ONE DAY AT A TIME

Known equally as a Christian hymn and a county music song, “One Day at a Time” was written in 1973 by Kris Kristofferson and Marijohn Melson.

Kris Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas, in 1936, to Mary Ann (Ashbrook) and Lars Henry Kristofferson who was an Army Air Corps officer and later a Major General. Kristofferson attended Pomona College, graduating in 1954, Summa Cum Laude and a successful rugby player. Kristofferson earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University where he started writing songs. Under pressure from his family, Kristofferson, ultimately joined the U.S. Army and attained the rank of Captain. He became a helicopter pilot after receiving flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. During the early 1960s, he was stationed in West Germany as a member of the 8th Infantry Division. It was during this time that he left the army to resume his music career and form a band. His family disowned him because of this decision and they were never reconciled. Kristofferson said that he was proud of his time in the military. In 2003 he received “Veteran of the Year Award”. He became a famous singer, musician, actor and songwriter. He is known for writing and recording such hits as “Me and Bobby McGee”, “For the Good Times”, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” In 1973, Kristofferson collaborated with Marijohn Wilkin to write “One Day At A Time”, which became a well-known and beloved hymn still sung all over Europe and America. Giving God the credit, Kristofferson continues to write songs, perform and act in movies.

Marijohn Melson was born in 1920, in Kemp, Texas. Her father was a deacon and a baker by trade, and formerly a fiddle player. She grew up just north of Dallas, Texas and married Bedford Russell. She became a music teacher and married again after her first husband was killed in World War II. She had a son she called Bucky, by her second husband. Soon after her third marriage to Art Wilkins, Jr, she began writing songs. Being one of the best songwriters in her time, Wilkin had a long and distinguished career. Not only did she write some now famous songs, but she was instrumental in the developing careers of other songwriters. Some of her most famous songs include “Waterloo,” “P.T. 109,” and “Long Black Veil,” her best-known song. Wilkin formed a new publishing company called Buckhorn Music. Buckhorn Music soon became a haven for Nashville’s young musicians and songwriters. It was there that Kris Kristofferson got his start, as did Johnny Duncan and Ed Bruce. Although Wilkin was a highly respected writer, she was prone to bouts of depression that were eased with heavy drinking. Her third marriage disintegrated in the mid-sixties, and at two points she became suicidal. By 1974, however, she had turned her life around and found God. With Kris Kristofferson, she penned the heartfelt “One Day at a Time”, the song for which she is probably most famous. The gospel song won a Dove Award from the Gospel Music Association in 1975, and it has been recorded over 200 times. Her music company became profitable when its songs were recorded by LeAnn Rimes. Wilkin died of heart disease in October 2006. In 1975, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

ONE DAY AT A TIME

I’m only human I’m just a man,
Help me to believe in what,
I could be and all that I am,
Show me the stairway that I have to climb,
Lord for my sake teach me
to take one day at a time.

One day at a time sweet Jesus,
that’s all I’m asking from you,
Give me the strength to do
everyday what I have to do
Yesterday’s gone sweet Jesus,
and tomorrow may never be mine,
So for my sake teach me
to take one day at a time.

Do you remember when you walked among men?
Well, Jesus, you know if you’re
looking below it’s worse now than then,
Pushing and shoving crowding my mind,
So for my sake teach me
to take one day at a time.

One day at a time sweet Jesus,
that’s all I’m asking from you,
Give me the strength to do
everyday what I have to do,
Yesterday’s gone sweet Jesus
and tomorrow may never be mine,
So for my sake teach me
to take one day at a time.

Yes, just for my sake teach me
to take one day at a time...