Achingly Beautiful: The Enduring Power of “Loving Her Was Easier”
Kris Kristofferson, that rugged poet of the outlaw country scene, has a knack for capturing raw human emotion in his songs. Few do it as poignantly as “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again),” a ballad of lost love that cuts straight to the heart with its simple honesty and achingly beautiful imagery. Released in 1971 on his album The Silver Tongued Devil and I, this song has become a cornerstone of Kristofferson’s repertoire and a timeless classic in the country music canon.
What strikes you immediately about “Loving Her Was Easier” is its directness. There’s no artifice, no clever wordplay, just a man pouring out his soul about a love that has slipped away. He paints a picture of this lost love with vivid metaphors drawn from nature, comparing her to the “morning burning golden on the mountain in the skies” and the “freedom of an eagle when she flies.” This woman, we understand, was his whole world, a source of joy and liberation.
But the past tense hangs heavy over the song. He has seen these things, he was aching with feeling. The love he describes is gone, leaving behind a profound sense of loss. The title itself, “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again),” speaks volumes about the depth of this lost connection. It suggests that everything else in life, every challenge and tribulation, pales in comparison to the ease and naturalness of loving her.
Kristofferson’s vocals, rough-hewn and world-weary, perfectly complement the song’s melancholic tone. He’s not just singing these words; he’s living them. You can hear the pain in his voice, the regret, the longing for something that can never be retrieved. And yet, there’s also a sense of acceptance, a recognition that some things, however precious, are ephemeral.
“Loving Her Was Easier” is a song that resonates with anyone who has ever loved and lost. It’s a reminder that love, in its purest form, is a gift, a fleeting moment of grace that should be cherished while it lasts. And even when it’s gone, the memory of that love can continue to shape and define us, a bittersweet echo of a time when loving someone was the easiest thing in the world.