Kristofferson wrote lyrics that made you think

"I sailed a schooner round the horn to Mexico I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed But I am living still."— "Highwaymen." Once, almost 30 years ago, I was riding in the car with my father, and he had the radio on. Someone called into the station and requested "My Back Pages" by The Byrds, a song written by Bob Dylan. The chorus to that tune contained this line: "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now." "It's a great line, isn't it?" my dad asked me. I agreed. But I also was impressed that my father would say that to me, almost asking for my opinion. This 16-year-old kid wasn't used to being asked about much, other than maybe what he wanted from the vending machine. A few months later, my dad and I were in the car again, and the Janis Joplin song "Me and Bobby McGee" came on. Hearing "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose," I turned the tables on my father. "It's a great line, isn't it?" I asked. Dad paused. "I suppose," he said. "But I'm not sure it's true." If my dad had just said, "Yes," I probably wouldn't have remembered the conversation. But here we are, some 28 years later, and I can't tell you how many times I've thought about it. No, I don't think freedom is synonymous with nothing left to lose. Freedom is everything. It defines us as Americans, and human beings. And yet, the line still hits me every time I hear it. While "Me and Bobby McGee" was made popular by Joplin (and also Roger Miller and Gordon Lightfoot), it was written by Kris Kristofferson. Kristofferson, a singer, songwriter, actor and Highwayman, died last week at 86. Kristofferson also was an essay writer and college football player. He was a Rhodes Scholar and a helicopter pilot in the Army. While I don't believe that freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose, it must be acknowledged that few were in better position to define the word than Kristofferson. Leaving the Army caused a serious rift with his family (his father was a U.S. Air Force Major General), but it also marked the beginning of a music career. Kristofferson wrote songs that were recorded by all kinds of musicians. Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Kenny Rogers all recorded his work, and had hits with it. The thing that stands out to me about Kristofferson is his ability to write lyrics that are very relatable. Some of those lyrics became titles for his tracks: "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends," "Loving Her was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)" are especially poignant. Willie Nelson recorded the latter. Actually, he recorded an entire album of Kristofferson songs. Kristofferson was a very successful artist on his own. He had a No. 1 single in 1973 with "Why Me" (which, by the way, sounds like a Christian hymn) and was one of the most enduring acts in country music in the 1970s and '80s. He also joined up with Cash, Nelson and Waylon Jennings as The Highwaymen, touring together as a country western supergroup. He also was a prolific actor, starring with Barbra Streisand in "A Star is Born" and later was featured with Wesley Snipes in the "Blade" series. And yet, I keep coming back to that one line. "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." Even while researching for this column, I wasn't able to find out if the line was something Kristofferson believed, or if it was something a character in his song thought. Or, maybe it was just a few words that fit a song. It's been said Kristofferson was simply trying to convey emotion from a film he saw, and that the title was inspired by the secretary at a record company. So, perhaps, I've been doing all these years of thinking over nothing. But the truth is, the song has stayed with me. And so has the songwriter. Zach Baker is the sports editor for The Courier.