Feel so bad
Like a ball game on a rainy day
Feel so bad
Like a ball game on a rainy day
Yes' I got my rain check
Shake my head and walk away

Oooo-people that's the way I feel
Oooo-people that's the way I feel
Sometimes I think I want
Then again I think I don't
Sometimes I want to stay here
Then again I want to leave here
Then again I want to stay
Yes, I got my train fare
Pack my grip and ride away

Oooo-people that's the way I feel
Oooo-people that's the way I feel
Sometimes I think I want
Then again I think I don't

RCA 47-7880, 1961, Wild In The Country / I Feel So Bad

RCA Studios, Nashville, March 12, 1961

Chuck Willis wrote and recorded I Feel So Bad (Okeh 7029) in 1954, using the title Feel So Bad. The recording reached #8 on the rhythm and blues chart. Other popular versions include those by Little Milton (Checker 1162) in 1967 and Ray Charles (ABC 11308) in 1971, both using the title Feel So Bad.

Elvis recorded I Feel So Bad on March 12, 1961, at RCA's Nashville studios. He copied Willis's version almost note for note, including a blown line. Both versions featured a piano and saxophone (Floyd Cramer and Boots Randolph played on Elvis's recording). Elvis's single release had a nine-week stay on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, peaking at #5. It reached #15 on the rhythm and blues chart. Sales of over one million copies are claimed.