The Kris Kristofferson Lyric He Wrote From a Donated Title

Some wonderful songs have been written by folks who weren’t particularly motivated until given a prompt from an outside source. Such is the case of “Me and Bobby McGee,” the song that inspired perhaps the greatest studio performance of the all-too brief career of Janis Joplin.

Most casual fans likely know the legendary Kris Kristofferson wrote “Me and Bobby McGee.” But what you might not know is Kristofferson only began writing once the title for the track was suggested to him.

Running With the Title

Kris Kristofferson had already established himself as a top songwriter-for-hire in the late ’60s when he received a phone call from Fred Foster, who was looking for material for his company Monument Records. Foster gave Kristofferson the title “Me and Bobby McKee” as a starting point. Bobby McKee was the secretary of the famous songwriter Boudleaux Bryant, and Foster thought the name was striking. He especially thought it clever that it would throw folks when they realized that Bobby, usually a male name, was a female in the song.

Kristofferson wasn’t sure what to make of the suggestion, as he’d never written based on a random prompt like that before. But he decided he’d try. He had misheard what Foster told him on the phone, which is why the song he started writing would be entitled “Me and Bobby McGee.” And he’d give Foster a co-writing credit, even though the title was the extent of his contributions.

Kristofferson had a title, and he started to form a melody based on the rhythmic feel of a Mickey Newbury song he liked. As for the bulk of the lyrics, the songwriter started musing on the film La Strada, directed by Federico Fellini. He didn’t aim to copy the plot. Instead, he wanted to capture the sorrowful vibes of the main character, who insists on leading an unencumbered lifestyle but eventually gets swallowed up by loneliness.

Versions of “Me and Bobby McGee” starting popping up in 1969. Most notably, Roger Miller did a take that became a country hit. But the most iconic version came from Janis Joplin, who recorded it for her album Pearl, laying down the track just a few days before she died in 1970. The song became a posthumous hit for her when released as a single in 1971.

Examining the Lyrics to “Me and Bobby McGee”

When Joplin sang “Me and Bobby McGee,” she turned the titular character into a man. But the emotional core of the song remained unchanged. It’s still one of the finest songs to depict that feeling of realizing the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

The narrator sets the scene in an unforgettable opening couplet: Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin’ for a train / When I’s feelin’ near as faded as my jeans. After hailing a passing truck for a ride, she pulls out her guitar. She recounts the simple beauty of that moment: Windshield wipers slappin’ time / I’s holdin’ Bobby’s hand in mind / We sang every song that driver knew.

In the second verse, she continues to sing Bobby’s praises as the best caretaker of her soul she’s ever known. But then, just like that, he’s gone and regret envelops her: But I’d trade all my tomorrows for one single yesterday / To be holdin’ Bobby’s body next to mine.

The refrains allow the narrator to reflect, too little, too late, on the mistake she made, thanks to Kristiofferson’s most iconic line: Freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose. She now knows she had all she needed once upon a time: That feelin’ good was good enough for me.

It’s easy to wonder if Kris Kristofferson would have come up with something similar to “Me and Bobby McGee” had he not been prompted by Fred Foster’s suggestion. In any case, that jumping-off point led him to deliver an unforgettably melancholic tale, one that was given the ultimate rendering by Janis Joplin.

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