You're partly right. In one(?) version of this song, Kristofferson starts out by saying, to the background of his guitar, that he "started writing this song about Chris Gantry, ended up writing about ...(?) and Johnny Cash..." then goes on to mention several other country/folk singers of the time such as Ramblin' Jack Elliot. This song is about so much more than anyone in particular. A lot of what you said was right, but I see it as Kristofferson personifying the whole genre of music in this song.
I also love the imagery of "wearing yesterday's misfortunes like a smile". It's so resonate to anyone who's been known to hit the booze hard (and often subsequently the sidewalk). This was one of the songs that made me fully appreciate the poet in Kristofferson. I mean, one can dissect this like a poem with its binary opposites, use of repetition, alliteration..... but I won't, I promise. Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm for this song. Oh well.
You're partly right. In one(?) version of this song, Kristofferson starts out by saying, to the background of his guitar, that he "started writing this song about Chris Gantry, ended up writing about ...(?) and Johnny Cash..." then goes on to mention several other country/folk singers of the time such as Ramblin' Jack Elliot. This song is about so much more than anyone in particular. A lot of what you said was right, but I see it as Kristofferson personifying the whole genre of music in this song. I also love the imagery of "wearing yesterday's misfortunes like a smile". It's so resonate to anyone who's been known to hit the booze hard (and often subsequently the sidewalk). This was one of the songs that made me fully appreciate the poet in Kristofferson. I mean, one can dissect this like a poem with its binary opposites, use of repetition, alliteration..... but I won't, I promise. Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm for this song. Oh well.