You ever get a tune stuck in your head, one that comes around like a merry go round, and you can’t shake it?
Please don’t come at me with Baby Shark.
For me, lately, it’s been “Me and Bobby McGee.” I don’t know why, but it started with me humming its most famous line, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”
Wow.
As you may know, it was written by Kris Kristofferson, now 84, whose early interests were in writing, and who was a Rhodes scholar.
He wrote the song on assignment, the catch being Bobby was female, and Roger Miller was the first artist to record it.
But the version everyone remembers was by Janis Joplin, who had dated Kristofferson for a time. Her version was released after her death, and it was her version that keeps playing in my mind.
But as I tried to sing it, I realized I didn’t know all the words, couldn’t really hear them all, the bluesy way Janis sang it. It was only after I downloaded the lyrics that I could see Kris’ genius with the idiom, the vernacular of the people in the song. Note especially the use of “I’s.” (You may sing along.)
Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin’ for a train
When I’s feelin’ near as faded as my jeans
Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained
And rode us all the way into New Orleans
I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana
I’s playin’ soft while Bobby sang the blues
Windshield wipers slappin’ time
I’s holdin’ Bobby’s hand in mine
We sang every song that driver knew
Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose
Nothin’, it ain’t nothin’ honey, if it ain’t free
And feelin’ good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues
You know feelin’ good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee
From the Kentucky coal mines to the California sun
Yeah, Bobby shared the secrets of my soul
Through all kinds of weather, through everything we done
Yeah, Bobby baby kept me from the cold
One day up near Salinas, Lord, I let him slip away
He’s lookin’ for that home and I hope he finds it
Well, I’d trade all my tomorrows for one single yesterday
To be holdin’ Bobby’s body next to mine
Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose
Nothin’, and that’s all that Bobby left me
Well, feelin’ good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues
And feelin’ good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee, yeah
La da da, la da daa, la da daa da daa da daa
La da da da daa dadada Bobby McGee-ah
La li daa da daa daa, la da daa da daa
La la laa la daada Bobby McGee-ah yeah
La di da, ladida la dida la di daa, ladida la dida la di daa
Hey now Bobby now now Bobby McGee yeah
Lo lo lo lolo lo lo laa, lololo lo lolo lo lolo lo lolo lo la laa
Hey now Bobby now now Bobby McGee yeah
Lord, I called him my lover, I called him my man
I said I called him my lover, did the best I can
C’mon, hey now Bobby now, hey now Bobby McGee, yeah
Lo lo Lord, a Lord, a Lord, a Lord, a Lord, a Lord, a Lord, oh
Hey, hey, hey, Bobby McGee, Lord
I have no idea if the last couple of stanzas were written or riffed. I also have a quibble. The diesel that “rode us all the way into New Orleans”? That’s 81 miles, and you sang “every song that driver knew”? Sounds like he didn’t know that many.
Like I said, a quibble.
Is there a tune stuck in your head? Tell me about it.
HAPPY SATURDAY !!!
yo pallie !
I wasn’t aware that you were a songbird. I couldn’t carry a tune in a wheelbarrow !
As a mere child, coming from a family full of musicians, we would play all types of music. Especially Italian. That usually meant that the last song played was with you all day, until you picked up your instrument and started playing again.
BTW. Kris was/is an interesting guy. Read his story. You would never think it, but he was a Army helicopter pilot and should have been an instructor, but left the service. On to other things. Who knew ?!?
Tony
Anyone who followed the link in my column knew it, pallie. Also took Ranger training.
not I
Ever since Mary Wilson died – Back in my arms again 1965 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-iNQ-E_b6Y
Well, how about a variation on a theme? I did percussion all the way from Junior High to Senior High, including (what was then called) “All City Band,” while growing up in Camden. So, most of the tunes stuck in my head had a tendency to lack words. LoL. Hey – different stokes, ya know?
But, since you asked, the tune that’s stuck most in my head over the years: the Overture of 1812.
Hey – you asked!
1812 one of my favorite classics — because of the cannon!
try strawinski’s ‘
l’oiseau de feu’
Or “Mars” from The Planets by Gustav Holtz.
Randy,
Being from Camden, was it you that carried the firecrackers ?
T
Tony….
Nah – I was one of those stupid kids that toed the mark, so to speak, and graduated. Heck, back then, all we ever knew about sex and other perversions came from magazines and National Geographic.
Closest I came to fireworks was one of the kids in chem class who was into model rockets. LoL
since Mary Wilson died 1965 back in my arms again https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-iNQ-E_b6Y
Thanks for the 3 minutes of joy.
An Oldie: I love those dear hearts and gentle people that live and love in my home town.
Pre-rock era. I remember it.
Stu, another well timed article. It’s like you’re living in my head… and not in the TDS kind of way 😉.
I travel for work frequently and use that “me time” to first catch up on sleep, and second, watch a movie of my choosing (3 kids at home). On my last flight I watched Bohemian Rhapsody. Hearing those 70’s and 80’s hits brought back some great memories (excluding the fashion) and literally seared “Under Pressure” in my subconscious. The opening chords (sampled and stolen by many since), the back and forth between Freddy and Bowie’s different and powerful voices, with the crescendos at “It’s the terror of knowing what this world is about. watching some good friends screaming, let me out” and again with “this is our last dance, this is ourselves”…
Chills… I wish appreciated them more when they were alive. Under Pressure…
gotta watch that’n
many thx-I have chronic lyricosis and am always surprised at what I missed…..any mention of kristofferson recalls his performance in ‘Rollover’ with Jane Fonda….Rotten tomatoes brutally disparaged his acting but it’s a great story I watch over and over
I love this song and love Janis. Sort of a raspy Rod Stewart voice but not strainy. Will never be duplicated. And this is all I will leave you all ❤
Sponge Bob did a great riff on the ear worm, that worm that gets into your brain and plays the same song over and over and over until you’re ready to run your head through a wall. Well, you picked the ONLY song my wife ever went and bought for me…Janis Joplin and “Me and Bobby McGee.” I listen to Joplin and marvel at her voice, sadly silenced forever by her reckless like and drug and booze addiction. What is it with musicians that they feel it necessary to kill themselves — often in their relative youth? Here’s some C&W lyrics from a frustrated guy who can’t carry a tune in a bucket.
It’s called, “It Ain’t About You Any More.”
“I MADE YOUR BED AND COOKED YOUR MEALS,
I RAN YOU DOGS AND WASHED YOUR WHEELS,,
BUT NOW I’M SHOWIN’ YOU THE DOOR,
IT AIN’T ABOUT YOU ANY MORE.
I BOUGHT YOUR BOOZE AND ROLL-YOUR-OWNS
I ALWAYS LET YOU JUMP MY BONES,
BUT NOW I’M SHOWIN’ YOU THE DOOR,
IT AIN’T ABOUT YOU ANY MORE.
IT’S TIME, YOU CLOWN, TO SAY GOOD-BYE,
DON’T YOU FRET NONE, I WON’T CRY,
SO GRAB YOUR DOGS AND TAKE YOUR TRUCK,
YOU JUST FLAT RAN OUTTA LUCK!
WHERE’S IT SAY A WIFE’S A SLAVE?
YOU ALWAYS TOOK AND NEVER GAVE,
SO PACK YOU GUNS, GO MEET YOUR WHORE,
IT AIN’T ABOUT YOU ANY MORE.”.
I freely give this to anyone who can put it to music.
Vince I think the downside for musicians, as opposed to hollywood, is the road. If you’re not performing you’re not selling. They’ll do a month or so in the studio and the rest on the road. In the fifties traveling long distances by car between one night gigs, most found how amphetamines kept them awake. J Cash and other country as well as the rock n rollers used the stuff. Much harder drugs now. I’m not excusing. In general I guess it’s the fame. IMHO
Try singing Blue Suede Shoes to your lyrics..with a little variation😀
It’s nice when you have a good tune stuck in your brain like Bobby McGee. Before the tv remote those commercial jingles were my nemesis. The mute button, a gift for everyone!
Lately, like you Stu, it’s been “Against The Wind,” for me by Bob Seger. His famous line “Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then,” he struggled to use. What gifted lyricists they are, both still rollin’!
Kris Kristofferson’s ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ by Johnny Cash is one of my favorites. All three singer-songwriters’ use simple, easy chords to accompany their work.
I read Kris’s father disowned him and never reconciled?? He expected him to have a miltary career. Kris also attended Oxford and was a good athlete.
“Thanks for the memories”
“Against the Wind” is great, and singable. Kristofferson supposedly delivered “Sunday Morning …” to Cash by helicopter to make him listen to it.
After reading a JC bio I went on to read Roy Orbison’s. And others. The things you learn about your favorite artists’ can be shocking, but understandable. Very few were good examples, but redeemable. Like us all, I suppose?
Philadelphia, PA
Dear Stu,
Here’s a tune that keeps running through my mind: Lara Fabian singing her “Broken Vow.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz652lYv9es
This runs about 5.5 Min. Its a very beautiful song, poetic and Fabian is a marvelous, very classy performer. If you don’t yet know Lara Fabian look her up. She’s part Italian in background and was brought up in Belgium –and now mostly lives in Canada.
If you understand the lyrics, you will see the song concerns the meaning of “freedom.” See why “freedom” means more than “nothing left to loose.” Freedom is something you can give to another –to your own benefit.
(Much as Lincoln freed the slaves –to our benefit?)
H.G. Callaway
She was new to me and that is quite a torch song.
That lady can sing. I knew it sounded familar. My wife is a fan of Josh Groban and it’s one he sings.
Come Dancing by the Kinks.As I listen and watch the video it reminds me of the sad passing of the greatest generation and the angst of dating in South Philly back in the day.I think it is a perfect blend of swing & rock and the video is one of the best ever.
My song is ”I’m Sorry”. When in Vietnam I listened to it and was sorry I enlisted.
Thanks for your service.
My head is often a sanctuary city for Brandy by Looking Glass.
Oooo, you’re a fine girl….
Stu. For me it’s not a song but usually spiece of music. Being an amateur musician. I often play a tune in my head to e g the ticking of a clock. It also happens when I can’t sleep
More than”amateur” on the piano, if I recall.
I wonder if Heavy Metal fans ever get a Neil Sedaka song stuck in their head.
You’d be surprised how many of their writers are into Classical and introduce it in their music. My son knows more ”high brow’ music then I do.
The tragedy to me was the loss of many of the above who could have cut more albums with lyrics to match life’s moments over the years. One of my favorites was Joplin but in my mind, every era had a favorite. I always admired strong voices beginning with Jan Peerce; “Bluebird of Happiness” and Mario Lanza, “Because of you.”
Today many performers do cross-over music covering different genres. An example would be David Draiman lead singer of the heavy metal band Disturbed who made the record, “The sound of silence the big hit in 2015.” Even though we can remember many great singers we also watch the lyrics of today preach violence and revolution while the kids dance on their way to a protest rally. Age can raise more questions than it can answer.
For me it’s always church songs because I’m the cantor, the person who is supposed to lead the congregation in song, at the 5:00 Mass on Sunday evenings and the 8:00 Mass on Sunday mornings. Always spend the rest of my Sundays with the songs for that weekend stuck in my head. Fortunately they change from week to week so it doesn’t last beyond a few days.
More to your point, I agree with Tom’s post referencing “Against the Wind” and also “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by any artist who has recorded it, but especially Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.
After all these years of practicing my faith I now understand why it’s so important being there. Thank you EWTN for filling in.
Love Janis, for me it’s “Oh Lord wont you buy me a Mercedes-Benz.” Saw Janis at the Irwin Auditorium with Big Brother. They were the opening act for the Soul Survivors.