Walkin' to Missouri
Encyclopedia
"Walkin' to Missouri" is a popular
song
written by Bob Merrill
in 1952
. The best-known version of the song was recorded by Guy Mitchell
in 1952
. The song is a Prodigal Son
allegory about a young man (the story's metaphorical "robin") who couldn't fly and could only walk all the way back to his old home in Missouri following a life of partying hard in the big city jazz scene -- or more to the point, the repercussions that happened as a result. During the course of the song, it transpired that he'd "met a birdie who looked so nice", who, until the end, was secretly having an affair with someone else. While the song does not make any details of the revelation at all explicit, it can be gleaned from the last verse that the protagonist was forced out of his comfort zone and likely lost quite a bit of money: "His dreams are battered, his feathers bent/And he hasn't got a cent/He feels like his heart is gonna break".
The song, at the very end, urges the listeners to show this "robin" some kindness if he ever approaches them because the mistake is an easy one to make.
Sammy Kaye
's version peaked at # 11 (U.S.) in 1952. In the United Kingdom
, Tony Brent
's cover version
reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart
in January 1953.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written by Bob Merrill
Bob Merrill
Bob Merrill was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter.Merrill was born Henry Merrill Levan in Atlantic City, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the Army during World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a...
in 1952
1952 in music
-Events:*February 26 - Jo Stafford marries bandleader/arranger Paul Weston.*March 21 - First reported Rock and roll riot breaks out at Alan Freed's Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland, Ohio...
. The best-known version of the song was recorded by Guy Mitchell
Guy Mitchell
Guy Mitchell, born Albert George Cernik, was an American pop singer, successful in his homeland, the U.K. and Australia...
in 1952
1952 in music
-Events:*February 26 - Jo Stafford marries bandleader/arranger Paul Weston.*March 21 - First reported Rock and roll riot breaks out at Alan Freed's Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland, Ohio...
. The song is a Prodigal Son
Parable of the Prodigal Son
The Prodigal Son, also known as the Lost Son and the Prodigal Father, is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament. According to the Gospel of Luke a father extravagantly gives his sons their inheritance before he dies...
allegory about a young man (the story's metaphorical "robin") who couldn't fly and could only walk all the way back to his old home in Missouri following a life of partying hard in the big city jazz scene -- or more to the point, the repercussions that happened as a result. During the course of the song, it transpired that he'd "met a birdie who looked so nice", who, until the end, was secretly having an affair with someone else. While the song does not make any details of the revelation at all explicit, it can be gleaned from the last verse that the protagonist was forced out of his comfort zone and likely lost quite a bit of money: "His dreams are battered, his feathers bent/And he hasn't got a cent/He feels like his heart is gonna break".
The song, at the very end, urges the listeners to show this "robin" some kindness if he ever approaches them because the mistake is an easy one to make.
Sammy Kaye
Sammy Kaye
Sammy Kaye , born Samuel Zarnocay, Jr., was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era.-Biography:...
's version peaked at # 11 (U.S.) in 1952. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Tony Brent
Tony Brent
Tony Brent was a British traditional pop music singer, most active in the 1950s. He scored seven Top 20 chart hits in the UK over an almost six year period, starting in January 1953.-Biography:...
's cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in January 1953.