Janis Joplin - Mercedez Benz (1970)

Getting her start as the lead singer of Big Brother and The Holding Company in 1966, this singer/songwriter was immensely popular in the late 1960s. In 1969 she became a solo artist backed by The Kozmic Blues Band and later The Full Tilt Boogie Band. Known as “The Queen of Rock and Roll” and “The Queen of Psychedelic Soul,” her career was cut short, in 1970, at the age of twenty-seven after an accidental heroin overdose.

Recorded in one take just three days before her death, this song was one of the last two recordings she ever completed. Despite its obvious sarcastic message mocking the materialism of society, Mercedes-Benz car manufacturers have used the song in their commercials since 1995. It was released posthumously in 1971, on her album Pearl.



Janis Joplin - Mercedez Benz (1970)

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Lyrics:

I’d like to do a song of great social and political import’. It goes like this:

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends
So, oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a color TV?
Dialing For Dollars is trying to find me
I wait for delivery each day until three
So oh Lord, won't you buy me a color TV?

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a night on the town?
I'm counting on you, Lord, please don't let me down
Prove that you love me and buy the next round
Oh Lord, won't you buy me a night on the town?

Everybody!

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends
So, oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

That's it!