George Harrison's account i) of talking to Elvis, backstage on June 10, 1972, from a Creem magazine interview in 1987 and ii) from Paul Simpson's The Rough Guide To Elvis p. 215

I met him later at Madison Square Garden. And at that time, I had my uniform, the worn-out denim jacket and jeans—looked like a rag-man and I had a big beard and moustache and long hair down to my waist. They took me to meet him and I'm sitting there, thinking "Well, where’s Elvis, then?" And finally he came out of the back and he was immaculate. I felt like a real grubby little slug and he looked like Lord Siva or something, seemed to be about eight feet tall and his hair was black and his tan was perfect and he had this big white suit, a gold belt about four feet wide and he was towering above me so I just put a hand out and said "Hello, Elvis, how are you?"—just cowering like this little rag-man. (In fact) we all loved him and he's still there in his spirit and in his music...ii) Jesus Christ said "Put your own house in order"' and Elvis said "Clean up your own backyard" so if everybody tries to fix themselves up, rather than trying to fix everybody else up, there won't be a problem.

— George Harrison

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I met him later at Madison Square Garden. And at that time, I had my uniform, the worn-out denim jacket and jeans—looked like a rag-man and I had a big beard and moustache and long hair down to my waist. They took me to meet him and I'm sitting there, thinking "Well, where’s Elvis, then?" And finally he came out of the back and he was immaculate. I felt like a real grubby little slug and he looked like Lord Siva or something, seemed to be about eight feet tall and his hair was black and his tan was perfect and he had this big white suit, a gold belt about four feet wide and he was towering above me so I just put a hand out and said "Hello, Elvis, how are you?"—just cowering like this little rag-man. (In fact) we all loved him and he's still there in his spirit and in his music...ii) Jesus Christ said "Put your own house in order"' and Elvis said "Clean up your own backyard" so if everybody tries to fix themselves up, rather than trying to fix everybody else up, there won't be a problem." in the context of "George Harrison's account i) of talking to Elvis, backstage on June 10, 1972, from a Creem magazine interview in 1987 and ii) from Paul Simpson's The Rough Guide To Elvis p. 215" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Elvis Presley" (Quotes about Elvis Presley: The last names, or first or given names by which people are best known and whose quotes are included below are arranged alphabetically, for ease of reference. When the person being quoted has a royal, or religious title, they can be found by looking for their first or adopted name. Examples: Bhumibol King of Thailand; Elizabeth II Queen of England; Albert II Prince of Monaco; Astrid, Princess of Norway; Deborah Duchess of Devonshire; Pope Benedict XVI ., H) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 05, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Elvis Presley

About Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley (8 January 1935 – 16 August 1977) was an American singer, musician, and actor. Popularly known by his first name as "Elvis," as "The King of Rock and Roll" or simply as "The King," he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century.