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( July 2015 ) `` In the Ghetto '' Single by Elvis Presley from the album From Elvis in Memphis B - side `` Any Day Now '' ( Burt Bacharach, Bob Hilliard ) Released April 1969 Recorded January 1969, American Studios, Memphis, Tennessee Genre Rock, pop, soul Length 2 : 57 Label RCA Victor Songwriter ( s ) Mac Davis Producer ( s ) Chips Moman Elvis Presley singles chronology `` His Hand in Mine '' ( 1969 ) `` In the Ghetto '' ( 1969 ) `` Clean Up Your Own Backyard '' ( 1969 ) `` His Hand in Mine '' ( 1969 ) `` In the Ghetto '' ( 1969 ) `` Clean Up Your Own Backyard '' ( 1969 ) Music video `` In the Ghetto '' ( audio ) on YouTube `` In the Ghetto '' ( originally titled `` The Vicious Circle '' ) is a song written by Mac Davis and made famous by Elvis Presley, who had a major comeback hit with it in 1969. It was released in 1969 as a 45 rpm single with `` Any Day Now '' as the flip side. Contents 1 Song information 2 Lisa Marie Presley duet version 3 Cover versions 3.1 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds version 3.2 Charts 3.3 Eric Cartman version 4 Parodies 5 References 6 External links Song information It is a narrative of generational poverty : a boy is born to a mother who already has more children than she can feed in the ghetto of Chicago. The boy grows up hungry, steals and fights, purchases a gun and steals a car, attempts to run, but is shot and killed just as his own child is born. The song implies that the newborn will meet the same fate, continuing the cycle of poverty and violence. The feeling of an inescapable circle is created by the structure of the song, with its simple, stark phrasing ; by the repetition of the phrase `` in the ghetto '' as the close of every fourth line ; and finally by the repetition of the first verse 's `` and his mama cries '' just before the beginning and as the close of the last verse. It is played in the key of B flat. `` In the Ghetto '' was recorded during Presley 's session in the American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. It was Presley 's first creative recording session since the ' 68 Comeback. Other hits recorded at this session were `` Suspicious Minds '', `` Kentucky Rain '', and `` Do n't Cry Daddy ''. The song was Presley 's first Top 10 hit in the US in four years, peaking at number 3, and number 2 in Canada. It was his first UK Top 10 hit in three years, also peaking at No. 2. It hit No. 1 on Cashbox and No. 8 Easy Listening. It was a number - one hit in West Germany, Ireland, Norway, Australia and New Zealand. As a major international hit, Presley included it in his setlist during his return to live performances at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in 1969. It was a staple of his shows in the first two seasons, however in his third ( August / September 1970 ), he included it only once, at the dinner show on August 13, for the benefit of the MGM cameras who were filming Elvis : That 's the Way It Is ( 1970 ). This version started without pause at the end of another hit from 1969 -- `` Do n't Cry Daddy ''. Lisa Marie Presley duet version The song was recorded in 2007 by Lisa Marie Presley as a duet with her father to raise money for the Presley Foundation. The song was released on iTunes. Cover versions After Elvis Presley, the song has been performed by many other artists. Among them were, most notably, Sammy Davis Jr., Marilyn Manson, Natalie Merchant, Susan Cadogan, Candi Staton, Dolly Parton, Bobby Blue Bland, Bobbie Gentry, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ian Stuart Donaldson, The Cranberries, Merle Haggard, Leatherface, Three Six Mafia, DNX vs. The Voice, Bad Lieutenant, Fair Warning, Beats International, Eleanor Shanley, Chris Clark and Hecchi & Kethmer. The Spanish singer and actor Enrique Castellon Vargas, also known as `` El Principe Gitano '' ( The Gypsy Prince ), recorded a version of the song, a version sung with such a thick Spanish accent that the English lyrics were almost uninintelligible. The KLF used a sample of the Elvis recording in their ambient DJ album Chill Out ( 1990 ). Mac Davis recorded a version of the song for a greatest hits album released in 1979. In 2011, Chris de Burgh covered the song on his album Footsteps 2. Dancehall singer Sister Nancy used some of the song 's lyrics in the song `` Coward of the Country '', which appeared on her 1982 album One, Two. In 2014, cricketer Andrew Flintoff was asked to sing Elvis, as commentator David Lloyd had recommended Flintoff 's Elvis impersonation. He proceeded to sing In The Ghetto while the game was going on ( he was mic - ed up, as part of the entertainment ). Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds version `` In the Ghetto '' Single by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds from the album From Her to Eternity Released June 18, 1984 Format 7 '' Recorded March 1984 Label Mute Records Songwriter ( s ) Mac Davis Producer ( s ) Flood Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds singles chronology `` In the Ghetto '' ( 1984 ) `` Tupelo '' ( 1985 ) `` In the Ghetto '' ( 1984 ) `` Tupelo '' ( 1985 ) `` In the Ghetto '' was covered by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and was their debut single. It was recorded at the Trident Studios in London and released as a 7 '' on June 18, 1984 with the B - side `` The Moon Is in the Gutter ''. It reached 84 on the UK Singles Chart. While originally not present on any album, it was later included on the CD reissue of the band 's first album, From Her to Eternity. Charts Chart ( 1984 ) Peak position UK Indie Chart Eric Cartman version In the Comedy Central show South Park, Eric Cartman sings `` In the Ghetto '' on two separate occasions, once in `` Chickenpox '', then again when Kenny 's soul is trapped in Cartman 's body in `` A Ladder to Heaven ''. Parodies Paul Shanklin recorded a parody called `` In a Yugo '' for Rush Limbaugh, in which an environmentally conscious family buys a Yugo to save gas, only to get killed by a truck after swerving to miss a duck. Later, Shanklin updated his parody for a new generation too young to remember the Yugo, replacing it with its perceived equivalent, `` In a Hybrid ''. El Vez recorded a version titled `` En el Barrio '' that mixed humor with details about Chicano struggles. Danish Radio group `` Selvsving '' also recorded a parody called `` Ned i NATO '', which makes fun of former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen 's path to a leading post at NATO. The BBC radio comedy program Radio Active broadcast a version titled Tim the gecko. Dutch TV celebrity and comedian Paul de Leeuw released in 1992 a Dutch language translated version as his alter ego Bob de Rooy. The first Dutch - language version of the song was recorded by Flemish crooner Will Tura, whose version uses the wrong definite article ' de ' preceding the word ghetto. In the Fox sitcom New Girl, Jessica Day sings `` In the Ghetto '' as an Elvis impersonator at her roommate Nick 's father 's funeral. References Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 1993 ). Top Adult Contemporary : 1961 -- 1993. Record Research. p. 192. Jump up ^ `` YouTube ''. YouTube. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 02. Jump up ^ `` Nick Cave Discography on `` From The Archives '' ``. From The Archives. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Everyhit.com ''. everyhit.com. Archived from the original on 2007 - 02 - 17. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 10. Jump up ^ Lazell, Barry ( 1997 ). Indie Hits 1980 - 1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) Jump up ^ `` MP3 file ''. Mfile.akamai.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 02. External links Elvis and Lisa Marie Presley : `` In the Ghetto '' ( music video ) at Spinner.com Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Elvis Presley singles discography 1954 `` That 's All Right '' / `` Blue Moon of Kentucky '' `` Good Rockin ' Tonight '' / `` I Do n't Care if the Sun Do n't Shine '' `` You 're a Heartbreaker '' 1955 `` Baby Let 's Play House '' `` I Forgot to Remember to Forget '' / `` Mystery Train '' 1956 `` Heartbreak Hotel '' / `` I Was the One '' `` I Want You, I Need You, I Love You '' / `` My Baby Left Me '' `` Do n't Be Cruel '' / `` Hound Dog '' `` Blue Suede Shoes '' / `` Tutti Frutti '' `` Money Honey '' `` I Got a Woman '' `` Tryin ' to Get to You '' `` Blue Moon '' `` I 'll Never Let You Go ( Lil ' Darlin ' ) '' / `` I 'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry ( Over You ) '' `` Shake, Rattle and Roll '' / `` Lawdy Miss Clawdy '' `` Love Me Tender '' 1957 `` Too Much '' / `` Playing for Keeps '' `` All Shook Up '' `` Peace in the Valley `` ( Let Me Be Your ) Teddy Bear '' `` Paralyzed '' ( UK ) `` Jailhouse Rock '' `` Party '' / `` Got a Lot o ' Livin ' to Do ! '' ( UK ) 1958 `` Do n't '' / `` I Beg of You '' `` Wear My Ring Around Your Neck '' `` Hard Headed Woman '' / `` Do n't Ask Me Why '' `` King Creole '' ( UK ) `` One Night '' / `` I Got Stung '' 1959 `` I Need Your Love Tonight '' / `` A Fool Such as I '' `` A Big Hunk o ' Love '' 1960 `` Stuck on You '' / `` Fame and Fortune '' `` It 's Now or Never '' `` Are You Lonesome Tonight ? '' 1961 `` Surrender '' / `` Lonely Man '' `` I Feel So Bad '' / `` Wild in the Country '' `` ( Marie 's the Name ) His Latest Flame '' / `` Little Sister '' `` Ca n't Help Falling in Love '' / `` Rock - A-Hula Baby '' 1962 `` Good Luck Charm '' / `` Anything That 's Part of You '' `` She 's Not You '' `` Return to Sender '' / `` Where Do You Come From '' 1963 `` One Broken Heart for Sale '' `` ( You 're the ) Devil in Disguise '' `` Bossa Nova Baby '' / `` Witchcraft '' 1964 `` Kissin ' Cousins '' / `` It Hurts Me '' `` What 'd I Say '' / `` Viva Las Vegas '' `` Such a Night '' / `` Never Ending '' `` Ask Me '' / `` Ai n't That Loving You Baby '' `` Blue Christmas '' 1965 `` Do the Clam '' / `` You 'll Be Gone '' `` Crying in the Chapel `` ( Such an ) Easy Question '' `` I 'm Yours '' `` Puppet on a String '' / `` Wooden Heart '' 1966 `` Tell Me Why '' / `` Blue River '' `` Frankie and Johnny '' / `` Please Do n't Stop Loving Me '' `` Love Letters '' `` Spinout '' / `` All That I Am '' `` If Every Day Was Like Christmas '' 1967 `` Indescribably Blue '' `` Long Legged Girl ( With the Short Dress On ) '' / `` That 's Someone You Never Forget '' `` There 's Always Me '' / `` Judy '' `` Big Boss Man '' / `` You Do n't Know Me '' 1968 `` Guitar Man '' `` U.S. Male '' / `` Stay Away '' `` You 'll Never Walk Alone '' `` Your Time Has n't Come Yet, Baby '' / `` Let Yourself Go '' `` Almost in Love '' / `` A Little Less Conversation '' `` If I Can Dream '' / `` Edge of Reality '' 1969 `` Memories '' / `` Charro '' `` How Great Thou Art '' `` In the Ghetto '' / `` Any Day Now '' `` Clean Up Your Own Backyard '' `` Suspicious Minds '' / `` You 'll Think of Me '' `` Do n't Cry Daddy '' 1970 `` Kentucky Rain '' `` The Wonder of You '' `` I 've Lost You '' `` You Do n't Have to Say You Love Me '' / `` Patch It Up '' `` I Really Do n't Want to Know '' / `` There Goes My Everything '' 1971 `` Rags to Riches '' `` Life '' / `` Only Believe '' `` I 'm Leavin ' '' `` It 's Only Love '' `` Merry Christmas Baby '' / `` O Come All Ye Faithful '' 1972 `` Until It 's Time for You to Go '' `` He Touched Me '' `` An American Trilogy '' / `` The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face '' `` Burning Love '' / `` It 's a Matter of Time '' `` Separate Ways '' / `` Always on My Mind '' 1973 `` Steamroller Blues '' / `` Fool '' `` Raised on Rock '' / `` For Ol ' Times Sake '' `` I 've Got a Thing About You Baby '' `` If You Talk in Your Sleep '' / `` Help Me '' `` Promised Land '' / `` It 's Midnight '' `` My Boy '' / `` Thinking About You '' `` T-R-O-U-B-L-E '' `` Bringing It Back '' / `` Pieces of My Life '' 1976 `` Hurt '' / `` For the Heart '' `` Moody Blue '' 1977 `` Way Down '' `` My Way '' / `` America the Beautiful '' 1978 `` Unchained Melody '' / `` Softly as I Leave You '' Category Lisa Marie Presley Discography Studio albums To Whom It May Concern Now What Storm & Grace Singles `` Dirty Laundry '' `` In the Ghetto '' Promotional singles `` Do n't Cry Daddy '' Related articles Universal Republic Records Capitol Records Elvis Presley Priscilla Presley Michael Jackson Nicolas Cage Michael Lockwood Barry White Studio albums I 've Got So Much to Give ( 1973 ) Stone Gon ' ( 1973 ) Ca n't Get Enough ( 1974 ) Just Another Way to Say I Love You ( 1975 ) Let the Music Play ( 1976 ) Is This Whatcha Wont ? ( 1976 ) Barry White Sings for Someone You Love ( 1977 ) The Man ( 1978 ) I Love to Sing the Songs I Sing ( 1979 ) The Message Is Love ( 1979 ) Sheet Music ( 1980 ) Barry & Glodean ( with Glodean White ) ( 1981 ) Beware ! ( 1981 ) Change ( 1982 ) Dedicated ( 1983 ) The Right Night & Barry White ( 1987 ) The Man Is Back ! ( 1989 ) Put Me in Your Mix ( 1991 ) The Icon Is Love ( 1994 ) Staying Power ( 1999 ) Compilations Barry White 's Greatest Hits ( 1975 ) Barry White 's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 ( 1977 ) Heart and Soul ( 1985 ) The Collection ( 1988 ) Just for You ( 1992 ) All - Time Greatest Hits ( 1994 ) The Ultimate Collection ( 2000 ) Love Songs ( 2003 ) The Millennium Collection : The Best of Barry White ( 2003 ) White Gold : The Very Best of Barry White ( 2005 ) Gold ( 2008 ) Number Ones ( 2009 ) Unlimited ( 2009 ) Icon ( 2010 ) Icon 2 ( 2010 ) Singles `` Man Ai n't Nothin '' `` All in the Run of a Day '' `` In the Ghetto '' `` I 'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby '' `` I 've Got So Much to Give '' `` Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up '' `` Ca n't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe '' `` You 're the First, the Last, My Everything '' `` What Am I Gonna Do with You '' `` I 'll Do for You Anything You Want Me To '' `` Let the Music Play '' `` You See the Trouble with Me '' `` Baby, We Better Try to Get It Together '' `` Do n't Make Me Wait Too Long '' `` I 'm Qualified to Satisfy You '' `` It 's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me '' `` Playing Your Game, Baby '' `` Oh, What a Night for Dancing '' `` Your Sweetness Is My Weakness '' `` Just the Way You Are '' `` Sha La La Means I Love You '' `` It 's Only Love Doing Its Thing '' `` Any Fool Can See ( You Were Meant for Me ) '' `` It Ai n't Love, Babe ( Until You Give It ) '' `` I Love to Sing the Songs I Sing '' `` How Did You Know It Was Me ? '' `` Love Ai n't Easy '' `` Sheet Music '' `` Love Makin ' Music '' `` I Believe in Love '' `` Did n't We Make It Happen, Baby '' ( with Glodean White ) `` I Want You '' ( with Glodean White ) `` You 're the Only One for Me '' ( with Glodean White ) `` Louie Louie '' `` Beware '' `` Change '' `` Passion '' `` America '' `` Do n't Let Them Blow Your Mind '' `` Sho ' You Right '' `` For Your Love ( I 'll Do Most Anything ) '' `` Never, Never Gonna Give You Up '' ( Paul Hardcastle Remix ) `` Super Lover '' `` Follow That and See ( Where It Leads Y'All ) '' `` I Wanna Do It Good to Ya '' `` When Will I See You Again '' `` Put Me in Your Mix '' `` Dark and Lovely ( You Over There ) '' ( with Isaac Hayes ) `` Practice What You Preach '' `` Love Is the Icon '' `` Come On '' `` I Only Want to Be with You '' `` There It Is '' `` Staying Power '' `` The Longer We Make Love '' ( with Lisa Stansfield & Chaka Khan ) `` Let the Music Play '' ( Funkstar Deluxe Remixes ) Featured singles `` The Secret Garden ( Sweet Seduction Suite ) '' ( with Quincy Jones, Al B. Sure !, James Ingram, & El DeBarge ) `` All of Me '' ( with Big Daddy Kane ) `` Slow Jams '' ( with Quincy Jones, Babyface, Tamia, & Portrait ) `` In Your Wildest Dreams '' ( with Tina Turner ) Related articles Discography Love Unlimited The Love Unlimited Orchestra Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Martyn P. Casey Nick Cave Toby Dammit Warren Ellis Conway Savage Jim Sclavunos George Vjestica Thomas Wydler Barry Adamson Blixa Bargeld Mick Harvey James Johnston Anita Lane Kid Congo Powers Hugo Race Roland Wolf Studio albums From Her to Eternity The Firstborn Is Dead Kicking Against the Pricks Your Funeral... My Trial Tender Prey The Good Son Henry 's Dream Let Love In Murder Ballads The Boatman 's Call No More Shall We Part Nocturama Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus Dig, Lazarus, Dig ! ! ! Push the Sky Away Skeleton Tree Live albums Live Seeds Abattoir Blues Tour Live at the Royal Albert Hall Live from KCRW Compilations The Best of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds B - Sides & Rarities Lovely Creatures : The Best of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Singles `` In the Ghetto '' `` Tupelo '' `` The Singer '' `` The Mercy Seat '' `` Deanna '' `` The Ship Song '' `` The Weeping Song '' `` Straight to You '' `` I Had a Dream, Joe '' `` What a Wonderful World '' `` Do You Love Me ? '' `` Loverman '' `` Red Right Hand '' `` Where the Wild Roses Grow '' `` Henry Lee '' `` Into My Arms '' `` ( Are You ) The One That I 've Been Waiting For '' `` As I Sat Sadly by Her Side '' `` Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow '' `` Love Letter '' `` Dig, Lazarus, Dig ! ! ! '' `` More News from Nowhere '' `` Midnight Man '' `` We No Who UR '' `` Jubilee Street '' Other songs `` From Her to Eternity '' `` The Carny '' Cave and Ellis The Proposition The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford The Road Lawless West of Memphis Hell or High Water Grinderman Grinderman Grinderman 2 `` Get It On '' `` No Pussy Blues '' `` ( I Do n't Need You To ) Set Me Free '' `` Heathen Child '' `` Worm Tamer '' `` Palaces of Montezuma '' `` Evil '' Grinderman discography Related articles Discography Bad Seeds members 20,000 Days on Earth One More Time With Feeling And the Ass Saw the Angel The Birthday Party Dirty Three Ghosts... of the Civil Dead Original Seeds Tuff Monks Category Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=In_the_Ghetto&oldid=835277510 '' Categories : 1960s ballads 1969 singles 1984 singles 1969 songs Elvis Presley songs Irish Singles Chart number - one singles Mac Davis songs Nick Cave songs Number - one singles in Australia Number - one singles in Germany Number - one singles in New Zealand Number - one singles in Norway Song recordings produced by Chips Moman Song recordings produced by Flood ( producer ) Songs about Chicago Songs about crime Songs about poverty Songs written by Mac Davis RCA Victor singles Rock ballads Hidden categories : CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown Articles needing additional references from July 2015 All articles needing additional references Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Deutsch Español Français Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano Nederlands Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Svenska ไทย Türkçe 6 more Edit links This page was last edited on 7 April 2018, at 18 : 01. 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Question: who wrote in the ghetto by elvis presley
Answer: Mac Davis