In Memoriam 2024: Kris Kristofferson (1936–2024) Tribute List

Kris Kristofferson was a pioneering figure in American country music in the 1970s. He had been a Rhodes scholar, an Army Ranger helicopter pilot, a Golden Gloves boxer, and was a William Blake poetry aficionado, before he became a legendary songwriter and singer. His songwriting credits include "Me and Bobby McGee," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," and "For the Good Times." Kristofferson toured with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings as country music's supergroup "Highwaymen" (1985–1995). Also a successful A-list movie actor, he starred in dozens of films, including the Blade film trilogy and A Star Is Born — for which he earned a Golden Globe Best Actor Award. Other honors include the Country Music Hall of Fame (2004) and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2014). This tribute highlights Kristofferson's artistic contributions through biographical information, song lyrics, and film lines.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. canyon
    a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall
    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 yesterday
    – Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down
  2. freedom
    the power to act, speak, or think without being controlled
    Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose
    – Me and Bobby McGee
  3. make it
    continue in existence after (an adversity, etc.)
    And it's sad to be alone
    Help me make it through the night
    – Help Me Make It Through the Night
  4. silhouette
    an outline of a solid object as cast by its shadow
    Oh it took three hundred days
    For the timber to be raised
    And the silhouette was seen for miles around
    – Darby's Castle
  5. whisper
    a light noise, like the noise of leaves blowing in the wind
    Hear the whisper of the rain drops
    Blowing soft against the window
    And make believe you love me
    One more time
    For the good times
    – For the Good Times
  6. deserve
    be worthy
    Why me Lord what have I ever done
    To deserve even one of the pleasures I've known
    – Why Me
  7. comfort
    a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
    But I've been too long in the wind
    And too long in the rain
    Takin' any comfort that I can
    Yes, I'm looking back and longing for
    The freedom of my chains
    – Loving Arms
  8. abide
    dwell
    I was a sailor
    I was born upon the tide
    And with the sea I did abide
    – Highwayman
  9. fiction
    a deliberately false or improbable account
    He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction
    Takin' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home
    – The Pilgrim, Chapter 33
  10. photograph
    a picture taken with a camera or phone that shows people or scenes
    Look at that old photograph
    Is it really you
    Smiling like a baby full of dreams
    – This Old Road
  11. soul
    the immaterial part of a person
    Love will make you crazy
    But your soul will keep you sane
    – Closer to the Bone
  12. eternity
    time without end
    And I thank my lucky stars
    From here to eternity
    For the artist that you are
    And the man you made of me
    – Feeling Mortal
  13. destiny
    the circumstances or condition to which someone is fated
    Hawk: [Talking to Georgia] When you get older you think about dying...and not dying in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe I'll go across the river when it's my time. Follow my destiny.
    – Trouble in Mind
  14. withstand
    resist or confront with resistance
    Whistler: Blade's mother was attacked by a vampire while she was pregnant. She died, but he lived. Unfortunately, he'd undergone certain genetic changes. He can withstand garlic, silver, even sunlight. And he's got their strength. This time tomorrow, all those wounds of his will be healed.
    – Blade
  15. optimist
    a person disposed to take a favorable view of things
    Bronson: You're...an optimist. What in the world makes you think I'm gonna' deliver the money myself?
    – Payback
  16. scholar
    a learned person
    Kristofferson's resume is perhaps the strangest of any country star's. He was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, where he studied the poetry of William Blake, and a Golden Gloves boxer. He served as an army helicopter pilot in Germany and then as a janitor cleaning up after Bob Dylan's Nashville sessions while he tried to break into the music business.
    – Time
  17. charisma
    personal attractiveness that enables you to influence others
    Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and an A-list Hollywood actor, has died.
    – AP News
  18. intricate
    having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate
    Kristofferson, who could recite William Blake from memory, wove intricate folk music lyrics about loneliness and tender romance into popular country music.
    – AP News
  19. collaboration
    act of working jointly
    Kristofferson's other music career collaborations include the 1982 double album "The Winning Hand" with Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Brenda Lee, as well as performing with Nelson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings as the Highwaymen.
    – CNN
  20. brilliance
    exceptional mental ability
    But Kristofferson's individualism, contrarianism, and dogged brilliance not only made him a star, but helped kick down genre walls, lighting a path for outlaw country and many other rebels to find a home in both country music's edges and its mainstream over the past half-century.
    – Time
Created on Wed Oct 02 20:54:44 EDT 2024 (updated Mon Oct 07 15:09:41 EDT 2024)

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