Kristofferson’s deeper understanding also stems from his empathy. He doesn’t write only for himself — he writes for the drifter sleeping in a cheap motel, for the soldier staring at the ceiling in the dark, for the lovers who didn’t make it but still carry each other in memory. His own life gave him the chance to stand in many different shoes, and it shows in how easily his songs speak to the universal human experience.
There are songwriters who tell their own stories, and then there are those rare voices who seem to write for…