Kris Kristofferson quotes: on his rags to riches story, why he’d never be a panelist on American Idol, his favorite song he’s ever written, and more.
“To me, if you love it enough to devote your life to it, then you’re doing the right thing.”
“You’ll be miserable if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do.”
“Follow your heart.”
“If you’re in it because you love it and you have to do it, that’s the right reason. If you’re in it because you want to get rich or famous, don’t do it.”
“I’d rather be sorry for something I had done than for something I didn’t do.”
“Never give up. As soon as you learn to never give up, you have to learn the power and wisdom of unconditional surrender, and that one doesn’t cancel out the other; they just exist as contradictions. The wisdom of it comes as you get older.”
“You don’t paddle against the current, you paddle with it. And if you get good at it, you throw away the oars.”
“If you can’t get out of something, get into it. If you can’t fix it, f*ck it.”
“Ya gotta keep creating.”
“There are points in your life, especially if you have creative ambitions, where selfishness is necessary.”
“Every one of us is sort of a figment of our own imaginations.”
“The only reality is in the moment. What you are doing counts.”
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”
“I had fought for my independence and fought for my freedom to do as I chose.”
“It makes me think about the time when my apartment got robbed and everything was gone and I was disowned by my family. I owed money… and I thought, ‘I’m losing my job.’ I hadn’t any money, I hadn’t anything going for me, but it was liberating. I thought, ‘F*ck. I’m on the bottom, can’t go any lower.’ And from then on, man, I drove my car to the airport, left it there, and never went back to get it. Went to Nashville and called this friend of mine and told him I’d just got fired, and he said, ‘Great. Johnny Cash is shooting a new TV show. Come up, and we can pitch him some songs.’ The next moment, they cut three of my songs, and they were hits. I never had to go back to work again.”
“I’ve been writing songs since I was a little boy. You know, I think I wrote my first song when I was 11.”
“I’d lost my family to my years of failing as a songwriter. All I had were bills, child support and grief. And I was about to get fired. It looked like I’d trashed my act. But there was something liberating about it. By not having to live up to people’s expectations, I was somehow free. ‘Bobby McGee’ was the song that made the difference for me. Every time I sing it, I still think of Janis.”
“Well, my favorite, if I had to pick one, would be ‘Bobby McGee.’ But the thing is, I think I’ve written a lot of good songs, and it’s like with your children—you like them for different reasons. I feel lucky to have visited Nashville when I did, when I was on my way to being a soldier and an officer in the army. It saved my life.”
“Looking back, I’m surprised I had the nerve to do it, but I’m glad I did. Performing the songs and performing in film was just a part of my personality, just like football and boxing at one point in my life. I was able to lose myself in both of them, and that was a good feeling.”
“Every time that I’d be standing there on stage, at least at some point in the show, I had to just pinch myself to realize that I was really up there on the stage. Every one of these guys was my hero before I even knew them, you know?”
“Every album I’ve made is about what I’m experiencing at the time.”
“I’ll probably be writing as long as I’m breathing. Everything that I write is sort of autobiographical, and I don’t know that I’m getting better, but I’m certainly running out of time.”
“I feel like it’s a creative thing that I got to do as well as I expected to do, because I never really had any training.”
“It’s hard to turn away when you feel like you are getting paid more than you deserve.”
“Nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’ but it’s free.”
“The number one rule of the road is never go to bed with anyone crazier than yourself. You will break this rule, and you will be sorry.”
“Those Idol shows are kind of scary to me. They wanted me to be on one of those panels one time, and I said it’s the last thing in the world I’d ever want to do. I would hate to have to discourage somebody.”
“I don’t think I’ve gotten any smarter, but your reflexes slow down before you do something stupid when you’re older.”
“I feel like I’m kind of lazy, but I keep the yard looking good.”
“Just keep getting as old as you can as long as you can.”
“The most valuable thing to me seems to be time, and with time, I can be great. I have been… and I will be.”
“I enjoy looking back on my life. I’m thinking seriously about starting to write about it.”
“I’d trade all my tomorrows for one single yesterday.”
“The heart is what matters most of all.”
“I feel so lucky to have lived the life that I did and to be surrounded by the people I love. I’ve got eight kids, and they’re always laughing all the time. It’s like music to my ears. I think that my frame of mind these days is probably happier than I’ve ever been, which is kind of odd, coming close to the finish line.”
“I hope that I’ll keep being creative until they throw dirt on me.”
“Why me Lord? What have I ever done to deserve even one of the pleasures I’ve known? Tell me Lord, what did I ever do that was worth loving you or the kindness you’ve shown?”
“I really have no anxiety about controlling my own life. Somehow I just slipped into it and it’s worked. It’s not up to me—or you. I feel very lucky that life’s lasted so long because I’ve done so many things that could have knocked me out of it. But somehow I just always have the feeling that He knows what He’s doing. It’s been good so far, and it’ll probably continue to be.”
“I’ve had a life of all kinds of experiences. Most of them good. I have no regrets. I feel very grateful for the life that I had—you know, family I live with, and I’ve been doing work that I love.”
“Tell the truth. Sing with passion. Work with laughter. Love with heart. ‘Cause that’s all that matters in the end.”
