In Baton Rouge, one song sums up the city to a degree that it rarely needs naming. It’s the one people shout in unison, the one that rumbles stadiums and registers on seismographs. It’s mandatory for wedding receptions, tailgates and moments when the city wants to hear itself reflected back.
“Callin’ Baton Rouge” is woven into the city’s identity. It is shorthand for home, whether you live in the Capital City or not.
But Baton Rouge shows up in other songs, too — not as loudly, not as proud. In those lyrics, the city is an opening line, a passing reference, a place someone is headed or leaving behind.
Busted flat
Was Kris Kristofferson really busted flat in Baton Rouge to inspire the first line of “Me and Bobby McGee”?
Kristofferson wrote the song in 1969 at the suggestion of Monument Records producer Fred Foster. The two, therefore, shared writing credit. The song was first recorded that same year by country-pop singer Roger Miller of “King of the Road” fame…