Another great “Kris Kristofferson Moment in Music Supervision” comes to us by way of True Detective, Season One, Episode Five.

Matthew McConaughey’s Rust Kohle and biker bud Ginger are waiting at the bar for Rusty LeDoux, and in the background set to Kristofferson’s “Casey’s Last Ride” a song that foreshadows, love, death, adultery, lowlifes, and lament. In other words, it sums up True Detective in a nutshell.

There are many covers of this song out there, many variations by Kristofferson himself, but the original recording used here is by far the best.  It plays like a funkyMorricone Spaghetti Western track fully loaded with crispy guitars, tension drenched keyboards, choral arrangement, and a reserved refrain akin to Leonard Cohen’s hushed vocal work for the McCabe and Mrs. Miller soundtrack.

Casey’s Last Ride – Kris Kristofferson