Janis Joplin (born 19 January 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas, United States, di… Read Full Bio ↴Janis Joplin (born 19 January 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas, United States, died 4 October 1970 in Los Angeles, California) was an American singer, songwriter, composer and painter. Originally the lead singer for the blues rock band Big Brother & The Holding Company, Joplin left the band in late 1968 for a solo career. She released two solo albums, I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969) and Pearl (1971), the latter released after her death. During her solo career, she was backed by the Kozmic Blues Band and later, the Full Tilt Boogie Band. Her version of the Kris Kristofferson song "Me and Bobby McGee" reached #1 in the United States on March 20, 1971.

Walk Right In
Janis Joplin Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Walk right in, sit right down
Daddy, let your mind roll on
Walk right in, sit right down
Daddy, let your mind roll on
Everybody's talkin' 'bout a new way of walkin'
Do you want to lose your mind?
Walk right in, sit right down
Daddy, let your mind roll on

Walk right in, sit right down
Baby, let your hair hang down
Walk right in, sit right down
Baby, let your hair hang down
Everybody's talkin' 'bout a new way of walkin'
Do you want to lose your mind?
Walk right in, sit right down
Baby, let your hair hang down

Walk right in, sit right down
Daddy, let your mind roll on
Walk right in, sit right down
Daddy, let your mind roll on
Everybody's talkin' 'bout a new way of walkin'
Do you want to lose your mind?
Walk right in, sit right down

Daddy, let your mind roll on
Daddy, let your mind roll on

Overall Meaning

The song "Walk Right In" by Janis Joplin is a cover of the 1963 folk-blues song by the Rooftop Singers. The lyrics themselves are quite simple, but their message can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The song expresses a carefree attitude towards life, urging the listener to abandon their worries and concerns and let their mind simply "roll on". The repetition of the phrase "walk right in, sit right down" creates a sense of ease and comfort, inviting the listener to come as they are.

The chorus of the song, "everybody's talkin' 'bout a new way of walkin'/do you want to lose your mind?" can be seen as a commentary on the changing cultural attitudes of the 1960s. The "new way of walkin'" could refer to the changing social norms of the time, such as the shift towards sexual liberation and experimentation or the burgeoning counterculture movement. The phrase "do you want to lose your mind?" seems to ask whether the listener is willing to embrace these changes, even if it means leaving behind the safety and predictability of the past.

Line by Line Meaning

Walk right in, sit right down
Come in and relax, take a seat and get comfortable.

Daddy, let your mind roll on
Think freely and without restraint, release yourself from any burdens.

Everybody's talkin' 'bout a new way of walkin'
Everyone is trying to change the way they live or improve their lifestyle.

Do you want to lose your mind?
Are you willing to abandon your sense of self and your beliefs for the sake of fitting in with the times?

Baby, let your hair hang down
Relax, let your guard down, and be yourself.

Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Gus Cannon, Erik Darling, Willard Svanoe, Hosea Woods

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

@evelanpatton

2y↑3

Early Janis & we hear her beginning to make songs truly her own❣️

@feralbluee

3y↑5

amazing for sure - i love the way it was recorded - very 1920’s or 30’s. thanks sooo much 🌷

@watcherwlc53

3y↑3

which would be true to the origin of the song 😎

@sp1582

2y↑2

I LOVE YOU JANIS!

@michaeloleary1867

2y↑2

Love it!

@joesheehan5475

5y↑5

this is amazing

@isabeln38

5y↑4

wonderful

@MjoRyan

4y↑5

Love this but definitely not Janice.....that band is marvellous!

@ouroubouros1

4y↑8

Your're right, it's not Janice, but it most certainly is Janis, as in Joplin, circa early 1965, and the band is the Dick Oxtot Jazz Band

@davesettlow7063

24w

@@ouroubouros1Waller Creek Boys, yes?

@ouroubouros1

24w

Janis sang with the Waller Creek Boys (Lanny Wiggins, a folk music expert, and Powell St. John, who wrote "Bye Bye Baby" which is on the first Big Brother lp, and in the late 60s worked with Mother Earth/Tracy Nelson in SF) in Austin circa 1963-64 when she was attending university there. This was done in early 65 with the Dick Oxtot Jazz Band in SF. They recorded 4 songs to my knowledge. The music of both was released by Columbia in 1975 on an album called "Janis', after the doc. film 'Janis' was released. The story of her brief involvement with the DOJB is told in Holly George Warren's wonderful bio of Janis and is quite amusing.@@davesettlow7063

@DvdAvins

5y↑10

This does not sound like Janis. Nor does it sound like it was recorded using equipment in use during Janis's lifetime.

@portugasque

5y↑10

This was recorded when she was (for a semester) at the University of Texas at Austin and used to sing in bars. She sang folk and blues, her voice is unmistakably hers, if less raspy and on a higher register. The acoustics of bars students could afford in Austin is what I'd expect. The song has been included in far too many compilations and quoted in the biography Love, Janis written by her sister Laura for me to doubt. Mostly it's the voice. Besides I do not know that the song was not recorded by accident. If so, and if this is circa 1962 (when Janis would be 19) I have no idea what kind of easily portable recording devices people carried about with them but this is the kind of quality I'd expect from one.

@HerrCrankzy

4y↑7

This was recorded in Austin when Janis was briefly at the University of Tx there. The double LP just named 'Janis' later released on CD as "Janis Live" is where t«you'll find the dates (1965 on this case) and the venues (and the tech/equipment(. As for her voice she was transitioning from her natural folk/country o her purposely intended blues. Odetta and Leadbelly being her great influences at the time but you sure can tell the Port Arthur, TX kind of country and blues mix. As for equipment used this was live in a Uni or nearabouts bar. Would you expect it to sound much better or are you just very young?

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