Kris Kristofferson

[fox69]

"The Silver Tongued Devil And I"

"The Silver Tongued Devil And I"



I took myself down, to the Tally Ho Tavern
To buy me a bottle of beer
And I sat me down by a tender young maiden
Whose eyes were as dark as her hair

And as I was searching from bottle to bottle
For somethin' unfoolish to say
That silver tongued devil just slipped from the shadows
And smilingly stole her away

I said hey, little girl, don't you know, he's the devil
He's ev'rything that I ain't
Hidin' intentions of evil
Under the smile of a saint

All he's good for is gettin' in trouble
And shiftin' his share of the blame
And some people swear he's my double
And some even say we're the same

But the silver-tongued devil's got nothin' to lose
And I'll only live till I die
We take our own chances, and pay our own dues
The silver tongued devil and I

Like all the fair maidens who've laid down beside him
She knew in her heart that he'd lied
Nothin' that I could have said could have saved her
No matter, how hard that she tried

'Cause she'll offer her charms, to the darkness and danger
Of something that she's never known
And open her arms at the smile of a stranger
Who'll love her and leave her alone

And you know he's the devil
He's everything that I ain't
Hidin' intentions of evil
Under the smile of a saint

All he's good for is gettin' in trouble
And shiftin' his share of the blame
And some people swear he's my double
And some even say we're the same

But the silver-tongued devil's got nothin' to lose
I'll only live till I die
We take our own chances, and pay our own dues
The silver tongued devil and I

 

[fox69]

"The Stranger I Love"

"The Stranger I Love"



I've been a simple man, and I've been insane
I've been a vagabond, and I've been a king
But I've been a better man just tryin' to please
The stranger I love
Lost in the wilderness, darker than pain
And drawn to her loneliness, just like a flame
The closer we come, the more that I lean
The stranger I love
Bad as I loved her, I ain't afraid
We'll be together, some lovin' way
I'll be her lover just as long as I can
Then when it's over, she'll need a friend
So I'll take her hand-me-downs; I'll take the blame
I'll ba a hang-around; I ain't ashamed
'Cause the longer I love her, the more I believe
The stranger I love

 

[fox69]

"The Taker"

"The Taker"



He's a giver, he'll give her
The kind of attention that she's never known
He's a helper, he'll help her
To open the doors that she can't on her own
He's a lover, he'll love her
In ways that she never has been loved before
And he's a getter, he'll get her
By gettin her into the world she's been hungerin' for

'cause he's a taker, he'll take her
To places and make her fly higher than she's ever dared to
He'll take his time before takin' advantage
Takin' her easy and slow
And after he's taken the body and soul
That she gives him, he'll take her for granted
Then he'll take off and leave her
Takin' all of her pride as he goes

Yes, he's a taker, he'll take her ...

He's a charmer, and he'll charm her
With money and manners that I never learned
He's a leader, and he'll lead her
Across pretty bridges he's planning to burn
He's a talker, he'll talk her
Right off of her feet, but he won't talk for long
Cause he's a doer, and he'll do her
The way that I never
And damned if he won't do her wrong
'cause he's a taker, he'll take her
To places and make her fly higher than she's ever dared to
He'll take his time before takin' advantage
Takin' her easy and slow
And after he's taken the body and soul
That she gives him, he'll take her for granted
Then he'll take off and leave her
Takin' all of her pride as he goes

Yes, he's a taker, he'll take her ...

 

[fox69]

"The Things I Might Have Been"
(with Rita Coolidge)

"The Things I Might Have Been"
(with Rita Coolidge)



I might have been a helpless soul with nothing much in store
I might have been without a goal just dreams and nothing more
I might have known life alone but that's where you came in
Your lovin' arms have saved me from the things I might have been
I might have been a kind who roam a stranger everywhere
Or one of those who'll stay at home with no one's dreams to share
But your sweet kiss has changed all this and made my life begin
Keep lovin' me don't let me be the things I might have been

[guitar]

Your sweet kiss has changed all this...

 

[fox69]

"The Year 2000 Minus 25"

"The Year 2000 Minus 25"


Welcome to the year 2000, minus 25
Oh say, can you smell 'er for the smoke?
God's still up there laughin'
So he's gotta be alive
Who says he can't take a dirty joke?

Power is and power does and power slips away
It's so easy to abuse.
Who'da thought them Arabs woulda bought the USA
Just to give it to the Jews?

[Chorus:]
Singin' crime still don't pay
Just like it used to
(Just like it used to)
And time slips away 'til you die
(Slips away 'til you die)
You know but I don't give a damn
When I choose to
(When I choose to)
And you know but it don't hurt so bad
When you're high
(When you're high)

Oh say does the future of the homesick and the brave
Even matter anymore
There ain't no more reason for them boys to run away now
Than there was the fight before
And could you tell me why the hell we tried to win back in the war
What we wasted in the last?
Might just ain't as righteous as it used to be before
When your army's out of gas

[Chorus:]
Singin' crime still don't pay
Just like it used to
(Just like it used to)
And time slips away 'til you die
(Slips away 'til you die)
You know but I don't give a damn
When I choose to
(When I choose to)
And you know but it don't hurt so bad
When you're high
(When you're high)

 

[fox69]

"They Killed Him"

"They Killed Him"



There was a man named Mahatma Ghandi
He would not bow down, he would not fight
He knew the deal was down and dirty
And nothing wrong could make it right away

But he knew his duty, and the price he had to pay
Just another holy man who tried to make a stand
MY GOD, THEY KILLED HIM!

Another man from Atlanta, Georgia
By the name of Martin Luther King
He shook the land like rolling thunder
And made the bells of freedom ring today

With a dream of beauty that they could not burn away
Just another holy man who dared to be a friend
MY GOD, THEY KILLED HIM!

The only son of God Almighty
The holy one called Jesus Christ
Healed the lame and fed the hungry
And for his love they took his life away

On the road to glory where the story never ends
Just the holy son of man we'll never understand
MY GOD, THEY KILLED HIM!

Sing about Mahatma Ghandi
Sing of Martin Luther King
Sing Of Jesus Christ Almighty
And the brothers Kennedy

 

[fox69]

"Third World War"

"Third World War"



Where the young men's brave new visions threaten old men's selfish dreams
And they try to crush the spirit with their money and machines
And they call it communism because they don't know what it means
In the third world war

And the rich keep getting richer and as wrong as they are right
And the poor become the victims of the armies of the night
And the odds are never even and their skins are never white
In the third world war

Broken rules and dirty warriors spreading lies and secret funds
Can't defeat the Campesino with their money and their guns
'Cause he's fighting for his future and his Freedom and his sons
In the third world war

 

[fox69]

"Third World Warrior"

"Third World Warrior"



You can't defeat him - he's fighting for Freedom
That's all he wanted - that's all he needs
You'll never beat him with weapons and money
There ain't no chain as strong as the will to be free

Maybe his colors are driving you crazy
Call him a commie - maybe it's true
Lure him away from his home with your money
Give him the work that you don't want to do

You can't defeat him - he's fighting for Freedom
That's all he wanted - that's all he needs
You'll never beat him with weapons and money
There ain't no chain as strong as the will to be free

See how we honor the struggle for Freedom
They needed vision - we gave'em war
See who is patiently watching in silence
The crucification of El Salvador

You can't defeat him - he's fighting for Freedom
That's all he wanted - that's all he needs
You'll never beat him with weapons and money
There ain't no chain as strong as the will to be free

 

[fox69]

"This Old Road"

"This Old Road"


Look at that old photograph
Is it really you
Smiling like a baby full of dreams

Smiling ain't so easy now
Some are coming true
Nothing's simple as it seems

But I guess you count your blessings with the problems
That you're dealing with today
Like the changing of the seasons

[Chorus:]
Ain't you come a long way
Ain't you come a long way
Ain't you come a long way down
This old road

Looking at a looking glass
Running out of time
On a face you used to know

Traces of a future lost
In between the lines
One more rainbow for the road

Thinking of the faces in the window
That you passed along the way
Or the last thing you believed in

[Chorus]

Say you tried to chase the sundown
And you let it slip away
And the holy night is falling

[Chorus]

Look at that old photograph
Is it really you?

 

[fox69]

"To Beat The Devil"

"To Beat The Devil"


[Spoken:]
A couple of years back, I come across a great and wasted friend of mine in the hallway of a recording studio; and while he was reciting some poetry to me that he'd written, I saw that he was about a step away from dyin' and I couldn't help but wonder why. And the lines of this song occurred to me. I'm happy to say he's no longer wasted and he's got him a good woman. And I'd like to dedicate this to John and June, who helped show me how to beat the devil.

It was winter time in Nashville, down on music city row.
And I was lookin' for a place to get myself out of the cold.
To warm the frozen feelin' that was eatin' at my soul.
Keep the chilly wind off my guitar.

My thirsty wanted whisky; my hungry needed beans,
But it'd been of month of paydays since I'd heard that eagle scream.
So with a stomach full of empty and a pocket full of dreams,
I left my pride and stepped inside a bar.

Actually, I guess you'd could call it a Tavern:
Cigarette smoke to the ceiling and sawdust on the floor;
Friendly shadows.

I saw that there was just one old man sittin' at the bar.
And in the mirror I could see him checkin' me and my guitar.
An' he turned and said: "Come up here boy, and show us what you are."
I said: "I'm dry." He bought me a beer.

He nodded at my guitar and said: "It's a tough life, ain't it?"
I just looked at him. He said: "You ain't makin' any money, are you?"
I said: "You've been readin' my mail."
He just smiled and said: "Let me see that guitar.
"I've got something you oughta hear."
Then he laid it on me:

[Sung:]
"If you waste your time a-talkin' to the people who don't listen,
"To the things that you are sayin', who do you think's gonna hear.
"And if you should die explainin' how the things that they complain about,
"Are things they could be changin', who do you think's gonna 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.
'Cos the truth remains that no-one wants to know.

[Spoken:]
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 wanna join him, you got to beat him.
I ain't sayin' I beat the devil, but I drank his beer for nothing.
Then I stole his song.

[Sung:]
And you still can hear me singin' to the people who don't listen,
To the things that I am sayin', prayin' someone's gonna hear.
And I guess I'll die explaining how the things that they complain about,
Are things they could be changin', hopin' someone's gonna 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 ashamed.
'Cos I don't believe that no-one wants to know.