"In the Garden" by Elvis Presley was Inspired by a Vision

Elvis Presley is the only artist that was successful in three music genres namely rock and roll, country, and gospel. Thus, he is the only artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Hall of Fame. But today, we’ll talk about his gospel album specifically his song “In the Garden” and the story behind it.

Elvis Presley’s “In the Garden”

The song “In the Garden” was in Elvis’ gospel album How Great Thou Art. This was the 9th studio album of the singer. In addition, the album contains other gospel hits such as “How Great Thou Art,” “Where Could I Go But to the Lord,” and “Crying in the Chapel.”

This old hymn was written by C. Austin Miles. Miles later recalled on Forty Gospel Hymn Stories the inspiration for his song:

“One day in March, 1912, I was seated in the dark room, where I kept my photographic equipment and organ. I drew my bible toward me; it opened at my favorite chapter, John 20-whether by chance or inspiration let each reader decide.”

He went on and told a story about his vision in which he saw and heard Mary Magdalene. In this vision, Mary was crying outside the tomb of Jesus. After his dream, Miles wakes up with tense muscles and heart beating so fast. Under this situation, he wrote the hymn that was made famous by Elvis Presley.

Lyrics Breakdown

And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am his own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

Nothing feels better than to know that the Lord is with us all the time. Miles, the songwriter, made sure that the dream he had about Jesus was translated into good music.

A mere vision of Jesus Christ made a great impact on someone’s life. The song intends to remind us that the Lord will always take care of us. We are his children, and we will be accompanied as we journey through this life.