Freighthopping is the act of surreptitiously boarding and riding a railroad freight car (or Trainhopping when referring to an unspecified kind of train). In the United States, this became a common means of transportation following the American Civil War as the railroads began pushing westward, especially among migrant workers who became known as " hobos".
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I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana
I was playin' soft while Bobby sang the blues, yeah Janis Joplin – Me and Bobby McGee
I was playin' soft while Bobby sang the blues, yeah Janis Joplin – Me and Bobby McGee
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Bobby thumbed a diesel down, just before it rained
That rode us all the way in to New Orleans Janis Joplin – Me and Bobby McGee
That rode us all the way in to New Orleans Janis Joplin – Me and Bobby McGee
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Faded, as in exhausted of the current situation.
Prefaded, or stonewashed, jeans first appeared in the late 1960s, and were originally associated with hippies.
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Baton Rouge is a midsize city in central Louisiana and the state capital.
“Busted flat” could literally mean that a flat tire has ruined her car; but “busted flat” is often used figuratively to mean “flat broke.”
They’re trainhopping (
)- “busted flat and waiting for a train” means they don’t have money, so they didn’t pay for tickets to ride the train. This is something hitchhikers aka “hobos” do to this day.A big reason this song became so iconic is because of the Beat Generation (
). Books like Naked Lunch and On the Road lauded american exploration, sexual liberation and shunded materialism. This made hitchhiking a romantic venture in the 60s – mostly by college students.
This song tells an idyllic story of a Beat experience: Lovers exploring aimlessly together (They go from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, then Kentucky to California) – the destination doesn’t matter, it’s the experience they’re savoring. This is a glorification of American Exploration. Hitchhiking also glorifies modesty and shunning materialism. Then, in the end of the song, her McGee has moved on – sexual freedom. But she still misses him and the freedom he made her feel. So despite all the Beat values of freedom, exploration and modesty, she yearns for a lasting connection.
Also, this is something Sal Paradise does in On The Road – he womanizes heavily. Shacking up at one point with a woman in California with kids, eating their food, sleeping in her bed, just to leave after a few weeks without so much as a note. The narrator presents this very objectively, not glorifying or demeaning Sal’s choices, but he is the main character of the book, and perhaps the most idyllic character of the Beat Generation.
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Sunk in the seat, suede all in it
Drop top roof blowin' haze all in it Jim Jones (Ft. Max B) – Baby Girl
Drop top roof blowin' haze all in it Jim Jones (Ft. Max B) – Baby Girl
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4H Club stands for Food and Agriculture Club.
a 4H Clubs is a youth-development program for kids and teens in the US that’s been around since the early 1900s.