In the 1985 neo-noir drama Trouble in Mind, directed by Alan Rudolph, Kris Kristofferson stars as an ex-cop, Hawk, who is released from jail for murder to return to the town of Rain City, run by militia and gangs. Filmed in the outskirts of Seattle, the movie also stars Keith Carradine, Lori Singer, and a non-drag Divine as a gang leader.
On the soundtrack, Marianne Faithfull performed three songs, scored by Mark Isham, including the title track, “Trouble in Mind,” its reprise, and the closing “El Gavilan (The Hawk).” In Spanish, El Gavilan means “sparrowhawk,” and served as a fitting theme song for Kristofferson’s protagonist in the film.
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Closing Credits
The only song written by Kristofferson in the film, “El Gavilan” appears at the very end, as a moving retrieval of hope. In the movie, Faithfull’s version of the song plays as Kristofferson’s character is driving off with Singer’s character Georgia.
You gotta make your own rules, child
You gotta break your own chains
The dreams that possess you
Can blossom and bless you
Or run you insane …
I don’t deserve you
I’m just a man
But I swear I’ll love you
Just as hard as I can
Storm on the mountain
Stars in the sky
Running for glory
Freedom to fly
Will you remember
Way down the road
Somebody loves you
More Than you know
“While on location, Alan [Rudolph] awoke one morning to find a cassette slipped under his door,” recalled Isham, following Kristofferson his death in 2024. “Kris had recorded a song that night in his hotel room — ‘El Gavilan (The Hawk)’ — and presented it to Alan for potential use in the film. The next opportunity arose when Marianne Faithfull agreed to perform the songs for the project, resulting in one of the highlights of my film composing career.”
Isham continued, “I had the pleasure of meeting Kris in person a number of years later when I was playing with Joni Mitchell. He was one of the most gracious and intelligent human beings I have ever met. The world is a better place for his being in it.”
‘Repossessed’
Months after the release of the film, Kristofferson released his version of “El Gavilan (The Hawk)” on his album Repossessed. The album was Kristofferson’s first released in five years since releasing To the Bone and since co-founding the Highwaymen with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings.
Along with including more politically charged and humanitarian songs like “Anthem 84,” and “They Killed Him,” a lament for Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and those who lived in peace and were murdered. The latter track was covered by Cash and Bob Dylan.
Photo: Marianne Faithfull at the Bottom Line, New York, November 30, 1987. (Rita Barros/Getty)
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