Me and Bobby McGee

This is one of my favorite songs of all time (and not just because it mentions Baton Rouge in the first line.)

We all know Kris Kristofferson wrote it (and BTW, I think he ended up being by far the wealthiest Highwayman).

I definitely prefer Janis' version to any other. It just has a better feel and execution - and Big Brother and the Holding Company are absolutely on fire.

I have a question pertaining to the lyrics. I'm going to assume that the "original" lyrics are the ones that appeared in the Roger Miller version, which was the first to be released. Specifically:

quote:

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Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose Nothin' ain't worth nothin' but it's free

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Contrast that with Janis' slightly different take:

quote:

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Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose, Nothing don't mean nothing honey if it ain't free

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Which do you prefer? How much difference (if any) in meaning would you say there is due to the seemingly small shift?

My interpretation of the original is "someone who has chosen an itinerant existence like the narrator takes what they can get. He/she understands that freedom is probably an over-rated code word for someone that could have made different decisions, buy they need to rationalize those choices".

My interpretation of Janis' is from the viewpoint of someone who is admitting outright that supposed freedom has been over-rated and that the costs of such "freedom" are often high.

I only ever noticed the difference when I was listening to Willie's version: LINK It's got some really good pickin' at the beginning.