Me and Bobby McGee

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (April 2009)

Original album cover from Roger Miller

"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, originally performed by Roger Miller. Janis Joplin notably covered the song on the album Pearl. The song was recorded only a few days before her death in October 1970.

Some sources state that Gordon Lightfoot issued the first recorded version. Another story tells how Kristofferson popped his head into the studio with freshly written verses as Roger Miller was recording the song. Regardless, Miller was the first artist to have a hit with the song, peaking with it at #12 on the US country charts in 1969. Lightfoot's version hit #13 pop, and #1 country in his native Canada in 1970. In a 2008 autobiography, Don Reid and Harold Reid of the Statler Brothers say Kristofferson promised it to them, but when they later inquired about recording it, they learned Miller had already cut the song. The Reids say there were no hard feelings, and were happy about Miller's success with the song. The song was later included on a Statler Brothers album, but was not released as a single.

Janis Joplin also covered the song on her 1971 Pearl album. Kristofferson had sung the song for Joplin, and singer Bob Neuwirth taught it to her. Kristofferson, however, did not know she had covered it until after her death (the first time he heard it was the day after she died).^[1] Joplin's version topped the charts to become her only number one single and only the second posthumous number one single in rock & roll history (the first was "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding). In 2004, the Janis Joplin version of this song was ranked #148 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Kristofferson performed the song live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 and a CD and DVD of the event were issued 30 years later as Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival 1970. The Janis Joplin version was used prominently in the epilogue of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's epic film of Berlin Alexanderplatz.

In the original version of the song, Bobby is a woman; Janis Joplin, who was a lover and a friend of Kristofferson's from the beginning of her career to her death, changed the sex and a few of the lyrics in her cover. Kristofferson states he did not write this song for her, but the song is associated with her. Especially, he has said, in the line, "Somewhere near Salinas, Lord, I let her slip away."^{[citation needed]}

The line about "Bobby and I Sang the Blues", was adopted by Don Mcclean for the song "American Pie" when he met a girl who "Sang the Blues", hoping for some "Happy News", but "She just smiled and turned away".

The line: "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose/ But nothing ain't worth nothing but it's free", is listed in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations under Kris Kristoffison's name.

Selected list of recorded versions

• 1969 Roger Miller on the album Roger Miller 1970
• 1969 Kenny Rogers & The First Edition on the album Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town
• 1970 Ramblin' Jack Elliott on the album Bull Durham Sacks & Railroad Tracks
• 1970 Gordon Lightfoot on the album Sit Down Young Stranger
• 1970 Kris Kristofferson on his debut album Kristofferson ( Listen (help·info)) (Kristofferson's version also appears in the film "Two-Lane Blacktop")
• 1970 Bill Haley & His Comets on the album Rock Around the Country. (According to the biography Bill Haley by John Swenson, Kristofferson gave Haley's version his seal of approval.)
• 1970 Sam The Sham from the Atlantic single "Me And Bobby McGee/Key To The Highway" (Atlantic #2757)
• 1971 Janis Joplin U.S. number-one single, and on the album Pearl ( Listen (help·info))
• 1971 & 1972 Jerry Lee Lewis (flip side to "Would You Take Another Chance on Me") and on "The Killer Rocks On"
• 1971 Dottie West on the album Have You Heard...
• 1971 The Grateful Dead on the album Skull & Roses, and numerous other live recordings
• 1971 Loretta Lynn on the album I Wanna Be Free
• 1972 Johnny Cash on the live På Österåker
• 1972 Jeannie C. Riley On her Give myself a party Album
• 1973 Waylon Jennings on the album Lonesome, On'ry and Mean
• 1973 Chet Atkins on the album Alone
• 1973 Thelma Houston on Thelma Houston (1972)
• 1973 Olivia Newton-John on the album Let Me Be There
• 1974 Cornelis Vreeswijk on the album Getinghonung (Swedish lyrics: Jag och Bosse Lidén)
• 1975 Lonnie Donegan
• 1979 Gianna Nannini (Io E Bobby McGee) on the album California
• 1992 Micke Muster on the album Live In Norway
• 1994 Melissa Etheridge on the album Acoustic
• 1999 LeAnn Rimes on the album LeAnn Rimes
• 1999 Barb Jungr on the album Bare
• 2000 Sleepy LaBeuf on the album Larger than Life 3
• 2002 Anne Murray on the album Country Croonin'
• 2002 Jennifer Love Hewitt on the album Bare Naked
• 2002 Waterloo & Robinson (Ich und BobbyMcGee) on the album Marianne
• 2003 Jerry Jeff Walker on the album Too Old To Change
• 2004 Pink on the album Live in Europe
• 2004 Gunter Gabriel on the album Freiheit ist ein Abenteuer
• 2005 Allison Crowe on the double-album Live at Wood Hall
• 2005 Dolly Parton on the album Those Were The Days ( Listen (help·info))
• 2005 Arlo Guthrie on the album Live In Sydney
• 2005 Tori Amos live in Hartford 4 Oct 2005
• 2006 Dale Ann Bradley on the album Catch Tomorrow
• 2007 Angela Kalule on the album Last King Of Scotland OST
• 2007 Caroline af Ugglas on the album Joplin på Svenska
• 2007 Loquillo y los trogloditas on the album Companeros de Viaje
• 2007 Jennie Devoe on the album Busted Flat

Other artists

References

External links

• A list of selected artists who covered "Me and Bobby McGee"