Remembering Kris Kristofferson: His Best Quotes on Music, Acting and Reflections on Death

On Sunday, September 29, a spokesperson announced that singer, actor, songwriter and Rhodes scholar Kris Kristofferson died at age 88 in his Maui, Hawaii, home. He is best known for his work in the 1976 film A Star is Born and his hit songs “Highwayman” and “On The Road Again”—which Willie Nelson performed after Kristofferson wrote it. 

Kristofferson’s cause of death is still unknown, but his family said in a statement,  “We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all.” The singer was married twice and had eight children, ranging in age from 30 to 62, and seven grandchildren. 

To honor the late Hollywood star, we’ve gathered his most memorable quotes on music, acting and life. All that and more are below. 

Kris Kristofferson quotes on being a writer 

Kristofferson’s songwriting abilities were truly the stuff of legends.  Throughout the course of his life, he has worked with talents like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Michael Buble and more. But according to him, writing came easily, and he often found himself pulling from his own life. 

“I always thought of myself as a writer,” he said in 2015. “ I figured that anything real that I was doing—whether it was working as a construction laborer or fire-fighter up in Alaska fighting the forest fires or in the off-shore oil fields where I was flying helicopters for almost two years—it had to help my experience for writing about.” 

In the same interview with Clash Music, he also reflected on why he writes the way he does.

“I’ve always felt that it was my job to tell the truth as I saw it, just the same as Hank Williams did and the way Bob Dylan did. It was important to me and I think I probably antagonized some audiences. Nowadays, when I go out, everybody knows what to expect what I’m singing and what I say.” 

Kris Kristofferson quotes on being in the army

Kristofferson served in the army as a helicopter pilot in the 1960s and even completed one of the hardest trials a pilot can face: Ranger School. He also credits the army for igniting his love of music, saying, “I was in the army, and my next assignment would’ve been to teach English Literacy at West Point Military Academy, but instead, I was in Nashville for two weeks on leave between assignments.”

“I just fell in love with the music community that was going on there. The way the old heroes helped out the new guys. It was a very soulful business at the time; I don’t know if it’s anything like that now,  but it was definitely the best move I’ve ever made.” 

Kris Kristofferson quotes on acting 

Before his death, Kristofferson had 121 acting credits to his name, but somehow the singer never had any formal training before one of his first films—Cisco Pike (1971)—came out. 

"I'd never even been in no school play, but I read the [Cisco Pike] script, and I could identify with this cat, this dope dealer,” Kristofferson said in 1974. “People said, 'Don’t do it; take acting lessons first!' But it seemed to me that acting must be just understanding a character and then being just as honest as you can possibly be,”

Kris Kristofferson quotes on having memory loss 

In 2013 Kristofferson revealed he was suffering from memory loss, which later turned out to be a side effect of his undiagnosed Lyme disease. 

“I wish my memory weren’t so bad,” he said in 2022. “They tell me it’s from all the football and boxing and the concussions that I got. A couple of years ago, my memory just started going. But I can remember my songs so that I can perform.” 

Kris Kristofferson quotes on dying

It turns out Kristofferson wasn't a stranger to how scary dying can be and even opened up about how close he came to dying when ege was dealing with his substance abuse issues, 

Reflecting on his struggles with addiction, he said, “I never thought I’d live past 30. I could have ended up dead.” The late singer added: "For a couple of years, it was Jack Daniels, then it was tequila, then it was anything. When I was performing, I couldn't imagine getting up and doing it without drinking."

Kristofferson decided to quit drinking after watching his character's death in his 1976 version of A Star is Born. 

“I remember feeling that that could very easily be my wife and kids crying over me. I quit drinking over that. I didn't want to die before my daughter grew up,” he said at the time. He lived up to his promise.

Our thoughts our with Kristofferson’s family, and we hope he is resting in peace. 

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