Songfacts®:

• "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" is one of Kris Kristofferson's most famous songs, but he wasn't a recording artist when he wrote it - he was a songwriter. The song was first recorded by Ray Stevens, best known for novelty songs like "Ahab, The Arab" and "Gitarzan." His version was released in 1969 and went to #81, giving Kristofferson his first big break as a songwriter.
  
  A few other artist quickly recorded it, and on February 25, 1970, Johnny Cash sang it on his variety show, The Johnny Cash Show.
  
  When Kristofferson released his debut album in June 1970, he included his own version on the tracklist. Then on July 29, 1970, Cash's live version was released as a single and went to #1 on the Country chart, also reaching #46 on the Hot 100. Kristofferson maintained a modest following as an artist, so Cash's version became the definitive version. Kristofferson scored another huge hit as a writer with Janis Joplin's 1971 cover of "Me And Bobby McGee."
• Kris Kristofferson's songs often tell stories about guys who are down on their luck and doing what's needed to get by. "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" is one of those songs: It's about a guy who has lost his way and copes by getting drunk. The song takes place on a Sunday morning when he's dealing with a severe hangover.
• The official title is "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," which is how it's listed on Kristofferson's album and on Ray Stevens' original version, but the Johnny Cash version loses the apostrophes to become "Sunday Morning Coming Down."
• Eric Church, a huge Kris Kristofferson fan, tells a story about meeting him for the first time. In 2015, Church's wife arranged for Kris and his wife to come to their home for a visit. They arrived on a Sunday morning, and Church offered Kristofferson a beverage, perhaps a tea or a Diet Coke. No dice. But he did take a beer and proceeded to quote himself from this song when he had a second one: "The beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad so I had one more for dessert."