Walkin' to Missouri

"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.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 77. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.