Posted on 06/23/2024 6:12:45 AM PDT by Ezekiel
On this day, June 22, 2024, we celebrate the extraordinary life and multifaceted career of Kris Kristofferson, a true legend whose influence has woven itself into the very fabric of American music and cinema. Born in Brownsville, Texas, Kristofferson’s journey from Rhodes Scholar to country music outlaw and Hollywood star is a saga of artistic rebellion, heartfelt storytelling, and a relentless pursuit of authenticity.
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The Songs that Define a Legend
To distill Kris Kristofferson’s musical contributions to just ten songs is no small feat, but here we go, each one a masterpiece in its own right:
•"Me and Bobby McGee" - A tale of love, loss, and the open road, this song captures the bittersweet essence of freedom.
•"Help Me Make It Through the Night" - A candid plea for companionship, this song’s simplicity is its strength.
•"Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" - Kristofferson’s vivid portrayal of a hungover Sunday morning resonates with raw honesty.
•"For the Good Times" - A melancholy reflection on a fading relationship, rich with emotional depth.
•"Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)" - A poetic tribute to a love so profound, it remains unparalleled.
•"The Pilgrim: Chapter 33" - An ode to the dreamers and wanderers, this song is a nod to those who live life on their own terms.
•"Why Me" - A deeply personal gospel number that reveals Kristofferson’s spiritual side.
•"To Beat the Devil" - A story of struggle and resilience, it’s an anthem for the downtrodden and the defiant.
•"Jody and the Kid" - A tender narrative of a father-daughter relationship that’s both heartwarming and poignant.
•"Silver Tongued Devil and I" - A self-reflective piece that explores the duality of human nature with poetic grace.
(Excerpt) Read more at gratefulweb.com ...
He was great in the Convoy Movie I love that movie.
Just read his story on Wikipedia. Family was military and so was he. Served in Germany. Became estranged when he quit.
There is romance to the hobo lifestyle-being free. Still one has to take a bath and find love/shelter. The 2 don’t really meet so the rebellion comes out. A strict military background can have the opposite effect. The fact that he was brilliant and struggled with the working stiffs-think Bobby McGee-didn’t stay together. Fun while it lasted?
The Pilgrim33-an up and down bummer who ends up in a hearse? I don’t think it ends that way. I’m fine with it as long as they stay out of my pocket. Leftists never acknowledge the damage they do to others.
All in all, KK’s life story *is* the epitome of “life is a journey, not a destination”.
One thing that I've wondered about re "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" is the Sunday morning.
I'd never seen this mentioned anywhere, but what time was it really, when he caught the Sunday smell of someone frying chicken?
Not the smell of pancakes and sausage, but of chicken frying.
Now maybe where he's from this is a normal cultural thing, but in the broader expanse of traditional Sunday mornings across the fruited plain, it's a bit peculiar.
Then again, not the least bit strange if the seriously hungover Sunday "morning" was more like noon or even later. 😂
With his intellect, he might have meant to do that, to cause listeners to ponder the timing.
"And it took me back to somethin', that I'd lost somewhere, somehow along the way..."
**He didn’t seem to recount how much of his life changed after his acceptance of Jesus’ forgiveness.**
If there is little or no change, then real conversion hasn’t taken place. Just an artificial easing of the conscience. In my years of seeing people come to Christ, I’ve seen plenty of half-way conversions. Jesus Christ’s parable of the sower, and explanation of it, show that to be common.
Vietnam Blues--Dave Dudley (1966)
I thought a legend was a story that wasn’t true.
CMT made a documentary when the group “The Highwaymen” were recording their first EP. Each musician had a sort of cubicle along the wall where they kept their instruments and personal effects, talismans, etc.
Kristofferson’s cubicle had poster-sized photos of Che Guevara and Noam Chomsky.
Willie even remarked on camera how it creeped him out that “Noam has been giving me the eye.”
Sunday Mornin' conclusion-jumping?
I pasted the title as it is at the source article. I realize it's a FR tradition not to read the article, but if a person going to take a swipe, might be a good idea to identify the correct target.
You did have time to locate a 'representative' animation, after all.
There’s certianly been some odd cognitive disconnects.
Like with Jesus and Che, mixed into the same bag of revolutionaries.
This is a common technique of the Bible if you pay attention. Ecclesiastics is full of world view vs God perspective
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” One of the great lines ever written for a song.
Not sure we aren’t approaching that point in America where a lot of people aren’t going to take that attitude. The left is pushing there pretty quick.
Sounds like a story of privilege to me, but wdik.
I'll go out on a limb and say that the Bible is *the* most epic country song of all time. There's simply no competition.
It's got it all! Okay, wagons and carts instead of trucks, but you get the idea.
Kris Kristofferson - From the bottle to the bottom (1971)
That's another one of my favorites, along with Merle's Swingin Doors.
***
Here's some interesting details about the world's "greatest country song of all time":
"He Stopped Loving Her Today" is a song recorded by American country music artist George Jones. It has been named in several surveys as the greatest country song of all time.[1] It was released in April 1980 as the lead single from the album I Am What I Am.
I Am What I Am
Released September 8, 1980
(which was on the third day)
Kris Krist•offer•son -- who was born in Brownsville -- just turned 88, and as everyone already knows,
Where we're going we don't need Rhodes. 😉
He stars in this old film “Rollover”
It is about the Saudis abandoning the petrodollar and moving their assets into gold. This causes worldwide financial collapse.. very timely!
A must see for these times...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9d30RBJkf0
He was in the series “Amerika” about a fictional Soviet occupation of the US.
He was also in an interesting but little known movie called “The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea with Sarah Miles. Which caused his then wife Rita Coolidge to divorce him. Probably a little known fact.
Believe he was a helicopter pilot in the late 60’s with the 8th Infantry Division in Bad Kreuznach Germany. I got there a couple of years after he left but his legacy lived on.
I think one of his albums was dedicated to “the boys in BK.”
Wow.
Good luck being the big judge.
I don’t see “Eagle of the North” in that list, a song he wrote for the entertainment and appeasement of the Ortega crime regime in Nicaragua.
His background is good, but I guess the booze, drugs and desire for Hollywood acceptance got to his brain.
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