Mr. Bojangles is a poignant tale written and performed by Texas "outlaw" musician Jerry Jeff Walker ( pictured above). Written in 1968, this song tells the tale of a down on his luck guy learning about life from an older cellmate in a New Orleans jail. This older cellmate, named Bojangles, was what was referred to as a "soft shoe" dancer, an old vaudeville type of tap dancer whose whose shoes had soft soles, often as a result of extreme wear.
The opening verse beautifully describes Bojangles, perfectly setting up the story to follow. Close your eyes and you can visualize him, with his "silver hair, ragged shirt and baggy pants, that old soft shoe". Keep imagining, and you can see his smile, perhaps missing a tooth or two, the glint in his eyes, wisdom in the lines of his face, and a mischievous grin as the conversation in this song begins to unfold before your very eyes.
He talks a bit, tells of his dancing in minstrel shows, unloads a few life philosophies, and continues to grieve his dog's passing. Personally I get deeply touched by this last part, as I still grieve the passing of my dog, Bobo, who followed me everywhere, was in my video clips, on the cover of my records, my constant companion. These lines that Jerry Jeff wrote are very touching. He brings heartfelt emotion into this wonderful song. The work of true master songwriter.
Bojangles' best times are behind him, as he continues to reminisce. You feel for this guy as the story evolves. It's incredibly hard to create empathy for a character in a song, but Jerry Jeff Walker achieves this with the last verse, particularly at the very end, when he is asked to dance one more time.
"Mr. Bojangles" was minor hit for Jerry Jeff, but was a huge hit for both the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1971, and then later, in 1976, for Sammy Davis Jr. (pictured below).
Sammy Davis Jr.'s version was obviously a bit different, but arguably just as good, if not better, than the Dirt Band's. Mr. Davis, being an accomplished dancer as well as a singer, acted out this song on stage, usually with a single spotlight, highlighting the poignancy.
Again, as with most great songs, musically it's relatively simple, written in the key of "C", 3/4 time signature. The alternating between the major chords ( C, F, G ) and the minor chords ( Em, Am ) accentuates the emotional sympathetic feel of this song. This is truly a wonderful tale, beautifully told.
Jerry Jeff Walker is an extremely accomplished songwriter with other great songs including "LA Freeway". "Mr. Bojangles" has been covered by at least 40 or more artists, giving true validation to the greatness of this song. Among those artists are such notables as Garth Brooks, John Denver, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Whitney Huston, Billy Joel, Cat Stevens, and Robbie Williams. No small names here. Below is great version of this song by the band usually associated with it, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, from a performance at Farm Aid in 2006. Do turn up the volume, as it is recorded a bit low, but it's a really good version, so enjoy.
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