The Greatest Oldies Music

Country

Kris Kristofferson & Johnny Cash – Sunday Morning Coming Down

Flashback: Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash Sing 'To Beat the Devil'

About the Song

Imagine waking up with a throbbing head, the faint aftertaste of regret clinging to your tongue like yesterday’s beer. The world outside is bathed in that melancholic Sunday morning light, amplifying the emptiness you feel within. This is the desolate scene painted by Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down”, a song that Johnny Cash would later transform into a poignant anthem for anyone who’s ever battled the demons of addiction and loneliness.

Kristofferson, known for his introspective and often bleak lyrics, lays bare the struggle of withdrawal. The lines, “Woke up this Sunday morning with no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt,” are a stark admission of physical pain mirroring the emotional turmoil. The protagonist resorts to another beer, a desperate attempt to numb the ache, a choice that only deepens the despair.

Cash, the “Man in Black,” brings his signature gravitas to the song. His deep, gravelly voice resonates with the weariness in the lyrics. The lines, “There’s something about a Sunday / That makes a body feel alone,” capture the universal experience of that quiet desperation that can settle in on a day of rest with nowhere to go and nothing to distract.

“Sunday Morning Coming Down” is more than just a lament about a hangover. It’s a raw portrayal of addiction’s grip, the constant battle between succumbing to the craving and yearning for a way out. The protagonist longs for a simpler time, hinted at in the line, “The sunny smell of someone frying chicken / Lord it took me back to something that I lost somehow somewhere along the way.”

The song doesn’t offer easy solutions. But in its honesty, it provides a voice for those struggling. It acknowledges the pain and offers a sense of solidarity, a reminder that you’re not alone in the fight. “Sunday Morning Coming Down” is a powerful testament to the human spirit’s resilience, a flicker of hope that even on the bleakest Sunday morning, there’s a chance to rise above the struggle and find a way forward.BR33 Original Photo JOHNNY CASH KRIS KRISTOFFERSON Christmas Show Musicians | eBay

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Lyrics: Sunday Morning Coming Down

Well I woke up Sunday mornin’, 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
Then I fumbled through my closet, for my clothes and found my cleanest dirty shirt
And I shaved my face and combed my hair and, stumbled down the stairs to meet the dayI’d smoked my brain the night before on, cigarettes and songs that I’d been pickin’
But I lit my first and watched a small kid cussin’ at a can, that he was kickin’
Then I crossed the empty street and caught the Sunday smell of someone fryin’ chicken
And it took me back to somethin’, that I’d lost somehow somewhere along the wayOn the Sunday morning sidewalks, wishin’ Lord, that I was stoned
‘Cause there’s something in a Sunday, makes a body feel alone
And there’s nothin’ short of dyin’, half as lonesome as the sound
On the sleepin’ city side walks, Sunday mornin’ comin’ downIn the park I saw a daddy, with a laughing little girl who he was swingin’
And I stopped beside a Sunday school and listened to the song that they were singin’
Then I headed back for home and somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringin’
And it echoed through the canyons like the disappearing dreams of yesterdayOn the Sunday morning sidewalks, wishin’ Lord, that I was stoned
‘Cause there’s something in a Sunday, makes a body feel alone
And there’s nothin’ short of dyin’, half as lonesome as the sound
On the sleepin’ city side walks, Sunday mornin’ comin’ down

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A cot waited in a rehearsal hall at RCA Victor’s New York studio while Jimmie Rodgers made his final recordings. Between songs, he lay down to recover enough strength for another take. It was May 1933. Rodgers was 35 and had battled tuberculosis since 1924. As his health deteriorated, his earnings had dwindled. Victor was paying $250 per recorded side, and he wanted to provide for his wife, Carrie, and their daughter, Anita. The sessions started on May 17. Within days, standing to sing became impossible. He worked from an easy chair, supported by pillows that brought him close enough to the microphone, then returned to the cot. On May 24, two musicians accompanied him through three songs. After they left, Rodgers recorded one more with only his guitar: “Years Ago.” He had completed twelve songs in eight days. The following night at the Taft Hotel, severe coughing gave way to hemorrhaging in his lungs. The hotel doctor could not be located. Rodgers fell into a coma and died on May 26, roughly 36 hours after his last recording. Before music made him famous, he had worked as a railroad brakeman. A Southern Railway train carried his body home to Meridian, Mississippi, in a baggage car. According to accounts of the journey, the engineer kept sounding the whistle along the way.

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