Oh man, people talk about how going to a Dead show was an experience, and yeah it was....but damn going to an outdoor JP show, where hundreds of people are singing along to every song, there was always an electricity in the air, a sort of camaraderie amongst the audience, like we were all there to say mass at the altar of Prine. Say five Our Johns, and four Lake Maries and the sins of the day will float on the song, to the stars.

I saw him so many times, and he never grew stale. i got to meet him once at a meet and greet in Music Millenium in Portland. I got my picture taken and thanked him for all the music.

Above (back in '08 twelve years....my bloody god) I mentioned my favourite song was 6 O'Clock News. It is pure poetry in it's most minimalistic form. I found out a few years ago, that it was based on a boyhood friend he had growing up. The kid was in trouble a lot, and then the prosecutor (with the kid present) revealed he was the product of incest in juvenile court. The kid had no idea. It really made the refrain "Come on, baby, spend the night with me" make more sense int he context of the song, as well as more sinister.


it took a couple months...as lockdown and writer's block make for a shitty combination, but I wrote a poem....I posted a video of me reading it on the fb page, but here are the words:

Dear John

Dear John,
you don’t know me,
but your music does.

It saw me through first kisses and lasts,
it brought momentary electricity
with night love, and morning partings.

It has washed the sorrow from my cheeks,
pulled unwanted laughs from my lungs,
and folded me into the comfort of the song,
your voice whispering, that somehow:

        “Everything’ll be ok.”

The mourning tide waxes as I think
of you riding the City of New Orleans.
Across the table sits your old friend, Steve…
as you embark on an intergalactic reunion tour,
riding the steel rails from star to star.

Prine and Goodman-Together Again.

Nathan Tompkins © 2020