☝️ Key Points
- The narrator is suffering from a broken heart.
- A friend of the narrator tells him about his new love, Marie, who is the same woman the narrator loves.
- Although the narrator tries to appear happy on the outside, he is deeply hurt and sad on the inside.
- Marie recently swore eternal love to the narrator, which makes the betrayal particularly painful.
- The central theme of the song is the pain caused by betrayal and lost love.
Interpretation
The song 'His Latest Flame' by
Elvis Presley tells the story of a broken heart. An old friend of the narrator visits him and enthusiastically tells him about his new love, Marie. The friend is deeply in love and describes Marie as having 'the longest, blackest hair' and the 'prettiest green eyes ever'.
The narrator tries to be happy for his friend and smiles, but inside, the tears are burning - 'Though I smiled the tears inside were a-burning'. He wishes his friend luck and says goodbye, but his friend's words echo within him.
The tragedy of the story is that Marie is the woman who swore eternal love to the narrator just the day before - 'Would you believe that yesterday, This girl was in my arms and swore to me, She'd be mine eternally'. Now he discovers that she is his friend's 'latest flame'. The song therefore deals with the pain of betrayal and lost love.