Written by Kris Kristofferson and made intergalacticly famous by Janis Joplin, whose version posthumously hit No. 1 hit after she passed away (a member of the tragic 27 Club), “Me and Bobby McGee” has come to be known as a classic tangy rock song. But what is the song about? Who is the singer and who is Bobby McGee?
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A Love Song
At their core, all great songs are love songs. And this one is no different. The singer wails about the specific, great times she had with Bobby. However you interpret the characters, as Joplin sings it, she tells the story of being broken down in Louisiana. She and Bobby are waiting for a train when he gets the gumption to track down a car and hitchhike.
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In the car, Bobby and the singer play songs for the driver (this is pre-car radio, it would seem). Sings Joplin,
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
You know the times are good and the bond is great because Joplin sings in the chorus,
Freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose
Nothin’, don’t mean nothin’ hon’ if it ain’t free, no-no
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
Death
And all great love stories, of course, must end somehow. The greatest end in death. With the loves still ensconced in each other, the Grim Reaper takes hold. This, too, happens with the singer and Bobby. Sings Joplin,
One day up near Salinas, Lord, I let him slip away
He’s lookin’ for that home, and I hope he finds it
But, I’d trade all of my tomorrows, for one single yesterday
To be holdin’ Bobby’s body next to mine
While the song doesn’t explicitly say Bobby dies, he slips away, looking for that home. If it is not a literal passing, it certainly gets to the idea.
But Who Was Bobby McGee?
While there was no actual Bobby McGee, the name comes from Barbara “Bobbie” McKee, whose name Kristofferson misheard as he was writing the song. Producer Fred Foster had suggested the name for the character and, however, Kristofferson heard it, it stuck.
The song is also based, in part, on the Fellini film, La Strada, Kristofferson said, in which a man in the midst of war looks up to the stars and weeps.
Photo by Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
