“Jody and the Kid” is one of Kris Kristofferson’s most tender and poetic songs—a gentle departure from his usual themes of loneliness, rebellion, and regret. Released in 1969 and first recorded by Roy Drusky, this song tells the story of a man reminiscing about a lifelong relationship with a woman named Jody and the little girl she raised—whom he first mistook for her child but later turns out to be their own.
In typical Kristofferson fashion, the lyrics blend vivid imagery with emotional depth. We follow the narrator from the early days of watching Jody walk down the street with “the kid,” to eventually sharing a home and life together. But this isn’t just a love story—it’s also a story of change and growing apart. The final verses are heartbreaking as we learn Jody and the narrator have drifted away emotionally. She now walks down that same street alone, while the kid, now grown, has moved on.
What makes this song so powerful is its subtle narrative shift—without overexplaining, Kris reveals how time, routine, and emotional distance quietly erode what was once beautiful. It’s a masterclass in songwriting, demonstrating how the everyday can carry so much emotional weight.
“Jody and the Kid” is more than just a ballad; it’s a reflection on memory, family, and the unspoken pain of growing distant from the people you love. Quietly devastating, but deeply human.
Video
Lyrics
She would meet me in the mornin’ on my way down to the river,
Waiting patient by the China Berry tree;
With her feet already dusty from the pathway to the levee,
And her little blue jeans rolled up to her knees.
I’d pay her no attention as she tagged along beside me,
Trying hard to copy ev’rything I did;
But I couldn’t keep from smiling when I’d hear somebody saying:
“Look a-yonder; there goes Jody and the kid.”
After we grew older, we could still be seen together,
As we walked along the levee holding hands;
For as surely as the seasons, she was changin’ to a woman,
And I’d lived enough to call myself a man.
And she often lay beside me, in the coolness of the evening,
‘Til the morning sun was shining on my bed;
And at times, when she was sleeping,
I would smile when I’d remember,
How they used to call us “Jody and the kid.”
Now, the world’s a little older, and the years have changed the river,
‘Cos there’s houses where they didn’t used to be;
And on Sundays I go walking down the pathway to the levee,
With another little girl who follows me.
And it makes the old folks smile to see her tag along beside me,
Doing little things the way her Mamma did.
But it gets a little lonesome, when I hear somebody saying:
“Look yonder; there goes Jody and the kid.”