs.
If you want to learn more about polk salad and its history, you can check out this article . And if you ever find yourself in the South, you might want to try some polk salad yourself, but be careful not to eat it raw!
Oldies Music