In 1985, Kristofferson joined fellow country artists Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash in forming the country music supergroup The Highwaymen, and formed a key creative force in the outlaw country music movement that eschewed the Nashville music machine in favor of independent songwriting and producing. In 2004, Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. As an actor, he is known for his roles in Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), Blume in Love (1973), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), A Star Is Born (1976) (which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor), Convoy (1978), Heaven's Gate (1980) and Blade (1998).
Kristofferson has said that he would like the first three lines of Leonard Cohen's "Bird on the Wire" on his tombstone:
Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Breakdown
Kris Kristofferson Lyrics
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There's nobody nobody knows on the street;
A few stranded souls standing cold at the station,
An nowhere to go but to bed and to sleep.
[Chorus:]
Lord, would you look at you
Now that you're here, ain't you
Proud of your peers
And the long way you've come'
All alone, all the way
On your own, who's to say
That you've thrown it away for a song'
Boy, you've sure come a long way from home.
So it's so long to so many so far behind you,
Fair-weather friends that you no longer know;
You've still got the same lonely songs to remind you
Of someone you seemed to be so long ago.
Lord, would you look at you
Now that you're here, ain't you
Proud of your peers
And the long way you've come'
All alone, all the way
On you own, who's to say
That you've thrown it away for a song'
Boy, you've sure come a long way from home.
In Kris Kristofferson's song "Breakdown," the lyrics paint a picture of a lonely night in a city where the clubs are closed and the people are leaving. The singer sees the stranded souls standing cold at the station and realizes that they have nowhere to go but to bed and sleep. The chorus of the song is an introspective moment where the singer takes a look at himself and his journey thus far. He wonders if he has thrown it all away for a song, but reminds himself of the long way he has come from home. He reflects on the fair-weather friends he no longer knows and the same lonely songs that remind him of who he used to be.
Line by Line Meaning
The clubs are all closed and the ladies are leaving,
The night has come to an end, the places of entertainment are shutting down and women are going home.
There's nobody nobody knows on the street;
The street is empty and there aren't any familiar faces around.
A few stranded souls standing cold at the station,
There are a few people stuck at the station in the cold, unsure of where to go.
An nowhere to go but to bed and to sleep.
There aren't any options available except to head home and go to bed.
[Chorus:]
The chorus repeats throughout the song.
Lord, would you look at you
Oh my, take a look at yourself
Now that you're here, ain't you
Now that you've made it this far, aren't you
Proud of your peers
Proud of the people you've surrounded yourself with
And the long way you've come'
And the great distance you've traveled
All alone, all the way
It was just you, all by yourself, for the entire journey
On your own, who's to say
Without any help, who can judge
That you've thrown it away for a song'
That you wasted it all on something insignificant
Boy, you've sure come a long way from home.
You've made such progress from where you started.
So it's so long to so many so far behind you,
It's goodbye to those people who you've left far behind.
Fair-weather friends that you no longer know;
People who were your friends only during good times, and who you no longer know.
You've still got the same lonely songs to remind you
You still have the same sad songs to remind you
Of someone you seemed to be so long ago.
Of a person you used to be, so far in the past.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind