list of songs kris kristofferson wrote

Y’ever wonder how a dusty little tune about two drifters thumbin’ rides across some backroad nowhere turned into one of the most-covered songs in country-rock history? Well, buckle up, buttercup—“Me and Bobby McGee” wasn’t even meant for Kris Kristofferson to sing himself. Nah, he first pitched it to Roger Miller like, “Hey man, wanna take this for a spin?” But fate’s got a wicked sense of humor, and when Janis Joplin laid down that smoky, soul-crushing version just before she left this world? Boom. Instant legend. Still, don’t sleep on the fact: this bad boy’s a heavyweight in the list of songs Kris Kristofferson wrote—maybe even the GOAT. Those lyrics? Pure poetry soaked in late-’60s freedom juice. Even now, if you hear some dude strummin’ “Bobby McGee” on a porch in East Nashville or a neon-lit dive in West Texas, they’re tip-toeing through hallowed ground. Oh, and FYI—despite what your uncle swears at BBQs, Bobby wasn’t some roughneck cowboy. Nope. Kris’s producer, Fred Foster, named her after his secretary. Wild, right?

If you’ve ever been wide awake at 3 a.m., starin’ at your ceiling fan like it’s got answers, torn between callin’ your ex or orderin’ tacos… congrats—you’ve lived inside “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” Kris scribbled this baby in ’69, but Sammi Smith made it burn in 1970 with a voice so sultry it should’ve come with a warning label. It’s a stone-cold classic from the list of songs Kris Kristofferson wrote, and let’s be real—it didn’t just flirt with temptation; it slow-danced with it in the kitchen. That line, “ain’t nothin’ wrong with a little wantonness”? Yeah, that raised more eyebrows than a honky-tonk preacher walkin’ in during last call. But Kris—Oxford brain, helicopter pilot grit, poet’s soul—wrapped sin in silk. Country traditionalists clutchin’ their pearls? Everyone else hit repeat. And sure, Elvis covered it later—but even The King couldn’t match Sammi’s whisper-that-turns-into-a-sigh magic.

Picture this: rain drummin’ on a rusty trailer roof, coffee so old it’s growin’ mold, and that hollow ache in your chest when Sunday hits and you realize you ain’t got nothin’ but yesterday’s regrets. That’s “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” another masterpiece straight outta the list of songs Kris Kristofferson wrote. Johnny Cash took this one and ran with it like it was gospel truth—delivered it on his TV show like a confession from a man who’d seen too much and felt it all. Kris wrote it while crashin’ on a buddy’s couch in Music City, survivin’ on peanut butter sandwiches and hope. No big drama, no fireworks—just the quiet kind of pain that sneaks up on you when the world’s too clean and you’re still dirty. And that line about “smellin’ Sunday mornin’ comin’ down”? Man, you can practically smell wet asphalt, burnt toast, and second chances gone cold.

Breakup songs? They’re everywhere—like gas station coffee and bad tattoos. But “For the Good Times”? That one breaks your heart like a velvet glove wrapped around a brick. Kris penned it, Ray Price turned it into gold in 1970, and now it’s etched in stone as a must-have on any legit list of songs Kris Kristofferson wrote. What makes it special? It don’t yell. Don’t blame. Don’t beg. It just asks for one last kiss—not outta desperation, but outta respect. “Don’t say what’s done is done,” it whispers, “just kiss me once more for the good times.” Dang. Even the commas feel like they’re sighin’. Al Green tried it. So did half of Memphis. But Ray’s version—with those weepin’ strings and that tired, tender baritone—is still the yardstick. Kris didn’t just write a song; he wrote the etiquette manual for sayin’ goodbye like a grown-ass human.

You know that moment when you’re three beers deep, maybe four, and suddenly you’re on your knees askin’ God, “Why me, Lord?”—not mad, just confused as hell? That’s exactly how “Why Me” popped into existence. Kris, hungover in some Hawaiian motel room after a night that probably involved a ukulele and poor decisions, scratched out this raw-as-gravel prayer in 1972. And somehow—somehow—it shot to #1 on the country charts and ended up in Baptist hymnals from Georgia to Nebraska. Go figure. But it absolutely belongs in the list of songs Kris Kristofferson wrote, not ‘cause it sold records (though it did), but ‘cause it bared his soul like never before. No outlaw swagger here—just a man stripped down to bone, beggin’ for grace. And that’s why it plays just as true in a church pew as it does on a jukebox in a roadhouse with flickerin’ neon.

Most folks think love’s all fireworks and grand gestures. Kris? He knew better. In “Loving Her Was Easier,” he paints love not as chaos, but as calm—the kind of peace that feels like kickin’ off your boots after a 20-hour shift. Dropped in 1971 on *The Silver Tongued Devil and I*, this track’s a quiet giant in the list of songs Kris Kristofferson wrote. The melody floats like smoke off a campfire, and the words? So soft they bruise. Willie Nelson covered it. k.d. lang gave it wings. But Kris’s original? That’s the blueprint. No jealousy. No games. Just pure, unfiltered gratitude for a love that asked for nothin’ but your presence. In a world obsessed with messy drama, this song’s like a cool drink of well water—simple, honest, and damn near rare.

Here’s a kicker: some of the biggest names in music were singin’ Kris’s truth without ever knowin’ it. Take “Come Sundown”—Waylon Jennings made it famous, but Kris wrote every syllable. Or “Epitaph (Black and Blue)”, cut by Joan Baez like it was her own diary entry. These tracks might not blast from every pickup truck radio, but they’re essential threads in the list of songs Kris Kristofferson wrote. Dude had this uncanny gift—he could crawl inside another artist’s skin and write like he’d lived their whole life. Even Barbra Streisand leaned on him for “The Last Time I Felt Like This,” that dreamy duet with Neil Diamond. So next time you hear some old-school ballad with lines too sharp for regular folk? Do a double-take—it might just be a stealth Kristofferson joint wearin’ someone else’s hat.

Kris and Johnny weren’t just buddies—they were brothers-in-arms of the outlaw movement, two poets with six-strings and too many miles on their souls. Of all the tunes in the list of songs Kris Kristofferson wrote that Johnny took under his wing, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” stands tallest—but don’t overlook gems like “The Taker” or “Once More with Feeling.” Cash didn’t just sing Kris’s words; he baptized ‘em in thunder and truth. Their bond wasn’t mentor-and-student—it was mutual awe. Legend has it, when Kris was still sleepin’ under bridges and scrubbin’ floors at Columbia Records, Johnny tossed him a lifeline: stage time at the Newport Folk Festival. That one act? Changed everything. So yeah, when someone asks, “What songs did Kris Kristofferson write for Johnny Cash?”—they’re really askin’ where outlaw country was born.

Alright, let’s talk numbers—but keep it chill. Kris only snagged **one** solo #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs (“Why Me” in ’73). But hold up—that ain’t the whole story. As a songwriter? Between 1970 and 1975 alone, he penned **11** Top 10 country hits for other artists. And culturally? Dude’s fingerprints are everywhere. His songs have been covered over **450 times**—by everyone from Gladys Knight to Nick Cave. So when folks ask, “How many number one songs did Kris Kristofferson write?”—the real answer ain’t in the charts. It’s in backyard bonfires, dusty jukeboxes, and tear-streaked karaoke bars where strangers belt out his lines like they’re their own. The list of songs Kris Kristofferson wrote ain’t just a catalog—it’s America’s emotional scrapbook.

“Kris didn’t just write songs—he wrote permission slips for men to cry, for women to leave, and for sinners to hope.” — Anonymous Nashville session player, circa 1974

Ever met a guy who studied at Oxford, flew Army helicopters, swept floors at a record label, and still found time to scribble “Me and Bobby McGee” on a napkin tucked in his flight jacket? That’s Kris. Brain like a library, heart like a honky-tonk, pen like a surgeon’s scalpel. Every tune in the list of songs Kris Kristofferson wrote carries that same split personality: book-smart poetry drenched in whiskey and road dust. And hey—if you’re itchier than a hound in flea season to dig deeper into his legacy, swing by the Dj Quickie Mart homepage. Or geek out on the craft over at our Songwriting section. And for the motherlode? Peep our full breakdown: List of Songs Written by Kris Kristofferson Comprehensive Index. Trust us—once you go Kristofferson, you never go back.

References

• http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/kris_kristofferson
• https://www.cmt.com/artists/kris-kristofferson/biography
• http://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/kris-kristofferson-songwriter-legacy