"Walkin' to Missouri" is a

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

written by

Bob Merrill Henry Robert Merrill Levan (May 17, 1921 – February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. He wrote ...

in 1952.

Sammy Kaye Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs fr ...

's version peaked at No. 11 (U.S.) in 1952. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Tony Brent Tony Brent (born Reginald Hogan Bretagne, 26 August 1927 – 19 June 1993) was a British traditional pop music singer, most active in the 1950s. He scored seven Top 20 chart hits in the UK over an almost six-year period, starting in December 1 ...

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

reached No. 7 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in January 1953.

Background

The song is a

prodigal son The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father) is one of the parables of Jesus Christ in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. Jesus shares the parable with ...

allegory about a young man (the story's metaphorical "robin") who could not fly and could only walk all the way back to his old home in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, following a life of partying in the big city jazz scene - or the repercussions that happened as a result. During the course of the song, it transpired that he had "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, it can be gleaned from the last verse that the protagonist was forced out of his comfort zone and likely lost 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 end, urges the listeners to show this "robin" some kindness if he ever approaches them, because the mistake is an easy one to make. The initial release of Kaye's recording coincided with the

1952 United States presidential election The 1952 United States presidential election was the 42nd quadrennial presidential election and was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1952. Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower won a landslide victory over Democrat Adlai Stevenson II, which ended 20 year ...

campaigns. Disc jockeys around the US used the allegory of the lyrics "walkin' to Missouri...got a teardrop in his eye" as a jab to

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, who returned to his home in

Independence, MO Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...

following his time as President of the United States. This contributed to airplay and the subsequent popularity of the song.

Other recorded versions

Lita Roza Lilian Patricia Lita Roza (14 March 1926 – 14 August 2008) was an English singer best known for her 1953 recording "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. She was the first British woman to have ...

in (1953), *

Sue Thompson Sue Thompson (born Eva Sue McKee; July 19, 1925 – September 23, 2021) was an American pop and country music singer. She was best known for the million selling hits " Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)", "Norman", "James (Hold The Ladder Steady)", all we ...

in (1957), *

Russ Morgan Russell Morgan (April 29, 1904 – August 7, 1969) was an American big band leader and arranger during the 1930s and 1940s. He was best known for being the one of the composers of the song "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", with Larry Stock ...

in (1958).

References

Songs written by Bob Merrill 1952 songs 1952 singles 1953 singles Songs about Missouri {{1950s-song-stub