"Mr. Bojangles" is a song written and originally recorded by American country music artist Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1968 album of the same title. It has since been recorded by other artists, including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1969 (released September 1970).

Bojangles” was first recorded by Mr. Walker for the Atco label in 1968. The song achieved its greatest success in a folk-rock version that reached the pop Top 10 in 1971 with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and went on to be covered by a wide range of artists, among them Nina Simone, Neil Diamond and even Bob Dylan.

According to Walker, a street performer in the New Orleans first precinct jail who called himself Bo Jangles was the subject of the song. In the song, the street performer is a heavy drinker and has a dog that died; Walker also noted that the street-performer Bo Jangles was white.

Jimmy Buffett worked at Billboard Magazine after he got out of college, and that is how he met Jerry Jeff Walker. After doing an interview with him they became friends. When Jimmy finally scored some saloon gigs he was working himself into the music business.