Tuesday May 30th
It’s a beautiful day to begin our summer vacation on.. The temperature is 70°, the dew point is 68°. It’s very still out.. there is a bit of a haze in the air.
It’s also very quiet this morning. I am not hearing much in the way of traffic sounds.. but then again, I am sitting on the back porch and not the front. All around the backyard birds are singing to mark their territories. In the distance I can hear lawn mowers.. I wonder if they’re in my front yard?
This morning I have the ceiling fans on and it’s almost uncomfortably cool with them on high..
The past few days I’ve noticed that I’ve heard a number of singers cover “Me and Bobby McGee” on my Amazon Prime playlist. This had me wondering just how many artists had covered Kris Kristofferson’s song. Googling the question led to some interesting facts…
“Me and Bobby McGee” has become a rock classic over the years. Written by Kris Kristofferson (Fred Foster shares a writing credit), this iconic song was first conceptualized with just a title — inspired by a real person.
Foster had a bit of a crush on Barbara “Bobbie” McKee who was a secretary on Nashville’s music row. When he pitched the title to Kristofferson, he misheard the name as “Me and Bobby McGee,” and the name stuck.
The thing that started me down this particular rabbit hole was hearing a version of the song by the Grateful Dead (September 1971) followed by Willie Nelson’s version (October 1979).. then finally, it was a version recorded by Gordon Lightfoot (April 1970). The first recording of “Me and Bobby McGee” was by Roger Miller (May 21, 1969). Over 250 versions of this song have been made in the last 54 years…
Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose
Songwriter(s) Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster
Nothin’, and that’s all that Bobby left me
Well feelin’ good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues
Hey feelin’ good was good enough for me, mhm
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee
Janis Joplin was the 20th artist to record the song in January 1971. Here is her version… One of the few that isn’t in my playlist…
Well, I guess I better go back in.. I could hear breakfast calling my name. And yes, the mowers are in my yard.. so I’ll catch y’all on the other side…
