The singer/songwriter movement wrought fundamental changes in the lyrics, chord progressions, and attitudes of country music — changes that were arguably more profound than those of the Nashville sound era. Whereas the Nashville sound was a production style that draped essentially "country" music in pop trappings, the singer/songwriters materially altered the nature of the songs. Kris Kristofferson was one of the leading forces in the world of progressive country in the early '70s, and I Won't Mention It Again paired legendary honky-tonker Ray Price with Kristofferson's songs. The result was very successful: The title track spent three weeks at number one and nearly reached the pop Top 40 (thanks to the hipness and rock orientation of Kristofferson's style), and "I'd Rather Be Sorry" was a respectable crossover hit as well. It is hard to say whether Price sounds uncomfortable or simply unfamiliar in the context of the "new" country music, but his age — which is apparent in his voice — contrasts strangely with Kristofferson's aggressively contemporary lyrics. The strong sales of this material suggests that it was either artistically successful or, perhaps more likely, a palatable midway point between the old and the new during a time of transition.
RAY PRICE
I WON'T MENTION IT AGAIN
Columbia C-30510May/1971
Produced by Don Law & Frank Jones
Recorded:1971, Columbia Studios, Nashville
1.
I WON'T MENTION IT AGAIN
(Cam Mullins) « © '71 Seaview Music, BMI »I know you're tired of being all I ever wanted
You'll no longer feel the love I have for you
What happens now what will I do with all the mem'ries
And the dreams of all the things we'll never do
But I won't mention it again I won't think about tomorrow
Just let it happen live each hour day by day
But let me tell you before you go how much I love you
Then I won't mention it again I won't mention it again
I feel my life has reached an early sign of autumn
In my heart the leaves are falling love is cold
And everything that once was warm and new is gone now
Leaving nothing but this hunger in my soul
But I won't mention it again...
**********
2.
KISS THE WORLD GOODBYE
(Kris Kristofferson) « © '71 Combine Music, BMI »I never had no regrets boys not for nothing I've done
I owed the devil some debts boys and paid 'em all up but one
I don't even regret the living that I'll be leaving behind
I've gotten weary of searchin' for something I couldn't find
I'm going down to the shades by the river one more time
And feel the breeze on my face before I die
I'm gonna leave whatever's left of my luck to the losers
And then bend down and kiss the world goodbye
[ whistle ] I'm kinda lucky-in-lovin' I never had no complains
They never said I was evil but then I wasn't no saint
I'm just a river that rolled forever and never get to the sea
I ain't blamin' nobody I had it coming to me
I'm going down to the shades...
**********
3.
SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN
(Kris Kristofferson) « © '70 Combine Music, BMI »Well I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head that didn't hurt
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad
So I had one more for desert
Then I fumbled through my closet
For my clothes and found my cleanest dirty shirt
And I shaved my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day
Well I'd smoke my brain the night before
With cigarettes and songs I'd been picking
But I lit my first and watched the small kid
Coursin' at a can that he was kicking
Then I crossed the empty street
And caught the Sunday smell of someone frying chicken
And it took me back to something
That I'd lost somehow somewhere along the way
On the Sunday morning sidewalk wishing Lord that I was stoned
Cause there's something in a Sunday makes a body feel alone
And there's nothing sure of dying half as lonesome as a sound
On the sleeping city sidewalk Sunday morning coming down
In the park I saw a daddy with the laughing little girl that he was swinging
And I stopped beside a Sunday school and listened to the song that they were singing
Then I headed back for home and somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringing
And it echoed through the canyons like the disappearing dreams of yesterday
On the Sunday morning sidewalk...
**********
4.
BURDEN OF FREEDOM
(Kris Kristofferson) « © '68 Careers Music, BMI »I stand on the stairway my back to the dungeon
The doorway to freedom so close to my hand
While voices behind me still bitterly damn me
For seeking salvation they don't understand
Lord help me to shoulder the burden of freedom
And give me the courage to be what I can
And when I am wounded by those who condemn me
Lord help me forgive them they don't understand
[ steel ] Their lonely frustration descending the laughter
Erases the footprints I leave in the sand
Now I'm free to travel where no one can follow
In search of the kingdom they don't understand
Lord help me to shoulder the burden of freedom
And give me the courage to be what I can
And when I have wounded by those who condemned me
Lord help me forgive them they don't understand
**********
5.
FORGIVE ME MY HEART
(Dan Hoffman - Chuck Woolery) « © '71 Al Gallico Music, BMI »Hello heart it's me again do you remember
I was the one that caused you all that bitter pain
I promised then if you would just keep on beating
I'd never put you through this kind of hurt again
But she keeps burning on my mind and I don't know what to do
Forgive me heart I know what I promised you
Get ready heart now brace yourself I've got to call her
And though she hurt me I've got to know the reason why
She came into my life and said she loves me
And walked away didn't even say goodbye
But she keeps burning on my mind I don't know what to do
Forgive me heart I know what I promised you
I don't know where to draw a line and like the blind needing the blind
Forgive me heart I know you love her too
Forgive me heart I know I promised you
**********
6.
I'D RATHER BE SORRY
(Kris Kristofferson) « © '71 Combine Music, BMI »If you hurt me you won't be the first or the last
In the lifetime of many mistakes
But I won't spend tomorrow regreting the past
For the chances that I didn't take
Cause I'll never know till it's over
If I'm right or I'm wrong loving you
But I'd rather be sorry for something I've done
Than for something that I didn't do
[ strings ] When you touch me it's easy to make me believe
Tomorrow won't take you away
But I'll gamble whatever tomorrow might bring
Of a life that I'm living today
Cause I'll never know till it's over...
**********
7.
LOVING HER WAS EASIER
(Kris Kristofferson) « © '70 Combine Music, BMI »I have seen the morning burning golden on the mountain in the skies
Aching with the feeling of the freedom of an eagle when she flies
Turning on the world the way she smiled upon my soul as I lay dying
Healing as the colors in the sunshine and the shadows of her eyes
Waking in the morning to the feeling of her fingers on my skin
Wiping out the traces of the people and the places that I've been
Teaching me that yesterday was something that I never thought of trying
Talking of tomorrow and the money love and time we have to spend
Loving her was easier than anything I'll ever do again
Coming close together with a feeling that I've never known before in my time
She ain't ashamed to be a woman or afraid to be a friend
I don't know the answers to the easy way she opened every door to my mind
But dreaming was as easy as believing it was never gonna end
And loving her was easier than anything I'll ever do again
**********
8.
BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER
(Paul Simon) « © '69 Paul Simon Music, BMI »When you're weary feeling small when tears are in your eyes I'll dry them all
I'm on your side when times get rough and friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down
When you're down and out when you're on the street
When evening falls so hard I will comfort you
I'll take your part when darkness comes and pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down
[ strings ] Sail on silver girl sail on by your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine oh if you need a friend I'm sailing out behind
Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind
**********
9.
WHEN I LOVED HER
(Kris Kristofferson) « © '68 Careers Music, BMI »Well she didn't look as pretty as some others I have known
And she wasn't good at conversation when we were alone
But she had a way of making me believe that I belong
And it felt like coming home when I found her
Cause she seemed to be so proud of me just walking holding hands
And she didn't think that money was a measure of a man
And we seemed to fit together when I held her in my arms
And it left me feeling warm when I found her
Cause she brightened up the day like the early morning sun
She made what I was doing seem worthwhile
It's the closest thing to living that I guess I've ever known
And it made me want to smile when I loved her
[ strings ] I know some of us were born to cast our fortunes to the winds
And I guess I'm bound to travel down a road that never ends
But I know I'll never look upon the likes of her again
And I'll never understand why I lost her
Cause she brightened up the day...
And it made me want to smile when I loved her
**********
10.
SWEET MEMORIES
(Mickey Newbury) « © '68 Acuff-Rose Music, BMI »My world is like a river as dark as it is deep
Night after night the past slips in and gathers all my sleep
My days are just an endless stream of emptiness for me
Filled only by the fleeting moments of her memories
Sweet memories sweet memories I'm clinging to her memories
She slipped into the silence of my dreams last night
Wandering from room to room turning on each light
Her laughter spills like water from the river to the sea
I'm swept away from sadness clinging to her memories
Sweet memories sweet memories I'm clinging to her memories
**********
11.
JESSE YOUNGER
(Kris Kristofferson) « © '71 Careers Music, BMI »Little Jesse Younger was a well respected lad
Doin' all he could do to please his mommy and his dad
But he never planned to be the man they said that he'd become
Somehow or another now his little baby brother
Is his father's and his mother's only son
Everyday the neighbors say that it's a dirty shame the way
We spat upon his family and scandalized their name
And his parents never really ever said he'd been his own
Somehow or another now his little baby brother
Is his father's and his mother's only son
Oh Jesse Younger you're a devil not a man
Can you dare to teach your parents so unkind
You have selfishly refused to live your life the way they planned
And you started goin' your own way and speaking your own mind
Jesse Younger's parents wonder where it all went wrong
Now that Jesse's name is turned to ashes on their tongues
But he chose to start and try to cover future of his own
And he got his rathers because now his younger brother
Is his father's and his mother's only son
**********
