amerpie's Full Review: Me and Bobby McGee by Kris Kristofferson
When Kris Kristofferson caught the attention of the Nashville establishment in the early 70s, no one knew quite what to think of him. Kristofferson wrote Grammy winning songs for the likes of Roger Miller and Johnny Cash. It wasn’t until the release of Me and Bobby McGee (originally titled Kristofferson) that anyone knew that the song writer was also quite a singer.
There are few performers who have a background as interesting as does Kristofferson. He was a Rhodes scholar, an Army helicopter pilot, and an instructor as West Point. He quickly shed that image and became known for his preference for long hair and blue jeans, the outfit he normally wore to the Grammy awards.
Me and Bobby McGee is an album that continues to withstand the test of time. The songs on it are as applicable to 2000 as they were to 1970.
1. Blame It on the Stones(Kristofferson) - 2:43
Mr. Marvin Middle Class is really in a stew
Wondering what the younger generations coming to
This hilarious song, set to a New Orleans style jazzy gospel rhythm lampoons the hypocritical adults who worry about the problems of young people. Despite their own drug use (tranquilizers), and their adulterous longings, the oldies decide to blame the problems of youth on the Rolling stones
2. To Beat the Devil(Kristofferson) - 4:39
You can still hear me singing
To the people who don't listen
To the things that I am saying
Praying someone’s gonna hear
Kristofferson dedicated this song to Johnny Cash whom he 'd seen in Nashville immediately before Cash married June Carter and got clean and sober. Although on the surface it's a funny folk tale, underneath it's almost theological in nature. Kristofferson learns to beat the devil by singing his own message instead of giving in to what the messes think they want to hear.
3. Me and Bobby McGee(Foster/Kristofferson) - 4:18
Busted flat in Baton Rouge
Headin for the train
Feeking nearly faded as my jeans
Bobby thumbed a diesel down
Just before it rained
Took us all the way to New Orleans
Arguably one of the best songs of the 20th century, Janis Joplin's version is better known than Kristofferson's. Who can forget the immortal line "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"?I still don't know what it means, but I know I like it.
4. Best of All Possible Worlds(Kristofferson) - 2:58
I was driving through a summer rain
Trying to catch the evening train and
Kill that old familiar pain
Weaving through my tangled brain
This song is about the adventures of a drunk who gets a complementary night's the local hoosegow for driving into the back of a parked police car. It's darker side is all about self-destructiveness and alcoholism.
5. Help Me Make It Through the Night(Kristofferson) - 2:23
Take the ribbon from your hair
Shake it loose and let it fall
Laying salt upon my skin
Like the shadows on the wall
Sammi Smith made this a hit on the country and pop charts. It is one of Kristofferson's best known songs. Someone said that all songs are love songs. This one is supposed to be about a lover, but you can almost hear Kristofferson singing it to a bottle if you try hard enough.
6. Law Is for Protection Of the People(Kristofferson) - 2:37
The law is for protection of the people
Rules are rules and any fool can see
We don't need no drunks like Billy Dalton
Scaring decent folks like you and me
Here, Kristofferson once again shows his affection for the sick drunk while also showing his disaffection for the self assured finger pointers. Like most of his songs, this is an easy one to sing along with when you’re by yourself in the car.
7. Casey's Last Ride(Kristofferson) - 3:32
The poison that he's breathing
Has the dirty smell of dying
Because it's never seen the sunshine
And it's never felt the rain
I don't know. This song makes me want to slit my wrists. It is in the grand country tradition of lost love and a lack of redemption. As a bonus, it also has a train in it, and a bar.
8. Just the Other Side of Nowhere(Kristofferson) - 3:36
I come from just the other side of nowhere
To this big time lonesome town
They've got a lot of ice and snow here
Half as cold as the people that I've found
This is a wonderful song about the alienation of a newcomer in a strange place. I'm not quite sure where the town is located; I just hope it isn't my hometown.
9. Darby's Castle(Kristofferson) - 3:16
See the ruin on the hill
Where the smoke is hanging still
Like an echo of an age long forgotten
There's a story of a home
Buried beneath those fallen stones
Kristofferson does an excellent job of attacking materialism and reminding us that there is more to each of us then the stuff we own. Some may think that the allegory is a little to obvious. I don't.
10. For the Good Times(Kristofferson) - 3:22
Don't look so sad
I know it's over
But life goes on
And this old world
Will keep on turning
Ah, yet another song of lost love. If you are just coming out of a relationship, you probably should skip this tune. Kristofferson does a great job putting to music the feeling we all share when love sours and then disappears. This is the one songs on the album that is the most like traditional country.
11. Duvalier's Dream(Kristofferson) - 2:55
Duvalier was a bitter man
Who cursed the morning sun
That brought a new betrayal every day
He shunned the worlds of mortals
By now I'm getting tired of the songs of lost love and betrayal. Any one of the love songs on this album is strong enough to stand on its own. When you put them all together they are a bit overwhelming.
Well I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head that didn't hurt
And the beer I had for breakfast
So I had one more for desert
Here we return to the other theme of the album, alcoholism and its consequences. Somehow Kristofferson does a better job singing about drunks than he does of lovers. This is such a lonesome song. It speaks to the isolation that alcoholics feel. I'm glad Kristofferson hit the bottom early because it sure has been fun watching him climb back to the top.
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