In 1969, Kristofferson left Nashville to join the production of
Dennis Hopper's
The Last Movie in Peru. In his absence, Cash continued to promote Kristofferson's original songs with other singers. Upon his return to Nashville, Kristofferson learned of his new popularity and started to work on his debut album. As his manager and producer, Foster had decided to keep some of Kristofferson's original material from being passed to other artists. The new material, as well as his songs that had already been recorded by other artists, were included in the recording sessions, which were held at
Monument Recording Studio. Kristofferson did not have a backing band so Foster gathered musicians known to him. Johnny Cash wrote the album's liner notes.
Compositions The album opens with "Blame It On The Stones", which references the negative perception that the older generations had of
The Rolling Stones. The song references the band's 1966 song "
Mother's Little Helper". "To Beat the Devil" includes an introduction spoken by Kristofferson, who dedicates the song to Johnny Cash and June Carter. The song depicts a struggling songwriter who meets the Devil at a bar. The character ultimately rejects the Devil's negative message and continues to pursue success in music. "
Me and Bobby McGee" tells the story of a road trip shared by two lovers, who first travel from
Baton Rouge to
New Orleans, and then until the woman leaves the man in
Salinas, California. Foster, who shared an office building with
Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, visited the couple to discuss arrangements for a song. Boudleaux Bryant then jokingly accused him of creating an excuse to see his secretary, Barbara "Bobby" McKee. Foster failed to recognize the name, but upon Bryant's insistence about "Bobby McKee" he said; "Oh, yea. Haven't you heard of me and Bobby McKee?" Foster then suggested Kristofferson, who was suffering a
writer's block, to attempt a road song about "Me and Bobby McKee". Kristofferson misheard the surname as "McGee". Additionally inspired by
Federico Fellini's
La Strada, Kristofferson wrote the song while flying helicopters around the Gulf of Mexico. The story's setting was provided by Kristofferson's own trips between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, while the line about windshield wipers occurred to him while driving to the airport on his way back from New Orleans to Nashville. A month after his departure, Kristofferson returned with the finished song that he recorded on a demo accompanied only by
Billy Swan on the organ. Foster was also given writing co-credit. "Me and Bobby McGee" was first recorded in 1969 by
Roger Miller, whose version peaked at number 12 on
Billboard Hot Country Singles. "The Best of All Possible Worlds" was inspired by Kristofferson's experience of being arrested. In the song, he observes police officers' mistreatment of black people and the poor, and references
Voltaire's novella
Candide, in which Voltaire satirized
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's claim of the "
best of all possible worlds". Kristofferson protested Monument Records' decision to modify the song's lyrics to omit the word "black"; the original lyrics state: "If that's against the law, tell me why I never saw a man locked in that jail of yours that wasn't either black or poor as me". The recorded version changed the line to "low-down poor as me". On the next track "
Help Me Make It Through the Night", Kristofferson expresses his need to avoid loneliness by "needing a friend". Kristofferson wrote the song while spending time with
Dottie West and her husband Bill. Kristofferson offered the song to West, who initially felt it was "inappropriate" and declined to record it but she later recorded her own version for her album
Careless Hands. He took the title from an interview with
Frank Sinatra in
Esquire, in which Sinatra was asked what he believed in and replied; "booze, broads or a bible ... whatever helps me make it through the night". "The Law Is for Protection of the People" presents a character who is subjected to unfair treatment by police, a common theme in Kristofferson's writings of the time. In "Casey's Last Ride", Kristofferson tells the story of a lonely man who reminisces about a former lover. The song's arrangements were the most orchestrated on the album and include a melody that in verses shifts from the predominant use of guitar and bass to violins in slower parts. In "Darby's Castle", Kristofferson wrote about Cecil Darby, who neglects his wife in favor of building a large castle for her. Affected by her isolation, Darby sees his wife Helen with another man in her bedroom and then burns the castle in one night. "
For the Good Times" describes a sexual encounter between two lovers. The song was first recorded by
Ray Price and was released before
Kristofferson in June 1970. It reached number one on
Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and crossed over to the
Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 12. The next song, "Duvalier's Dream", presents the story of a character who lives in isolation until he meets a woman who re-establishes his connection to society. The album closes with "
Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", which Kristofferson wrote after his divorce, when he lived alone in a small apartment. He had been fired from his job as a pilot after being found inebriated at work. The song describes a character's struggle with loneliness and isolation. It was first recorded by
Ray Stevens in 1969 and in 1970 by Johnny Cash, who also performed it on
his television show; Cash's version peaked at number one on
Billboard Hot Country Songs and at number 46 on the
Billboard Hot 100.
Themes In his biography of Kristofferson,
Stephen Miller said the album's songs "focus on deeper aspects of the human condition — inner turmoil and emotional passions, freedom, failure and loss". Biographer Mary Hurd said the characters of "Casey's Last Ride", "Darby's Castle" and "Duvalier's Dream" are "outside society's mainstream". She further commented; "Kristofferson's blending of poetic storytelling with his narrative songs has made them favorites with much of his musical audience. All bearing upon loneliness and isolation." Author Michael Streissguth wrote; "Produced with session musicians outside A-class circles, it communicated eclecticism and spontaneity: talking blues appeared next to tender ballads next to unhinged jam". Mentioning "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Help Me Make it Through the Night" as examples,
Bill C. Malone commented; "His compositions are distinguished by their simple, singable melodies and by their straight-forward but often self-consciously poetic lyrics", and said the album's themes of "freedom" and "the value of honest uninhibited personal relations" brought the "theme of sexuality openly discussed and endorsed without shame" to
country music. On its book,
The Encyclopedia of Country Music, the staff writers of the
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum said; "the lyrics were tender, intimate, and poetic in a way that made the songs about love rather than sex", and that the compositions' "simple structure" belongs to "the country tradition". In 2016, Kristofferson told
Uncut he felt the album is "quite produced" and said; "I probably wouldn't record it the same way now, but at the time I felt they were making the songs sound better than they were!" Kristofferson said he was "lucky" he was able to record his material at the time and that country music was not "as wide open as it is now". ==Release and reception==