Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down

"Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson that was recorded in 1969 by Ray Stevens before becoming a number one hit on the Billboard US Country chart for Johnny Cash.

History[]

Stevens' version of the song reached #55 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and #81 on the Hot 100 pop chart in 1969. It also appeared on the author's own album Kristofferson.

In a 2013 interview, Kristofferson said the song "opened up a whole lot of doors for me. So many people that I admired, admired it. Actually, it was the song that allowed me to quit working for a living."^[1]

Johnny Cash's version[]

The biggest success on disc for the song came from a Johnny Cash performance that had been taped live at the Ryman Auditorium during a taping of The Johnny Cash Show as part of a "Ride This Train" segment, with filmed background visuals showing a down-and-out wanderer roaming around the Public Square area of Shelbyville, Tennessee. Cash introduced the song with the following monologue:

"You know, not everyone who has been on 'the bum' wanted it that way. The Great Depression of the 30s set the feet of thousands of people—farmers, city workers—it set 'em to ridin' the rails. My Daddy was one of those who hopped a freight train a couple of times to go and look for work. He wasn't a bum. He was a hobo but he wasn't a bum. I suppose we've all....all of us 'been at one time or another 'drifter at heart', and today like yesterday there's many that are on that road headin' out. Not searchin' maybe for work, as much as for self-fulfillment, or understanding of their life...trying to find a *meaning* for their life. And they're not hoppin' freights much anymore. Instead they're thumbin' cars and diesel trucks along the highways from Maine to Mexico. And many who have drifted...including myself...have found themselves no closer to peace of mind than a dingy backroom, on some lonely Sunday morning, with it comin' down all around you."

With the monologue edited off, the recording would appear on the soundtrack LP The Johnny Cash Show the following year, as well as being issued as a single (Columbia Records 4-45211). Cash's version won the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year in 1970 and hit number one on the country chart.^[2]

This version was used in the Columbo episode Swan Song in 1974, in which Cash performed it during a garden party.

According to Kristofferson, Cash was told to change the line "I'm wishing Lord that I was stoned" when he performed it on his TV show, but he refused to comply.^[3]

Other versions[]

Lynn Anderson recorded a version - with some lyrics slightly changed to represent a female's point of view - on her 1970 album Rose Garden.

Sammi Smith recorded a version for her 1970 album .

Roy Clark included a version on his 1970 album I Never Picked Cotton.

Waylon Jennings recorded his version of the song for his 1971 album The Taker/Tulsa.

Telly Savalas recorded a version on his 1975 self–titled album.^[4]

Frankie Laine recorded a version for his 1977 British album Life is Beautiful.

Mark Lindsay recorded a version for his 1970 album Arizona.

Shawn Mullins included a version on his 1998 album Soul's Core.^[5]

The Handsome Family covered the song on their 2002 odds-and-ends compilation album Smothered and Covered.

In 2006, the band Me First And The Gimme Gimmes included a version on their album Love Their Country.

Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a version for his 2010 album Mean Old Man.

Willie Nelson included it on his 1971 album Willie Nelson and Family, his 1979 album Sings Kristofferson, and more recently on his 2011 album Remember Me, Vol. 1.^{[citation needed]}

Gretchen Wilson recorded her version of the song on the Kris Kristofferson tribute in 2006 to celebrate Kristofferson's 70th birthday.^[6]

Chart performance[]

Ray Stevens[]

Johnny Cash[]

References[]

External links[]

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

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