King of the road

This song, King of the road, the simplified sheet music can be downloaded here. "King of the Road" is a song written by country singer Roger Miller, who first recorded it in November 1964.

The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a vagabond hobo who, despite being poor (a "man of means by no means"), revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously or possibly cynically as the "king of the road".Miller performed at the Snake River Stampede in Nampa back in 1972. Boise broadcast historian Frank Aden remembers it well. “He came out on stage and, before he sang, he said, 'For any of those who are here from Boise, you'll be proud to know that I wrote King of the Road in Boise. 

The popular crossover record hit No. 1 on the US Country chart,^[3] No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the Easy Listening surveys.^[4] It was also No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart,^[5] and in Norway. Miller recalled that the song was inspired when he was driving and saw a sign on the side of a barn that read, "Trailers for sale or rent".^[6] This would become the opening line of the song.

The song has been covered by many other artists, including George Jones, Dean Martin, Val Doonican, Jack Jones, James Booker, The Fabulous Echoes, Boney M., R.E.M., Johnny Paycheck, Glen Campbell, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Boxcar Willie, Randy Travis, Rangers, James Kilbane, John Stevens, the Statler Brothers, Rufus Wainwright & Teddy Thompson, Giant Sand, Peligro, John Williamson (singer) & Adam Harvey, The Proclaimers, Ray Conniff Singers, The Reverend Horton Heat, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Jim White. James "The King" Brown (an Elvis impersonator) performed the song for a 2001 Audi commercial on German TV.^[7] Of R.E.M.'s version, a shambolic, drunken, offhand rendering, guitarist Peter Buck would later comment, "If there was any justice in the world, Roger Miller should be able to sue for what we did to this song."

You can find more information here. Enjoy!

King of the Road

Roger Miller

Trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road

Third boxcar, midnight train, destination Bangor, Maine
Old worn-out suits and shoes
I don't pay no union dues
I smoke old stogies I have found, short, but not too big around
I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road

I know every engineer on every train
All their children, and all of their names
And every hand out in every town
And every lock that ain't locked when no one's around

I sing, trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road

Trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room