As I lay dying

Today’s earworm has to be from Kris Kristofferson, who died Saturday at age 88.

Son of a career Air Force officer, Kristofferson earned a degree in English at Pomona College, where he also played football and boxed. (I have to frame this by telling you that Pomona plays in the same athletic league as Cal Tech. But still…) He won a Rhodes Scholarship to Merton College, Oxford, where he studied (among other literature) the poetry of William Blake.

You may or may not know this, but while a Rhodes Scholarship is an academic honor, you also have to be an athlete; it was founded by that Muscular Christian White Nationalist Cecil Rhodes, who definitely believed in mens sana in corpore sano.

He left Oxford to take a commission in the U.S. Army, where he flew helicopters in Germany. That made his parents happy, but when the Army proposed his next assignment as teaching English literature at West Point, he resigned his commission and moved to Nashville.

It was time for him to live his life as a poet.

His family disowned him.

Kristofferson came on the country music scene in the 60s. Though that’s not really my jam, his songs resonate deeply. They’re largely about fleeting relationships that nevertheless provide a bright, if short, light. They are also deeply sensual. Like the opening verse from “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.”

Whoo-ee, that is some hot stuff right there.

Kristofferson’s biggest hit was probably “Me and Bobby McGee”, written in 1970. I first heard it sung by Gordon Lightfoot, and Janis Joplin went No. 1 on the chart with her posthumously released cover that same year. I confess that for the past week I’ve been stuck on “With those windshield wipers slappin’ time and Bobby clappin’ hands, We finally sung up every song that driver knew.”

“Bobby McGee” gave us the catchphrase “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose; nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’, but it’s free.” If you look, you can find the threads of Blake in Kristofferson’s work.

As with JD Souther last week, there’s so much to choose from with Kristofferson. But I’m going with “Loving Her Was Easier”. He was an amazing balladeer, and there's a whole lot of Blake in the imagery.

 

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