Me and Bobby McGee written by Kris kristofferson has been covered by some awesome artists. In 1971 it was posthumously released performed by Janis Joplin.  

This is the version I’ll be referencing today. 

I’m a fan of looking at the way songs are played, written and recorded. I recently recorded a guitar tutorial for this song and it got me thinking about how simple chord sequences can be used to build a song. Today is a bite-sized look into a common technique used to help a song build.

Why do we used a Key Change?

A song can develop in many ways but a key change is a very common and easy way to do this.  The sentiment and momentum of a song may need the accompaniment to ramp up a bit, for example.  The chords if left in the same key may feel like they need to go somewhere in order to maintain the spirit of the song.

Me & Bobby Mcgee is a story about love, loss & freedom.  In verse 1 & Chorus 1 the subject is in love, happy, free. In Verse 2 & Chorus 2 this same person has now been separated from their love (Bobby Mcgee is gone..) and is becoming increasingly passionate about the loss, memories of the good times and what freedom actually means.

There is a key change used to express this impending sense of chaos,

 

Types of Key Change

There are different intervals (the distance between 2 notes / chords) of Key Changes used in songwriting and they all have a different effect. Me & Bobby Mcgee raises the chords by 1 Tone. This 1 tone raise gives us a surge of urgency…

In Verse 1 & Chorus 1 the chords are G | D7 | G7 | C.  (The I IV V chords in the key of G).  The major, upbeat feel.

The mood starts to change at the end of Chorus 1 when the A chord is introduced.

Verse 2 & Chorus 2 chords are A | E7 | A7 | D.  (I IV V in the key of A).

The relationships of the chords within each key don’t change, We still have the I IV Vs. It’s still upbeat,  Still in the major feel.

The Key Change at this point from G to A really adds to the sense of urgency and passion/desperation that becomes verse 2, chorus 2 and eventually the instrumental builds the chaos and take us to the end.

 

Listen

Have a listen to the song Me & Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin to get a sense of how this works.

Play the above chord sequences on your guitar so you can hear how they join together and how that whole step chord change sounds.

This is a great strumming, upbeat song with simple chords. If you’d like to learn it on guitar you can watch my tutorial on Youtube. 

 

➡️ PREMIUM PDF SONG SHEET -(this accompanies the video lesson in detail with chords, rhythm charts and chord sequences. Incl. tips on how to play).

🎸FULL VIDEO LESSON

FULL PLAYTHROUGH