About the song
Kris Kristofferson’s Feeling Mortal. Released in 2013, this song from the album of the same name is a poignant meditation on aging, a theme that has resonated throughout Kristofferson’s long and illustrious career.
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But Feeling Mortal transcends mere melancholia. It’s a deeply personal reflection, a veteran singer-songwriter confronting his own mortality with a stark honesty that’s both unsettling and strangely comforting.
The song opens with a quiet introspection. The image of Kristofferson awake in the night, staring at “the old man there in the mirror,” sets the stage.
His voice, a touch raspy with age but still imbued with a gravelly charm, delivers the lyrics with a world-weary acceptance.
The line “shaky self-esteem here today and gone tomorrow” hints at a vulnerability beneath the gruff exterior, a flicker of doubt about the legacy he’s leaving behind.
Feeling Mortal isn’t a song about regrets, though. There’s a quiet gratitude woven into the fabric of the lyrics. The reference to “empty Blue Horizon” evokes a sense of vastness, a life richly lived with experiences both joyful and sorrowful. The image of the sun descending “into the sea” suggests a natural order, the inevitability of life’s cycle.
This contemplation leads him to address a higher power. The line “God Almighty here I am” is a simple yet powerful declaration.
It’s not a boastful one, but rather a humble acknowledgement, a man taking stock of his life before a greater force. The question “Am I where I ought to be?” hangs heavy in the air, a question perhaps we all grapple with at some point.
Feeling Mortal doesn’t offer easy answers. It’s a song that invites us to sit with Kristofferson in that quiet pre-dawn moment, to confront our own mortality alongside him. It’s a reminder that life is fleeting, a precious gift to be cherished.
But within that bittersweet realization lies a sliver of hope. The final line, “I thank my lucky stars / From Here to Eternity for the artist that you are / And the man you made of me,” expresses a profound gratitude for the journey, the life well-lived, the art created.
Feeling Mortal is a testament to the enduring power of introspection, a song that resonates with anyone who has ever looked in the mirror and wondered, “Am I where I’m supposed to be?”