"Poor Poor Pitiful Me" is a rock song written and first recorded by American musician Warren Zevon in 1976. With gender references reversed, it was made a hit twice: first as a top-40 hit for Linda Ronstadt, then almost 2 decades later by Terri Clark, whose version topped the Canadian country charts and reached the country top five in the U.S.

Warren Zevon version

Background

In keeping with Warren Zevon's sardonic lyrical style, the song's verses deal with a suicide attempt, domestic abuse, and a brush with sadomasochism. It is reputed to be a friendly swipe at

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

; Browne's own songwriting (such as "Here Come Those Tears Again" and "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate" from '' The Pretender'') could be quite depressing. The song "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" was produced by Browne and was featured on Zevon's eponymous 1976 album '' Warren Zevon'' with backing vocals by

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician, record producer, and the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with ...

. The track was later included on his greatest hits compilations '' A Quiet Normal Life'' (1986), '' I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead'' (1996), and '' Genius: The Best of Warren Zevon'' (2002). Live versions appeared on 1980s '' Stand in the Fire'' and 1993's '' Learning to Flinch''. Alternate studio versions were included in the 2008 reissue of '' Warren Zevon'', as well as the posthumous 2007 compilation '' Preludes: Rare and Unreleased Recordings''.

Linda Ronstadt version

Background

Linda Ronstadt recorded a gender-altered version of the song in 1977. Ronstadt would recall

had pitched "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" to her, teaching it to her in the living room of her Malibu home. "The verse in “Poor Pitiful Me” was “I met a girl on the Sunset Strip,” 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.” With Zevon's blessing, Ronstadt replaced the verse with “Well I met a boy in the Vieux Carré / Down in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

/ 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 Peter Asher for her multi-platinum album '' Simple Dreams.'' Ronstadt's live version appeared on the soundtrack album to the 1978 movie '' FM'', while the studio version was included on her platinum-plus album '' Greatest Hits, Volume 2''.

Reception

Released as a single on the Asylum label at the beginning of 1978, Ronstadt's version was the week's highest debut on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart the week of January 28, 1978. It reached number 26 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100 and number 31 in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''.

Chart performance

Terri Clark version

Background

Another hit cover version of the song was recorded by Canadian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singer Terri Clark. It was released in September 1996 as the lead single from her second album, 1996's '' Just the Same''. Clark told ''

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

'' that she heard Linda Ronstadt's version of the song in a local gymnasium while she was exercising. She said "and I thought, what a cool song. What a great country record that could make. I started doing it live, and it worked."''

'', October 5, 1996

Reception

"Poor Poor Pitiful Me" debuted at number 47 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of October 12, 1996. Clark's version was a number one hit on the Canadian ''RPM'' country charts, and a number five hit on the country charts in the U.S.

Music video

The music video was directed by Deaton Flanigen and premiered in late 1996. It comprises black-and-white tour footage interspersed with Clark being approached by a series of men while her car is being fixed at a full service gas station. Eventually, she realizes the man fixing her car is the one for her. She starts to drive off, before calling him over to get in. The two drive off together, leaving the other two co-workers at the shop surprised.

Chart performance

Year-end charts

Other versions

*In 1986, SNFU did a

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

cover of the song on the compilation ''It Came from the Pit''. Lead singer Mr. Chi Pig sang the Linda Ronstadt lyrics with a few changes, but kept it as being about men he had encountered. *

Vitamin String Quartet Vitamin String Quartet (VSQ) is an American musical group from Los Angeles known for its series of tribute albums to rock and pop acts. VSQ is a series of string quartet projects developed and produced by CMH Records, an independent recor ...

recorded an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

version of the song on ''Dad Get Me Out of This: The String Quartet Tribute to Warren Zevon'' in 2003. *In 2004

and Bonnie Raitt covered it on '' Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon''.

References

{{Authority control 1978 singles 1996 singles 1976 songs Songs about suicide Warren Zevon songs Linda Ronstadt songs Terri Clark songs Jackson Browne songs Bonnie Raitt songs Songs written by Warren Zevon Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Asylum Records singles Mercury Records singles Music videos directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions Songs about trains Songs about BDSM Songs about domestic violence Song recordings produced by Jackson Browne