All About Pocket Knives

Songwriting great Kris Kristofferson died today. He was 88. Writer of songs such as “Help Me Make It Through the Night”, “Me and Bobby McGee”, “Sunday Morning Coming Down”, “Why Me, Lord?”, “For the Good Times“, among others. He was also an award winning actor.

See him wasted on the sidewalk in his jacket and his jeans
Wearin’ yesterday’s misfortunes like a smile
Once he had a future, full of money, love, and dreams
Which he spent like they was goin’ out of style

But if this world keeps right on turning,
for the better or the worse
And all he ever gets is older, and around
From the rocking of the cradle
To the rollin’ of the hearse,
The goin’ up was worth the comin’ down. - The Pilgrim, by Kris Kristofferson

Ken

Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Mon Sep 30, 2024 4:40 am Songwriting great Kris Kristofferson died today. He was 88. Writer of songs such as “Help Me Make It Through the Night”, “Me and Bobby McGee”, “Sunday Morning Coming Down”, “Why Me, Lord?”, “For the Good Times“, among others, he was also an award winning actor.

See him wasted on the sidewalk in his jacket and his jeans
Wearin’ yesterday’s misfortunes like a smile
Once he had a future, full of money, love, and dreams
Which he spent like they was goin’ out of style

But if this world keeps right on turning,
for the better or the worse
And all he ever gets is older, and around
From the rocking of the cradle
To the rollin’ of the hearse,
The goin’ up was worth the comin’ down. - The Pilgrim, by Kris Kristofferson

Ken

From a golden era of song writers and musicians.

He was also something you might not have known, he was a Rhodes Scholar .

wlf wrote: ↑Mon Sep 30, 2024 1:52 pm He was also something you might not have known, he was a Rhodes Scholar.

Yes, and after graduation from Oxford he was also a U.S. Army Ranger helicopter pilot. A true “Renaissance man”.

Ken

One of my favorites. RIP

A Rhodes scholar who mortified his family by abandoning a promising career in the military to starve for five years before he made it as a songwriter, Kristofferson was a legendary hell-raiser who was every bit as badass as any of his contemporaries: He famously got Johnny Cash’s attention by landing a helicopter on his lawn. Yet his songs often spoke of the darker side of that lifestyle, best embodied in one of his earliest hits, “Sunday Mornin’ Coming Down”; a later song, “From the Bottle to the Bottom,” features the timeless line: “If happiness means empty rooms and drinking in the afternoon / Then I suppose I’m happy as a clown.”

As they say, "The end of an era". What a life, what a man. R.I.P. Kris. and thanks for the music. J.O'.

He was also a good actor. A Star is Born is probably my favorite. If you can find it on demand on PBS pull up their old broadcasts featuring The Highwaymen. He is fantastic in those.

I got to see him live about ten years ago. Also got to see Merle Haggard and George Jones a few years before they passed.

Was listening to WEVL 88.9 today and “Who’s going to fill their shoes came on” first time I have gotten choked up in years.

My favorite Kristofferson movie is “Alice doesn’t live here anymore”

He had one heck of a career