"Wooden Heart" is a pop song recorded byElvis Presley. The composition is based on a German folk song "Muss i denn" (lit. Must I then) and it was featured in the 1960Elvis Presley filmG.I. Blues. The song was ahit single for Presley in theUK Singles Chart, reaching No. 1 for six weeks in March and April 1961.[1][2]
The song was published by Elvis Presley's company Gladys Music, Inc. In theUnited States, it was released in November 1964 as the B-side to "Blue Christmas". Presley performed the song live during his Dinner Show concert at theHilton Hotel inLas Vegas in 1975, a recording available on the Elvis Presley live albumDinner At Eight.
Acover version byJoe Dowell on theSmash Records label made it to number one in the US at the end of August 1961, knocking Bobby Lewis' "Tossin' and Turnin'" off the number one spot on theBillboard Hot 100 after seven weeks. Dowell's version also spent three weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart.[3]
The Elvis Presley version features two sections in German, the first being the first four lines: "Muss Ich denn zum Städtele hinaus". The second section is towards the end and is based on a translation of the English version (therefore not appearing in the original German folk lyrics):Sei mir gut, sei mir gut, sei mir wie du wirklich sollst, wie du wirklich sollst... ("Be good to me, be good to me, be to me how you really should, how you really should...").
