About the song
There’s a quiet, timeless beauty to Kris Kristofferson’s songwriting, and few songs showcase this better than “This Old Road.” Stripped down to its bare essentials, this deeply introspective track captures the heart of a man who has walked many miles — some triumphant, others weighed down by regret — and now looks back with a mix of clarity, humility, and acceptance.
Originally released in 2006 on the album of the same name, “This Old Road” marked something of a return to form for Kristofferson, both musically and spiritually. At this stage in his life, he wasn’t chasing hits or chart success. Instead, he was offering up something more meaningful: a weathered reflection on mortality, legacy, and the unrelenting passage of time. The song opens with simple acoustic guitar and his unmistakable, gravelly voice — aged, yes, but all the more powerful for it. The instrumentation is minimal, leaving room for the weight of the words to breathe.
Lyrically, “This Old Road” is a masterclass in brevity and emotional resonance. Lines like “There ain’t nothing new about the past” and “You can’t hang a sign on yesterday” are not only poetic but carry the wisdom of a life fully lived. There’s no self-pity here — only reflection. He acknowledges his missteps, the people he’s let down, and the cost of choices made along the way. But he does so with grace, suggesting that peace comes not from perfection, but from honest reckoning.
For longtime fans of Kris Kristofferson, the song feels like a letter from an old friend — the kind who doesn’t sugarcoat the truth, but always speaks it with kindness. And for those just discovering his work, “This Old Road” is a gateway into the soul of a songwriter who has never been afraid to bare it all.
It’s not a flashy song. It won’t grab you with hooks or clever production. But if you give it the quiet space it asks for, “This Old Road” will stay with you — long after the final chord fades.
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Lyrics
Is it really you
Smiling like a baby full of dreams
Smiling ain’t so easy now
Some are coming true
Nothing’s simple as it seems
But I guess you count your blessings with the problems
That you’re dealing with today
Like the changing of the seasons
[Chorus:]
Ain’t you come a long way
Ain’t you come a long way
Ain’t you come a long way down
This old road
Looking at a looking glass
Running out of time
On a face you used to know
Traces of a future lost
In between the lines
One more rainbow for the road
Thinking of the faces in the window
That you passed along the way
Or the last thing you believed in
[Chorus]
Say you tried to chase the sundown
And you let it slip away
And the holy night is falling
[Chorus]
Look at that old photograph
Is it really you?