You don’t get too many chances to see a living legend perform. In the past two years, I’ve been privileged to see James Taylor and Paul Simon perform. If his health holds out, in January I’ll get to see Kris Kristofferson perform in Spokane at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox.

I have to say “if his health holds out,” because I remember seeing Ray Charles perform with the Spokane Symphony in 2002. He gave a great show, and a couple seasons later the Seattle Symphony had him booked; unfortunately for them, Ray didn’t live that long. And Kris is 82 years old.

I know a lot of my younger friends are saying, “Who’s Kris Kristofferson?” and some of my older ones might even be saying, “Isn’t she one of those self-absorbed sisters on that reality TV show?” For those who aren’t familiar with his work, the former Rhodes Scholar, Army Ranger and survivor of a starring movie role opposite Barbra Streisand is one of the greatest songwriters in the second half of the 20th century. His country crossover hits included the Roger Miller and later Janis Joplin hit “Me and Bobby McGee,” Ray Price’s “For the Good Times,” Sammi Smith’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” and my personal favorite, Johnny Cash’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down.”

I once heard “Sunday Morning Coming Down” described as “the greatest hangover song ever written.” These days a country songwriter would write something like “Last night I drank so much beer out of my red Solo cup that I puked until noon.” And probably make millions off of it and be the toast of Nashville. Kristofferson’s songs always had a little more depth.

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

As the story progresses, the songwriter goes for a walk through the neighborhood and “caught the Sunday smell of someone frying chicken, and it took me back to something that I’d lost somehow, somewhere along the way.” As his walk continues, he sees a father and daughter having a good time on the swingset in the park, hears singing coming from a church, and is heading toward home when he hears a “lonely bell” chiming in the distance, “and it echoed through the canyon like the disappearing dreams of yesterday.”

On the Sunday morning sidewalks
Wishing Lord that I was stoned
‘Cause there’s something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone.
And there’s nothing short of dying
Half as lonesome as the sound
On the sleeping city sidewalk
Sunday morning coming down.

Pure poetry. Kristofferson said in 2016 that “it was the song that allowed me to quit working for a living.”

Kristofferson still works, though, touring with the late Merle Haggard’s band, The Strangers. When he comes to Spokane in January, I’m sure he’ll be singing the songs I mentioned, made-famous-by-him songs like “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)” and “Why Me, Lord?”, and some of Merle Haggard’s hits. And if he needs a duet partner, I’ll be ready.