Poor, Poor Pitiful Me by A-S

A-S - Poor, Poor Pitiful Me

A-S

Oct 10, 2024 05:52pm

"Poor Poor Pitiful Me" is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_roll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rock</a> song written and first recorded by American musician <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Zevon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Warren Zevon</a> in 1976.With gender references reversed, it was made a hit twice: first as a top-40 hit for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Ronstadt" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Linda Ronstadt</a>, then almost 2 decades later by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terri_Clark" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Terri Clark</a>, whose version topped the Canadian country charts and reached the country top five in the U.S.Warren Zevon. In keeping with Warren Zevon's sardonic lyrical style, the song's verses deal with a suicide attempt, domestic abuse, and a brush with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadomasochism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sadomasochism</a>. It is reputed to be a friendly swipe at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Browne" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jackson Browne</a>; Browne's own songwriting (such as "Here Come Those Tears Again" and "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate" from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pretender_(album)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Pretender</a>) could be quite depressing.The song "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" was produced by Browne and was featured on Zevon's eponymous 1976 album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Zevon_(album)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Warren Zevon</a> with backing vocals by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindsey_Buckingham" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lindsey Buckingham</a>. The track was later included on his greatest hits compilations <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Quiet_Normal_Life:_The_Best_of_Warren_Zevon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Quiet Normal Life</a> (1986), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ll_Sleep_When_I%27m_Dead_(An_Anthology)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead</a> (1996), and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genius:_The_Best_of_Warren_Zevon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Genius: The Best of Warren Zevon</a> (2002). Live versions appeared on 1980s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_in_the_Fire" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stand in the Fire</a> and 1993's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_to_Flinch" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Learning to Flinch</a>. Alternate studio versions were included in the 2008 reissue of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Zevon_(album)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Warren Zevon</a>, as well as the posthumous 2007 compilation <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preludes:_Rare_and_Unreleased_Recordings" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Preludes: Rare and Unreleased Recordings</a>.Linda Ronstadt version[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poor_Poor_Pitiful_Me&action=edit&section=3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">edit</a>]"Poor Poor Pitiful Me"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Poor_poor_pitiful_me_by_linda_ronstadt_US_single_side-A.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5b/Poor_poor_pitiful_me_by_linda_ronstadt_US_single_side-A.png/220px-Poor_poor_pitiful_me_by_linda_ronstadt_US_single_side-A.png" alt="side-A label" height="220" width="220"></a>One of side-A labels of the US single<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_(music)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Single</a> by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Ronstadt" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Linda Ronstadt</a>from the album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Dreams" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Simple Dreams</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-side_and_B-side" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">B-side</a>"Simple Man Simple Dream" (or "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Bayou" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Blue Bayou</a>")ReleasedJanuary 10, 1978<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_genre" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Genre</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_rock" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Country rock</a>Length3:42<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_label" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Label</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asylum_Records" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Asylum</a> 45462<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songwriter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Songwriter(s)</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Zevon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Warren Zevon</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_producer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Producer(s)</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Asher" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Peter Asher</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Ronstadt" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Linda Ronstadt</a> singles chronology"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_So_Easy!_(The_Crickets_song)#Linda_Ronstadt_version" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">It's So Easy</a>" <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Ronstadt" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Linda Ronstadt</a> recorded a gender-altered version of the song during 1977. Ronstadt would recall <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Browne" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jackson Browne</a> had pitched "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" to her, teaching it to her in the living room of her Malibu home.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_Poor_Pitiful_Me#cite_note-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a> "The verse in “Poor Pitiful Me” was “I met a girl on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Strip" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sunset Strip</a>,” I think, “She asked me if I’d beat her / She took me up to her hotel room / And wrecked my mojo heater.” It was really funny, and I'm saying to Jackson, “I can’t sing those words, man! That’s not who I am. . . . I have to leave that part out.”<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_Poor_Pitiful_Me#cite_note-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[2]</a>With Zevon's blessing, Ronstadt replaced the verse with “Well I met a boy in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vieux_Carr%C3%A9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vieux Carré</a> / Down in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokohama" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Yokohama</a> / He picked me up and he threw me down / Saying "Please don't hurt me Mama!".” This verse was also used in Clark's version of the song.Ronstadt's interpretation was produced by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Asher" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Peter Asher</a> for her multi-platinum album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Dreams" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Simple Dreams</a>. Ronstadt's live version appeared on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundtrack_album" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">soundtrack album</a> to the 1978 movie <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_(soundtrack)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FM</a>, while the studio version was included on her platinum-plus album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hits,_Volume_2_(Linda_Ronstadt_album)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Greatest Hits, Volume 2</a>.