Me and Bobby McGee chords

Janis Joplin

Song Key: G Major → A Major

Time Signature: 4/4

Tempo: 94 bpm


Standard Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e

Skill Level: Beginner 🟢

Chords: G, Gadd4, G7, A, A7, C, D, D7, E, E7

Arrangement Song Details
Play-Along Video
R-H Chord Charts Chord Chart Legend
G Major GaddC G7 D Major D7 C Major A Major A7 E Major E7
L-H Chord Charts Lefties Chord Chart Legend
G Major-LH GaddC-LH G7-LH D Major-LH D7-LH C Major-LH A Major-LH A7-LH E Major-LH E7-LH
Speed: x0.1

Me and Bobby McGee

Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key 
               G    Gadd4      G    Gadd4     G     
Intro: 4/4 ‖                |                     ‖

   G
1. Bust-ed flat in Bat-on Rouge    Waiting  for  a  train
                                       D
   And I's feeling near as faded as my jeans
      
   Bob-by thumbed a die-sel down    Just be-fore it rained
                                        G     Gadd4   G
   It rode us all the way to New Or - | leans           |
     G
   I pulled my har-poon out of my di-rty red ban-dan-na
                             G7              C
   I was play-ing soft while Bob-by sang the blues
   C                                           G
   Wind-shield wip-ers slap-ping time    I was hold-ing Bob-by's hand in mine
   D                                D7
   We sang ev'-ry song that driv-er knew

        C                                  G
Chorus: Free-dom's just a-no-ther word for no-thing left to lose
        D7                                             G
        Noth-ing don't mean noth-ing honey if it ain't free no no
            C                           G
        And feel-ing good was ea-sy Lord when he sang the blues
                 D
        You know feel-ing good was good en-ough for me
                                             G            A
        Good e-nough for me and my Bob-by Mc-Gee... |(key change)|

            A
2. From the Ken-tuck-y coal mine to the Cal-i-for-nia sun
                                        E
   Hey Bob-by shared the sec-rets of my soul

   Through all kinds of weath-er through ev’-ry-thing we done
                                     A
   Hey Bob-by ba-by kept me from the cold
       A
   One day up near Sa-li-nas Lord    I let him slip a-way
                          A7                 D
   He's look-ing for that home and I hope he finds it
           D                                   A
   But I'd trade all of my to-mor-rows for one sing-le yes-ter-day
         E                               E7
   To be hold-ing Bob-by's bo-dy next to mine

        D                                   A
Chorus: Freed-om is just a-noth-er word for noth-ing left to lose
        E7                                   A
        No-thing that's all that Bob-by left me yeah
            D                           A
        But feel-ing good was ea-sy Lord when he sang the blues
            E7
        Hey feel-ing good was good e-nough for me hmm  hmm
                                             A
        Good e-nough for me and my Bob-by Mc-Gee

         A
3. La da da   la da da   la da da   la da da da
                                    E
   La da da   la da da   Bob-by  Mc-Gee

   La da da da da da     La na na na na
                                   A
   La la la la la la     Bob-by Mc-Gee yeah

         A   
4. La na na  la na la la na la  la na na    La na na  la na na  la na na
                                  E
   Hey now Bob–by lo-na Bob-by Mc-Gee yeah
                 
   Lo-na  Lo-la-la  lo-na-na    Lo-na-na  lo-na-na  lo-na-na  lo-na-na  lo-na-na
                                    A
   Hey now Bob-by lo - na Bob-by Mc-Gee yeah

            A
5. Lord I'm cal-ling my lov-er call-ing my man

   I said I'm call-ing my lov-er just the best I can
                                               E
   C'mon hey now Bob-by yeah hey now Bob-by Mc-Gee yeah

   Lor-dy Lor-dy Lor-dy Lor-dy Lor-dy Lor-dy Lor-dy Lord
                         A
   Hey hey hey Bob-by Mc-Gee Lord

          A                 E                       A
Instr: |     |  %  |  %  |     |  %  |  %  |  %  |     | 

             A                                   E
       |           |     %     |     %     |           |
                                                 (Lordy)

           E     
   (Lordy) Lor-dy Lor-dy Lor-dy Lor-dy Lor-dy Lor-dy Lord
                              A
    Hey hey hey Bob-by Mc - | Gee yeah |...

Arrangement Details:

  • Key Signature: G Major: 1 sharp (F#)
  • Key Signature: A Major: 3 sharps (F#, C#, G#)
  • Time Signature: 4/4 — Four quarter-note beats per measure
  • Tempo: Moderately slow
  • Metronome: ♩ = 94
  • Voice Range: F#4 - E6
  • In the Intro, the Gadd4 chord represents GaddC. You simply play a G chord using fingers 2, 3, and 4, and add the C note with your first finger (first fret, 2nd string). You don't have to play the chord, but it does add a nice touch.
  • You may want to add 7th and sus4 versions of chords, e.g., in the Instrumental section at the end of the song. This can help make the song sound a little more interesting, especially if you are playing solo. Instead of playing the same chord for several bars, you might consider the following:
    Instead of:  
|   A    |     A     |    A   |  E  |
Play:  
| A - A7 | A - Asus4 | A - A7 |  E  |
  • |  E  |  E  |  E  |  E  | can also have been written as | E | % | % | % | where the repeat sign % signifies a repeat of the previous bar.

Song Details:

Pearl Album Cover
Album Cover
  • Songwriter: Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster
  • Lyrics Begin: Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin' for a train, when I's feelin' near as faded as my jeans.
  • Genre: Blues rock, Soul blues
  • Featured Artist: Janis Joplin
  • Album: Pearl
    Recorded: July 27 – October 4, 1970
    Released: January 11, 1971
  • Single:
    Released: January 12, 1971
    B-side: Half Moon
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