Me and Bobby McGee


"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson intended. A posthumously released version by Janis Joplin topped the U.S. singles chart in 1971, making the song the second posthumously released No. 1 single in U.S. chart history after " The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding. Jerry Lee Lewis also released a version reaching number 1 on the country charts in 1971. Billboard ranked Joplin's version as the No. 11 song for 1971.
Other recordings of the song include those by Waylon Jennings, Grateful Dead, Loretta Lynn, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, Gordon Lightfoot, Dolly Parton, Olivia Newton-John, Johnny Cash, and Kristofferson himself,

History

The suggestion for the title came from producer and Monument Records founder Fred Foster.
Kristofferson explained that in the song he was trying to convey the despair of the last scene of Frederico Fellini’s ‘’La Strada’’.

Narrative

The song is the story of two drifters, the narrator and Bobby McGee. The couple hitch a ride from a truck driver and sing as they drive through the American South. They visit California and then part ways, with the song's narrator expressing sadness afterwards. Due to the singer's name never being mentioned and the name "Bobby" being gender neutral, the song has been recorded by both male and female singers with only minor differences in the lyrical content.

Recordings and notable performances

Roger Miller was the first artist to record the song and it appeared at No. 12 on the U.S. country chart in 1969. Kenny Rogers and The First Edition recorded the song and released it on their album Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town in 1969. On the Canadian charts, Gordon Lightfoot's version hit No. 13 on the pop music chart and No. 1 on the country music chart in 1970. The song was included on the 1970 Statler Brothers album Bed of Rose's, but was not released as a single.
Kristofferson recorded his own version of the song on his debut album Kristofferson in 1970. Later that year, his version of the song appeared in Monte Hellman's psychedelic road movie Two-Lane Blacktop. Kristofferson also appears briefly singing the song in the 1971 Dennis Hopper film The Last Movie.
Joplin recorded the song for inclusion on her Pearl album only a few days before her death in October 1970. Kristofferson had sung the song for her, and singer Bob Neuwirth taught it to her. Kristofferson did not know she had recorded it until after her death. The first time he heard her recording of it was the day after she died. Joplin's version topped the charts to become her only number one single and in 2004, her version of this song was ranked No. 148 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Roger Miller version

Gordon Lightfoot version

Janis Joplin version

Chart Peak
position
Australia KMR1
Canada RPM6
New Zealand10
U.S. Billboard Hot 1001
U.S. Cash Box Top 1003

Jerry Lee Lewis version

Year-end charts

Selected list of recorded versions