Kris Kristofferson

[fox69]

"The Heart"

"The Heart"



My daddy was a charmer, boys, he had a lot of style
He was shining best at everything he did
They said that he could lighten up a room with just a smile
And I was proud as hell to be his kid

It seemed like just as we were growing close together he was gone
But it was long enough to show what I could be
And I sometimes feel his spirit fill my body like a song
And this is what my daddy sings to me

If they deal you down and dirty in a way you don't deserve
You'll feel better if you take it like a man
If you let 'em drive you crazy, boy, they'll shut your business down
Shake it off and get your licks in when you can
'cause the heart is all that matters in the end

They say every song is sweeter when you sing it from the heart
I won't knock it 'cause I tried it and it's true
I may never get to heaven, but I've seen a lot of stars
And I'm here to bring the same advice to you.

If they deal you down and dirty in a way you don't deserve
You'll feel better if you take it like a man
If you let 'em drive you crazy, boy, they'll shut your business down
Shake it off and get your licks in when you can
'cause the heart is all that matters in the end

Yes, the heart is all that matters in the end
The heart is all that matters in the end

 

[fox69]

"The Junkie And The Juicehead, Minus Me"

"The Junkie And The Juicehead, Minus Me"



I was a stumble bummin' down the neon Music City sidewalks
With the Junkie and the Juicehead who had problems of their own
Stuck with luck it kept me standin' just a step away from starvin'
And the talent that I swore I'd show before I'd go back home
Ninety days I looked the army makin' neither love nor money
And my only set of clothes was gettin' closer to the bone
And the Junkie placed an order with the Prophet on the corner
And he told him of the soul that he'd been sellin' for a song
He said my future was my fortune but I let it slip away
Slowly smokin' myself broke on eighty cigarettes a day
Findin' out that crime ain't all there is that doesn't pay
And writin' words that no one's gonna see but did you said it who said it
I can read my fortune in the bottom of a glass
And I can see it's time for me to make my last request
Won't you fill my grave with whiskey when I'm laid away to rest
So the boys can say I drank myself to dead
Well I drank the whole thing over puttin' one and two together
And it added up to more of what I didn't want to be
I ain't blamin' Music City but it's only gonna see me
One more day and the wake up and the time it takes to leave
Cause I got a dirty picture of what could have been my future
In a Prophet pushin' day dreams on a corner for a fee
And the wino lookin' lonely at a bottle gettin' empty
And a hungry lookin' junkie huntin' tea in sympathy
And I bet that junkie's laughin' after the life he threw away
Slowly smokin' himself broke on eighty cigarettes a day
Pleadin' down the Prophet to a price that he can pay
And writin' words that no one's gonna see but did you said it who said it
Every empty bottle is my private crystal ball
And starin' into the future findin' nothin' there at all
Which is what I'll miss tomorrow when the neon shadows fall
On the Junkie and the Juicehead minus me

 

[fox69]

"The Lady's Not For Sale"

"The Lady's Not For Sale"



She longed to be a lady,
When she was just a child;
But where the grass was greener, Lord
She done her growin' wild.
Then she tried to spread her tender wings,
And never left the ground;
So she turned to dreams at sweet sixteen
And woke up coming down.

But she tries in her way climbing higher,
And she dies each time she fails;
So give her a home, or leave her alone;
The lady's not for sale.

She ain't ashamed to show her soul,
So she'll sell it for a song.
But free don't mean she's easy
Or right for going wrong.
So let her be the lady, Lord,
She wants so bad to be;
And let her win the gentle man
That she was born to please.

'Cause she tries in her way climbing higher,
And she dies each time she fails;
So give her a home, or leave her alone;
The lady's not for sale.

 

[fox69]

"The Last Thing To Go"

"The Last Thing To Go"



The angels were singing a sad country song
It sounded like something of yours
With a conscience as clear as the tear in your eye
And a heart beaten golden and pure

And I felt all the feelings we set down in song
Torn from the body and soul
And the fortunes that faded like stars into daylight
And tear drops we turned into gold

Every hard rocking wreck on the highway
Every heartbroken rule of the road
Every true thing we wrote on the wind is still singing
Love is the last thing to go

Love is the reason we happened at all
And it paid for the damage we done
And it bought us the freedom to fall into grace
On our way to our place in the sun

Every hard rocking wreck on the highway
Every heartbroken rule of the road
Every true thing we wrote on the wind is still singing
Love is the last thing to go

 

[fox69]

"The Law Is For Protection Of The People"

"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.

 

[fox69]

"The One You Chose"

"The One You Chose"



Give a man a yeller and he’ll be your friend forever
Give a man a speckled bird and he’ll never leave your side
And darling, truly making love will take you higher than the mountains
And you take you what it takes you boy to make your spirit rise

Me and you are moving to a truly new dimension
Full of new surprises on this river that we’re riding
Darling, up ahead is crazy with the freedom and it’s wilder
Welcome to the one you chose to run there by your side

Maybe what you see is what you got and what you wanted
Take me at my word that it’s the best that I can be
I will go down trying hard to teach you how to trust me
And I’ll love you ‘til it happens darling or eternity

Holding on to something that keeps holding us together
Stronger than the circumstances tearing us apart
I’ve just got a feeling, if I’m wrong you can correct me
I believe I just sang my way back in your heart

 

[fox69]

"The Pilgrim, Chapter 33"

"The Pilgrim, Chapter 33"



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 o' style

And he keeps right on a'changin', for the better or the worse
Searchin' for a shrine he's never found
Never knowin' if believin', is a blessin' or a curse
Or if the goin' up was worth, the comin' down

He's a poet, an' he's a picker, he's a prophet, an' he's a pusher
He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned
He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction
Takin' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home

He has tasted good and evil, in your bedrooms and your bars
And he's traded in tomorrow for today
Runnin' from his devils Lord, and reachin' for the stars
And losin' all he loved, along the way

But if this world keeps right on turnin', for the better or the worse
And all he ever gets is older and around
From the rockin' of the cradle, to the rollin' of the hearse
The goin' up was worth, the comin' down

He's a poet, an' he's a picker, he's a prophet, an' he's a pusher
He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned
He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction
Takin' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home

There's a lot of wrong directions, on that lonely way back home

 

[fox69]

"The Prisoner"

"The Prisoner"


I'm thanking you for opening my eyes so clear
And sweeping old illusions from my soul
But most of all for turning something simple and sincere
Into somethin' jaded and as jive as rock n' roll.

[Chorus:]
Ain't you always looked at lovin' like a four letter word
That I made up to make you ill at ease
I fought to free you from your castle of despair
'Til I saw the prison wall was me

See the soul who calls itself a prisoner
'Cause it's still too frightened to be free
I feel so much older now, and wiser
Ain't it sad how lonesome that can be.

[Chorus:]
Ain't you always looked at lovin' like a four letter word
That I made up to make you ill at ease
I fought to free you from your castle of despair
'Til I saw the prison wall was me

[Chorus:]
Ain't you always looked at lovin' like a four letter word
That I made up to make you ill at ease
I fought to free you from your castle of despair
'Til I saw the prison wall was me

 

[fox69]

"The Promise"

"The Promise"



You gave me back my soul again by showin' me
the laughter and the wonder in your eyes
saved me from the shuttered man I used to be
opened up the windows of my life

And the happiness you've given me for lovin' you
is sweeter love and deeper every day
I can't stop the changes that you're growin' through
or someone new from stealin' you away

So darlin' when it's time you can spread your wings
and I'll set you free - to fly away - and it's ok
cause darlin' time changes everything
but it won't change me
I love you - oh... I love you

Inside of me you'll always be my valentine
I pray your freedom makes your dreams come through
as long as there's a heartbeat in this soul of mine
you'll know there's someone so in love with you

So darlin' when it's time you can spread your wings
and I'll set you free - to fly away - and it's ok
cause darlin' time changes everything
but it won't change me
I love you - oh... I love you

 

[fox69]

"The Show Goes On"

"The Show Goes On"



We used to talk about the Rock and the Roll
That made it matter not to sell your soul
Like a banner that we held so high
We weren't afraid to fall
Steady rolling through the warning signs
That were hidden in between the lines
That kept us rocking 'til the break of day
Or any break at all

We used to take about a day and a night
To try to sing up all the soul in sight
And anyone who couldn't see the light
We had to leave behind
And the sweetest thing you ever heard
Was the singing of the Speckled Bird
And commercial was a dirty word
We laid it on the line

It was all so easy then
We could do no wrong
We'll never be the same again
But the show goes on

We used to drink about a bucket of booze
To try to chase away the black and blues
And when it came the time to pay your dues
You gave an IOU
To the devil with the dirty smile
Which he added to the growing pile
Of the promises you mean to keep
The day your dreams come true

It was all so easy then
We could do no wrong
We'll never be the same again
But the show goes on