Kris Kristofferson (65,69 %)

Kristofferson (88,03 %)

In collection

Released: 1970
Type: Studio

Ranking:

Artist:

Year (1970):

Decade (1970's):

Overall:

102

Blame It on the Stones

02:46

To Beat the Devil

04:44

Me and Bobby McGee

04:23

Best of All Possible Worlds

03:02

Help Me Make It Through the Night

02:25

The Law Is for Protection of the People

02:40

Casey's Last Ride

03:38

Just the Other Side of Nowhere

03:40

Darby's Castle

03:20

10.

For the Good Times

03:25

11.

Duvalier's Dream

02:58

12.

Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down

04:35

Album length:

41:36

Lyrics

Blame It on the Stones

Mister Marvin Middle Class is really in a stew
Wond'rin' what the younger generation's coming to
And the taste of his martini doesn't please his bitter tongue
Blame it on the Rolling Stones.

Blame it on the Stones; blame it on the Stones
You'll feel so much better, knowing you don't stand alone
Join the accusation; save the bleeding nation
Get it off your shoulders; blame it on the Stones

Mother tells the ladies at the bridge club every day
Of the rising price of tranquilizers she must pay
And she wonders why the children never seem to stay at home
Blame it on the Rolling Stones.

Blame it on the Stones; Blame it on the Stones
You'll feel so much better, knowing you don't stand alone
Join the accusation; save the bleeding nation
Get it off your shoulders; blame it on the Stones

Father's at the office, nightly working all the time
Trying to make the secretary change her little mind
And it bothers him to read about so many broken homes
Blame it on those Rolling Stones.

Blame it on the Stones; Blame it on the Stones
You'll feel so much better knowing you don't stand alone
Join the accusation; same the bleeding nation
Get it off your shoulders; blame it on the Stones

Blame it on the stones, blame it on the stones.

To Beat the Devil

If you waste your time a-talking to the people who don't listen
to the things that you are saying who do you think's going to hear?
And if you should die explaining how the things that they complain about
are things they could be changing, who d'you think's goin' to care?

There were other lonely singers in a world turned deaf and blind who
were crucified for what they tried to show,
And their voices have been scattered by the swirling winds of time,
'cause the truth remains that no-one wants to know!

[Voice: Well, the old man was a stranger, but I'd heard his song before;
back when failure had me locked out on the wrong side of the door; when
no-one stood behind me but my shadow on the floor and lonesome was more
than a state of mind. You see, the devil haunts a hungry man; if you
don't want to join him you've got to beat him. I ain't sayin' I beat the
devil, but I drank his beer for nothing, and then I stole his song!]

And you still can hear me singing to the people who don't listen
to the things that I am saying, praying someone's going to hear;
And I guess I'll die explaining how the things that they complain about
are things they could be changing, hoping someone's goin' to care.

I was born a lonely singer and I'm bound to die the same
But I've got to feed the hunger in my soul;
And if I never have a nickel I won't ever die of shame
'cause I don't believe that no-one wants to know!

Me and Bobby McGee

Busted flat in Baton Rouge, headin' for the trains,
feelin' nearly faded as my jeans.
Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained,
took us all the way to New Orleans.
I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana
and was blowin' sad while Bobby sang the blues,
With them windshield wipers slappin' time and Bobby clappin' hands
we finally sang up every song that driver knew.

Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose,
and nothin' ain't worth nothin' but it's free,
Feelin' good was easy, Lord, when Bobby sang the blues,
Feelin' good was good enough for me,
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee.

From the coalmines of Kentucky to the California sun,
Bobby shared the secrets of my soul,
Standin' right beside me through everythin' I done,
and every night she kept me from the cold.
Then somewhere near Salinas, Lord, I let her slip away,
Lookin' for the home I hope she'll find,
Well, I'd trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday,
holdin' Bobby's body next to mine.

Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose,
and nothin' left was all she left to me,
Feelin' good was easy, Lord, when Bobby sang the blues,
and buddy, that was good enough for me.
Good enough for me and Bobby McGee.

Best of All Possible Worlds

I was runnin' through the summer rain tryin' to catch the evenin' train
And kill that old familiar pain weevin' through my tangled brain
When I tipped my bottle back I smacked into a cop I didn't see
That policeman said Mr Cool if you're ain't drunk then you're a fool
I said if that's against the law tell me why I never saw
A man locked in that jail of yours who wadn't just as lowdown poor as me
Well that was when someone turned out the lights
And I wound up in jail to spend the night
And dream of all the wine and lonely girls in this best of all possible worlds

Well I woke up next morning feelin' like my head was gone
And like my thick old tongue was lickin' somethin' sick and wrong
And I told that man I'd sell my soul if somethin' wet and cold is that old cell
That kindly jailer grinned at me all eaten up with sympathy
Then bought himself another beer and came and whispered in my ear
That booze was just a dime a bottle boy you couldn't even buy the smell
I said I knew there was somethin' I liked about this town
But it takes more than that to bring me down down down
Cause there's still a lot of wine and lonely girls in this best of all possible worlds

Well they finally came and told me they was a gonna set me free
And I'd be leavin' town if I knew what was good for me
I said it's nice to learn that everybody's so concerned about my health
I said I won't be leavin' no more quicker than I can
Cause I've enjoyed about this much of this as I can stand
And I don't need this town of yours more than I've never needed nothing else
Cause there's still a lotta drinks that I ain't drunk
Lots of pretty thoughts that I ain't thought oh yeah
Lord there's still so many lonely girls in this best of all possible worlds

Help Me Make It Through the Night

Take the ribbon from your hair,
Shake it loose and let it fall,
Layin' soft upon my skin.
Like the shadows on the wall.

Come and lay down by my side
Till the early morning light
All I'm takin' is your time.
Help me make it through the night.

I don't care what's right or wrong,
I don't try to understand.
Let the devil take tomorrow.
Lord, tonight I need a friend.

Yesterday is dead and gone
And tomorrow's out of sight.
And it's sad to be alone.
Help me make it through the night.

I don't care what's right or wrong, (Yes, I do !)
I don't try to understand.
Let the devil take tomorrow.
Lord, tonight I need a friend.

Yesterday is dead and gone
And tomorrow's out of sight.
Lord, it's bad to be alone.
Help me make it through the night.

The Law Is for Protection of the People

Billy Dalton staggered on the sidewalk
Someone said he stumbled and he fell
Six squad cars came screaming to the rescue
Hauled old Billy Dalton off to jail

'Cause the law is for protection of the people
Rules are rules and any fool can see
We don't need no drunks like Billy Dalton
Scarin' decent folks like you and me, no siree

Charlie Watson wandered like a stranger
Showing he had no means of support
Police man took one look at his pants cuffs
Hustled Charlie Watson off to court.

'Cause the law is for protection of the people
Rules are rules and any fool can see
We don't need no bums like Charlie Watson
Scarin' decent folks like you and me, no siree.

Homer Lee Hunnicut was nothing but a hippy
Walking thru this world without a care
Then one day, six strapping brave policeman
Held down Homer Lee and cut his hair

'Cause the law is for protection of the people
Rules are rules and any foola can see
We don't need no hairy headed hippies
Scarin' decent folks like you and me, no siree

So thank your lucky stars you've got protection
Walk the line, and never mind the cost
And don't wonder who them lawmen was protecting
When they nailed the Savior to the cross.

'Cause the law is for protection of the people
Rules are rules and any fool can see
We don't need no riddle speaking prophets
Scarin' decent folks like you and me, no siree.

Casey's Last Ride

Casey joins the hollow sound of silent people walking down
The stairway to the subway in the shadows down below;
Following their footsteps through the neon-darkened corridors
Of silent desperation, never speakin' to a soul.
The poison air he's breathin' has the dirty smell of dying
'Cause it's never seen the sunshine and it's never felt the rain.
But Casey minds the arrows and ignores the fatal echoes
Of the clickin' of the turnstiles and the rattle of his chains.

"Oh!" she said, "Casey it's been so long since I've seen you!"
"Here" she said, "just a kiss to make a body smile!"
"See" she said, "I've put on new stockings just to please you!"
"Lord!" she said, "Casey can you only stay a while?"

Casey leaves the under-ground and stops inside the Golden Crown
For something wet to wipe away the chill that's on his bone.
Seeing his reflection in the lives of all the lonely men
Who reach for any thing they can to keep from goin' home.
Standin' in the corner Casey drinks his pint of bitter
Never glancing in the mirror at the people passing by
Then he stumbles as he's leaving and he wonders if the reason
Is the beer that's in his belly, or the tear that's in his eye.

"Oh!" she said, "I suppose you seldom think about me,"
"Now" she said, "now that you've a fam'ly of your own";
"Still" she said, "it's so blessed good to feel your body!"
"Lord!" she said "Casey it's a shame to be alone!"

Just the Other Side of Nowhere

I come from just the other side of nowhere
To this big time lonesome town.
They got a lot of ice and snow here,
Half as cold as all the people I've found.
Every way I try to go here seems to bring me down.
I've seen about enough to know where I belong.

I've got a mind to see the headlights shining
On that old white line between my heart and home.
Sick of spendin' Sundays wishing they were Mondays
Sittin' in a park alone.
So give my best to anyone who's left who ever done me
Any lovin' way but wrong.
Tell 'em that the pride of just the other side o nowhere's
Goin' home.

Takin' nothin' back to show there
For these dues I've paid.
But the soul I almost sold here
And the body I've been givin' away.
Fadin' from the neon nighttime glow here,
Headin' for the light of day,
Just the other side of nowhere, goin' home.

I've got a mind to see the headlights shinin'
On that old white line between my heart and home.
Sick of spendin' Sundays wishin' they were Mondays,
Sittin' in a park alone.
So give my best to anyone who's left who ever done me
Any lovin' way but wrong.
Tell them that the pride of just the other side of nowhere's
Goin' Home.
Just the other side on nowhere, goin' home

Darby's Castle

See the ruin on the hill where the smoke is hanging still
Like an echo of an age long forgotten;
There's a story of a home crushed beneath those blackened stones
And the roof which fell before the beams were rotten.
Cecil Darby loved his wife, and he laboured all his life
To provide her with material possessions;
And he built for her a home of the finest wood and stone
And the building soon became his sole obsession.

Oh, it took three hundred days for the timbers to be raised
And the silhouette was seen for miles around;
And the gables reached as high as the eagles in the sky -
But it only took one night to bring it down,
When Darby's castle tumbled to the ground.

Though they shared a common bed there was precious little said
In the moments that were set aside for sleeping:
For his busy dreams were filled with the rooms he'd yet to build
And he never heard young Ellen Darby weeping.
Then one night he heard a sound, as he laid his pencil down,
And he traced it to her door and turned the handle;
And the pale light of the moon through the window of the room
Split the shadows where two bodies lay entangled.

Oh, it took three hundred days for the timbers to be raised
And the silhouette was seen for miles around;
And the gables reached as high as the eagles in the sky -
But it only took one night to bring it down,
When Darby's castle tumbled to the ground.

10.

For the Good Times

Don't look so sad
I know it's over
But life goes on
And this world
Keeps on turning

Let's just be glad
We had this time
To spend together
There is no need to watch the bridges
That we're burning

Lay your head upon my pillow
Hold your warm and tender body
Close to mine
Hear the whisper of the raindrops
Blow softly against my window
Make believe you love me
One more time
For the good times
For the good times

I'll get along
I'm sure you'll find another
baby please remember
I'll be here
I'm going to stay right here
If you should ever find
You need me
Yeah

Don't say a word
About tomorrow
Or forever and ever and ever and ever
There'll be time enough for severance
When you leave me
For the good times
For the good times

Lay your head upon my pillow
Hold your warm and tender body
Close to mine
Hear the whisper of the raindrops
Blow softly against my window
Make believe you love me
One more time
For the good times
For the good times

Lay your head upon my pillow
Hold your warm and tender body
Close to mine

11.

Duvalier's Dream

Duvalier was a bitter man who cursed the morning sun
That brought a new betrayal every day.
He shunned the world of mortals and the sound of human tongues
And blessed the night that chased their sight away.
A disillusioned dreamer who would never love again
Who'd tried of it and found that it was rotten.
Prefering perfect strangers to the company of friends
Because strangers are so easily forgotten.

Oh, it's hard to keep believing when you know you've been decieved.
To face a lie and dare to try again, but there's nothing like a woman
with a spell of make believe to make a new believer of a man.

Duvalier took the fickle turns of fortune in his stride
Expecting next to nothing out of life.
Till fortune found a girl who fanned a flame he thought had died
Whose burning beauty cut him like a knife.
She touched him through the senses that his mind could not control.
Then smiling stepped aside and watched him fall.
Betrayed by his own body and the hunger in his soul
Duvalier was a dreamer after all.

Oh, it's hard to keep believing when you know you've been decieved.
To face a lie and dare to try again, but there's nothing like a woman
with a spell of make believe to make a new believer of a man.

12.

Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down

Well I woke up Sunday morning
with no way to hold my head, that didn't hurt
and the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad
so I had one more for dessert
then I fumbled through my closet for my clothes
and found my cleanest dirty shirt
and I shaved my face and combed my hair
and stumbled down the stairs to meet the day

I'd smoked my brain the night before
or I smoked so much the night before
with cigarettes and songs that I've been pickin'
my mouth was like an ashtray I'd been lickin'
but I lit my first and watched a small kid
cussin' at a can that he was kicking
then I crossed the empty street
and caught the Sunday smell of someone fryin' chicken
and it took me back to somethin'
that I'd lost somehow somewhere along the way

On the Sunday morning sidewalks
wishing Lord that I was stoned
'cause there is something in a Sunday
that makes a body feel alone
and there's nothin' short of dyin'
half as lonesome as the sound
on the sleepin' city side walks
Sunday mornin' comin' down

In the park I saw a daddy
with a laughing little girl who he was swingin'
and I stopped beside a Sunday school
and listened to the song that they were singin'
then I headed back for home and
somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringin'
and it echoed thru the canyon like
the disappearing dreams of yesterday.

On the Sunday morning sidewalks
wishing Lord that I was stoned
'cause there is something in a Sunday
that makes a body feel alone
and there's nothin' short of dyin'
half as lonesome as the sound
on the sleepin' city side walks
Sunday mornin' comin' down.