Let's talk John Prine

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 21 Aug 20 - 10:48 PM

26 January 2020 Fiona Whelan and John Prine at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California.

7 February 2020 Gävle Konserthus, Sweden (Joe Hill's town)
9 February 2020 Oslo Konserthus, Norway
13 February 2020 Cafe de la Danse, Paris

The rest of the tour would have to be cancelled but he really wanted to play his already sold-out first ever show in Paris. He did, and it was magic. We were not to know then that it would be his very last show.

But inbetween he played in the sheltered housing of St. Shanaghan House, Ardara, Ireland.

5 February 2020; On Monday evening we had the absolute pleasure to host 3 times Grammy award winning singer / song writer John Prine who sang for the residents and friends of St. Shanaghan House (we have a lot of friends). It was a fabulous evening topped by the presentation of a portrait of the great man by our fabulous local artist Stephen Bennett.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Aug 20 - 05:08 PM

https://wbbm780.radio.com/articles/john-prine-the-coolest-mail-carrier-ever

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- One summer in the late 1960s stands out for John McCrory, who grew up in the western suburbs. There was this friendly mail carrier who interacted with the neighborhood kids.

"He was just John the Mailman," McCrory, 59, recalled Wednesday. "He was friendly with everybody."

He remembers the mailman being relatively "clean-cut," at least for that hippie era of 1967 or '68 -- no mustache. Portsmouth Avenue in Westchester was toward the end of the mail carrier's route, so the leather pouches on his cart were not full.

"The little kids, because they were looking for a ride in his mailbag, would kind of herd around him whenever he was around," McCrory says. "Occasionally, if he had the room in his bags, he'd put one of the kids in the bag and roll us down the street.

"You could tell he enjoyed the interaction. To him it wasn't like some task. He was having fun with the kids."

It wasn't until several years later, maybe about two decades ago, that some of those kids deduced who John the Mailman was. McCrory thinks it was an article highlighting a civil servant from Maywood who went on to fame and acclaim as a singer-songwriter, breaking big in the early-1970s.

"We, at the time, had the same zipcode as Maywood," McCrory says.

The Crystal Lake resident says he wouldn't consider himself an afficionado of John Prine, the revered folk-country musician who passed away Tuesday at age 73 of COVID-19 complications. But whenever a Prine song came on, he would appreciate the tune and the man behind it.

"When it was on and I knew it was him I made it a point of not turning the dial," McCrory says.

There's also a nice photo of him back in the day.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Amergin
Date: 19 Aug 20 - 08:25 PM

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

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Jeri
Date: 19 Aug 20 - 06:56 PM

I should say that the ALT song came in a tribute concert for John Prine that started with John and Brandi Carlile singing Angel from Montgomery. John didn't mingle with folks, which I don't blame him for. He would've been mobbed. But there were numerous photos of him as high up on that ship as you can get, watching the various acts. I saw all of his three shows, and I only noticed maybe three repeats.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Jeri
Date: 19 Aug 20 - 06:48 PM

Strangest song I've heard from him (I LIKE it, but after it's over, I have to ask "What!? Why? Huh?": Lake Marie The first time I heard it, it was from Aaron Lee Tasjan, and this was exactly where and when I heard it

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Aug 20 - 05:21 PM

There's a current thread about John Prine's last song and I write this for two reasons. One to share that here, and the second to remark on how quickly one gets sucked down that John-Prine-songs rabbit hole when you follow a link to any of his YouTube songs. And what a pleasure.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 25 Feb 17 - 03:58 PM

I also like Andrew Calhoun's song, Goin' Down to see John Prine. Andrew is a friend of mine and has also expressed really liking Prine's writing. There was a period in his career where the song is accurate. Other musicians from the time can also attest. It's not a song some Prine fans would like. But you sometimes have to separate the artist and the art.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Bobert
Date: 24 Feb 17 - 10:30 PM

Me??? I still do "Paradise" on occasion...

B~

Subject: ADD: Goin' Down to See John Prine (Andrew Calhoun)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Feb 17 - 10:09 PM

Good suggestion, Jerome. I don't think I've heard Andrew sing that one, but the lyrics were easy to find.

Goin' Down to See John Prine

©2002 Andrew Calhoun, recorded on Tiger Tattoo

---

My folks did not go out much, not even a movie
And Folk was politic back then, Protest and "Feelin' Groovy,"
We lived out in the suburbs, it was a special thing
When they drove into Chicago to hear a mailman sing
That next week, they took my sister, one week later, they took me
I got a stamp on the back of my hand and I saw my destiny
Just an ordinary mailman with a gift for stringin' words
Who wrote and sang the greatest songs that we had ever heard
And every song was different and every time was new
And every other month or so, he'd write a song or two
With mugs of coke and peanuts, in the musk and cigarettes
We'd sit through rock star wannabes, to hear John's second set
"Hello In There" and "Paradise" and "Flag Decal" again
And one he never did record, "Will Anybody Be My Friend?"
Will anybody be my friend?

At Glen Ellyn Junior High School, the guys called me a fag
My homeroom teacher called me out, I wouldn't pledge the flag
There was Johnny Cash on Wednesday nights, to make life worth the time
Waiting for the weekend, goin' down to see John Prine
On Christmas, there was no one, at the old 5th Peg's back room
But our family and one couple, listening in the gloom
Then I called out a favorite song, John stopped his show and smiled
At me in growing silence there, I felt like heaven's child
It's a blessing I would carry, through trouble, dread and tears
And I gave John a pocket knife that he kept for luck for years

With two full sets, and sometimes three, each night a double bill
Everybody knew the reason that black room began to fill
With a feature in the Daily News and two in the Sun-Times
There were folks from every walk of life, goin' down to see John Prine
And so it was a joyful thing, and sorry now because
It's just a ghost of memory, how beautiful it was
That songs so filled with loneliness could leave us less alone
As if to love your neighbor were as easy as the phone
He'd sing "A friend that's been turned down will be a friend of mine"
And strangers felt like family then, goin' down to see John Prine

And so we all were happy, and happy for his sake
When Goodman brought Kristofferson, to score John his big break
We'd see him at the Arie Crown, up there where he belongs
To think that now the hungry world would get to hear these songs
And a few years on in Boston, we went down to see his show
We waited in the hallway, but he couldn't say hello
We saw him being interviewed, my sister Jane explained,
"That's all part of his job now, publicity's insane"
The critics raved, the drunkards roared, the groupies got in line
It would never be the same, goin' down to see John Prine

At the folkie's Sunday softball, for weeks they had it planned
John would come to play a game with his entire band
I had my year-old son there, we had brought him down to see
A man who just ignored him, and barely noticed me
He was out of shape and shouting, like his good time wasn't real
Then he headed out for a private thing with the boys in center field
And I wished it didn't matter, and I wished I didn't care
Just my tough luck to love someone who wasn't really there
On a sunny summer afternoon, for me the game was blown
Who'd believe this strung-out fool was the man who wrote "Sam Stone"?

At Rose Records store on Ashland, 1987
It felt a mile awkward when I stopped in to see him
A woman had her picture taken with him there and signed
But it just made me nervous, goin' down to see John Prine

And at his last accounting, there is bound to be a do
With St. Peter and the Muses, and Montgomery's Angel too
Saying, "Who's to speak for anyone, and who's to cast a stone
At one who eased our loneliness, but couldn't bear his own
And if I reach the pearly gates, when comes my time to go
I hope St. Peter's not too busy to come out and say hello
Will he sing "A friend that's been turned down will be a friend of mine."
Or stamp the back of my right hand - goin' down to see John Prine
There in the gloom I will request my favorite songs again,
"Paradise", "Hello in There", "Will Anybody Be My Friend."
That's "Paradise", "Hello in There", "Will Anybody Be My Friend."

Source: http://www.waterbug.com/calhoun/lyrics/prine.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkgJOAVipgI

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST,Jerome Clark
Date: 24 Feb 17 - 08:35 PM

I haven't read all of the contributions to this thread, so pardon me if I'm returning to already explored territory. However...

I wonder if anybody besides me has heard Andrew Calhoun's song "Goin' Down to See John Prine." It's on his 2003 album Tiger Tattoo (on Calhoun's Waterbug label) and can also be found on YouTube.

Calhoun is a Chicago folk singer -- his most recent release, Rhymer's Tower, surveys very old ballads -- and songwriter. The Prine song is, shall we say, less than celebratory. After reading the Rolling Stone profile, I suspect that the mature Prine would likely plead guilty to the crimes of the young Prine here outlined.

Subject: ADD: Lake Marie (John Prine)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Feb 17 - 03:39 AM

Rolling Stone Magazine (click) has a current article on John Prine that's worth reading.
-Joe-

---

The article says that Bob Dylan's favorite John Prine song is "Lake Marie." It tells a story that took place "Many years ago along the Illinois-Wisconsin Border."

Bob Dylan's favorite Prine song is "Lake Marie," in which three radically different storylines – an Indian legend, a troubled couple on a camping trip and a brutal murder – converge at Prine's childhood vacation spot. "Prine's stuff is pure Proustian existentialism," Dylan said in 2009. "Midwestern mind-trips to the nth degree."

Many years ago, when I was 12 years old, I rode my bicycle to the Illinois-Wisconsin Border and wondered at the big Oleo signs towering in the sky, but that's another story....

And years later, when I was in college, I would travel with friends from Milwaukee to Shakey's Pizza outside Kenosha near the Illinois-Wisconsin border, where it was legal to drink beer at age 18, but that's yet another story....

John Prine songs mean a lot to me, maybe because he comes from where I come from.


LAKE MARIE
(John Prine)

We were standing
Standing by peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh

Many years ago along the Illinois-Wisconsin Border
There was this Indian tribe
They found two babies in the woods
White babies
One of them was named Elizabeth
She was the fairer of the two
While the smaller and more fragile one was named Marie
Having never seen white girls before
And living on the two lakes known as the Twin Lakes
They named the larger and more beautiful Lake, Lake Elizabeth
And thus the smaller lake that was hidden from the highway
Became known forever as Lake Marie

Many years later I found myself talking to this girl
Who was standing there with her back turned to Lake Marie
The wind was blowing especially through her hair
There was four italian sausages cooking on the outdoor grill
And Man, they was ssssssssizzlin'
Many years later we found ourselves in Canada
Trying to save our marriage and perhaps catch a few fish
Whatever seemed easier
That night she fell asleep in my arms
Humming the tune to "Louie Louie'
Aah baby, We gotta go now.


The dogs were barking as the cars were parking
The loan sharks were sharking the narcs were narcing
Practically everyone was there
In the parking lot by the forest preserve
The police had found two bodies
Nay, naked bodies
Their faces had been horribly disfigured by some sharp object
Saw it on the news On the TV news in a black and white video
You know what blood looks like in a black and white video?
Shadows, Shadows that's exactly what it looks like
All the love we shared between her and me was slammed
Slammed up against the banks of Old Lake Marie, Marie

We were standing
Standing by peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Aah baby, we gotta go now

Written by Prine • Copyright © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management US, LLC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzCjQwt2rgI

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Ebbie
Date: 16 Feb 17 - 04:47 AM

Someone who saw John recently said he's not looking too good - or sounding quite as good - but that he still has that old magic.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 16 Feb 17 - 03:44 AM

Bearing in mind "Some Humans Ain't Human", I'm waiting for the Trump song.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Feb 17 - 03:41 AM

Christmas in Prison

Subject: ADD: Far From Me (John Prine)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 Feb 17 - 02:42 PM

I think the world needs a little John Prine today.


FAR FROM ME
(John Prine)
As recorded by John Prine on "John Prine" (1971)

1. As the cafe was closing on a warm summer night and Cathy was cleaning the spoons,
The radio played the hit parade and I hummed along with the tune.
She asked me to change the station, said the song just drove her insane,
But it weren't just the music playing; it was me she was trying to blame.

CHORUS: And the sky is black and still now on the hill where the angels sing.
Ain't it funny how an old broken bottle looks just like a diamond ring?
But it's far, far from me.

2. Well, I leaned on my left leg in the parking lot dirt and Cathy was closing the lights.
A June bug flew from the warmth he once knew and I wished for once I weren't right.
Why, we used to laugh together and we'd dance to any old song.
Well, ya know, she still laughs with me but she waits just a second too long. CHORUS

3. Well, I started the engine and I gave it some gas and Cathy was closing her purse.
Well, we hadn't gone far in my beat-up old car and I was prepared for the worst.
"Will you still see me tomorrow?" "No, I got too much to do."
Well, a question ain't really a question if you know the answer too. CHORUS


Published by © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Source: http://www.metrolyrics.com/far-from-me-lyrics-john-prine.html (corrected by Joe Offer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_hCDPIjT6k

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Greg F.
Date: 28 May 16 - 01:29 PM

Prine. Raitt. Absolutely don't get no better. See

Here

and

Here

And Bonnie's old man weren't no slouch either

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST,Brien
Date: 28 May 16 - 01:06 PM

I believe John Prine wrote "Souveniers" on his dashboard on his way to a gig because he thought everyone must be tired of hearing him play the same three songs every evening. It's still one of my favorites. I would add, "He Was In Heaven Before He Died and "The Late John Garfield Blues" he claimed to cause a power outage when Kris Kristofferson played the demo on his hi-fi.

Brien

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 May 16 - 10:13 PM

Hi, HiLo-

Nobody, but nobody does "Dear Abby" as effectively as John Prine does. And "In Spite of Ourselves" with Prine and Iris Dement, is just perfect.

You're certainly right about Raitt on "Angel from Montgomery" and Bette Midler on "Hello in There." But on the funny songs, Prine is prime.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 27 May 16 - 04:52 PM

The first John Prine song I ever learned was " The Great Compromise" , loved it ! But I always felt that other people often did better versions. Bonnie Raitt,s " "Angel FromMontgomery " is a classic as is Bette Midlers "hello In There" ! I once had a neighbour who knew all of JP,s songs and we spent many hours in his back garden sin ging them, but i just found Prines voice grating, is it just me? still,great songwriter !

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 May 16 - 11:44 AM

I'm kicking myself for missing a recent John Prine concert in Sacramento. I've never seen John perform. This was my chance, but my schedule was too busy. Sacramento Bee columnist had this to say about the concert:

John Prine is on tour; last week, he played in Sacramento. At 69, he has spent the last 15 years battling cancer. He has lost a piece of his neck and part of his tongue, and in 2013, doctors discovered a spot on his left lung.

Does that sound depressing? It wasn't.

He played like a virtuoso, in a sharp suit and tie, with old friends, and dedicated a beautiful song to his late brother, a Chicago cop who retired to the Sierra Nevada foothills in the late 1990s and died in 2012 of liver cancer.

At one point, Prine danced a little jig across the stage, a portly gent with a guitar whistling past the graveyard. His sister-in-law, sitting near my husband and me at the back of the house, whooped and applauded.

It wasn't just a good show. It was breathtaking, and we had to think hard to remember the last time we'd felt that uplifted, by anyone.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/shawn-hubler/article79902637.html#storylink=cpy

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: topical tom
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 11:38 AM

John is a wonderful singer-songwriter . I love all the messages in his songs as well as his superb guitar-playing and compelling voice. Amazingly, I had not heard John until Beer kindly lent me a cd which, upon listening to it, promptly burned a cd for myself. For introducing me to such a great performer, Beer, thanks so much! I only wish he could come to our area more often.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST,TonyA
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 10:56 AM

Also a terrific character actor, in Daddy and Them.
I tried to find a clip of his Uncle Alvin performance on YouTube, but could only find this barely legible clip, not from the movie, just showing a few of the actors fooling around on the set.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Rob Naylor
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 10:49 AM

Got his first album when it came out. None of my mates had ever heard of him (this was in the UK), and I wore out that first album playing it to people in order to "convert" them. It must have led to at least a dozen new sales among my friends though!

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 08:13 AM

Tony.
This fellow by the name of "Prine" is unbelievable. He just has so much to say in his songs.
ad.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST,TonyA
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 12:51 AM

A clown puts his makeup on upside down,
so he wears a smile even when he wears a frown.
Now you might think I'm here when you put me down,
but actually I'm on the other side of town.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST,TonyA
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 12:46 AM

My body's in this room with you just catchin' hell,
while my soul is drinkin' beer down the road a spell.
You might think I'm listenin' to your grocery list,
but I'm leanin' on the jukebox and I'm about half-pissed.

I'm sittin' on a chair just behind my ear,
playin' dominoes an' drinkin' ice-cold beer.
When you get done talkin' I'll come back downstairs
and assume the body of the person you presume who cares.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 16 Aug 10 - 06:09 PM

That song is from his first vinyl. Great great song. Love this line from it as well.
"Well, ya know, she still laughs with me
But she waits just a second too long".
Thanks Voyager for reviving the thread.
Ad.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: voyager
Date: 16 Aug 10 - 05:29 PM

John Prine was the closing act for the Planet Bluegrass Folks Festival (Lyons, CO.). As the billing says - 'a songwriter's songwriter). Amen. The tune that knocked me out was called -

Far Away From Home

Couple of hook lines -

Well, a question ain't really a question
If you know the answer too.

Ain't it funny how an old broken bottle
Looks just like a diamond ring

The show reminded me of the Arlo Guthrie saying about songwriting -
"It's a lot like fishing. You throw your line in the water and wait for a good idea. Only you don't want to be fishing downstream from Bob Dylan (or John Prine for that matter)....because they catch all the big ones!"

voyager

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 16 Jul 10 - 10:56 PM

Any rumors of a new c/d in the works? It has been awhile and it is time for a Prine fix.
Ad.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: wysiwyg
Date: 04 Jan 10 - 08:41 PM

Keep us posted!

~S~

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: olddude
Date: 04 Jan 10 - 12:59 PM

John is doing fine, he is feeling fine, actually he is going to be in Ithaca NY sometime in February. Going to try and catch him

Dan

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: wysiwyg
Date: 04 Jan 10 - 12:43 PM

Thanks, Beer. From wikipedia:

In early 1998, Prine was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer on the right side of his neck. He had surgery to remove the diseased tissue and was left with a substantial loss of tissue. This was followed by six weeks of radiation therapy. Some of Prine's listeners believe that the surgery has added "gravel" to his voice.

~S~

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: wrotham-arms-jen
Date: 04 Jan 10 - 03:37 AM

thanks twickfolk - i now see that you are right....wow, always thought prine wrote it. mind you, for a brilliant lyricist like him to cover it shows that its still good :) thanks for the correction.
jen

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: evansakes
Date: 04 Jan 10 - 03:07 AM

"A Town This Size" is a great song, Jen, but it ain't one of Prine's

Here's Kieran Kane introducing it (and thanking John and Dolores Keane for covering it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrOfj6MX5C8

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: wrotham-arms-jen
Date: 04 Jan 10 - 02:36 AM

I don't think anyone has mentioned A Town This Size....am sure its about my hometown of Broadstairs!

In a town this size, there's no place to hide
Everywhere you go you meet someone you know
You can't steal a kiss in a place like this
How the rumors do fly in a town this size
In a smokey bar in the backseat of your car
In your own little house someone's sure to find you out
What you do and what you think
What you eat and what you drink
If you smoke a cigarette they'll be talkin' about your breath
...
jen

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 03 Jan 10 - 10:06 PM

Just a guess, but probably from his operation.
ad.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Jan 10 - 09:50 PM

I did a quick look thru this thread but didn't see the answer to this-- what is that scar under Prine's right jaw?

And what do we know about his current state of health?

~Susan

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST,G
Date: 12 Oct 08 - 12:47 AM

I'm not a huge fan of the last verse, as I can't quite tell where it's coming from, but "Lake Marie" is such a beautiful song.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST,KT
Date: 24 Aug 08 - 06:41 PM

Beer, you're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!

KT

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Aug 08 - 01:07 PM

At last night's music night several people sang some songs of Prine's, including some I had never heard. He has a real way with words.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: MAG
Date: 23 Aug 08 - 12:56 PM

Has anybody mentioned

Blowup your TV/throw away your paper/move to the country/build yourself a home

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 23 Aug 08 - 08:39 AM

KT that was great. Thank you for sharing.
Beer (adrien)

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: KT
Date: 23 Aug 08 - 01:48 AM

Here's a sample of that concert- don't miss John's comments about the happy enchilada!
Enjoy!

KT

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: KT
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 02:38 PM

I'm seeing this thread for the first time, and saw John live last night for the first time, too. Absolutely packed, sold out house. John and his band put on an incredible show that had the audience hanging on every note played, every word, spoken or sung.

Ebbie says "He electrified the audience and the audience seemed to do the same for him."   So true.

John's ability to put realities of the human condition into concise, common phrases that imply a thousand words and a depth of wisdom and experience - is extraordinary. I never understood that completely until seeing him last night.

AND, he seemed absolutley delighted to be here, doing what he was doing!

Great show, folks, if you ever get the chance.....

KT

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Jayto
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 01:49 PM

Oh yeah again lol My fav is Mexican Home. My gig with Joh was a short stint I was waiting to get the green light with a new band signed with a label to go through and was playing for alot of different people in my down time. After reading my post it sounded like it was a perm type job where " I was John Prine's guitarist" and it was just a short stint. I didn't want to overstate my role on that one lol

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Jayto
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 01:39 PM

Oh yeah I live about 10 miles from Muhlenberg county. I have been to the Paradise area numerous times as well as Adrie (an abandonded old prison down by Adrie's Hill), Rochester Dam, and my Dad worked for Peabody coal company for years (around here pretty much everyones Dad did lol). If anyone has any questions about the song and the real are John wrote it about feel free to ask. I know alot about this song and the area it is written about.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Jayto
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 01:20 PM

I was playing guitar for John and I was not too old maybe 20 or 19 maybe. My mother came to our hotel one night after we had a gig. Everybody was hanging out by the pool relaxing and talking. We had the guitars out and was having a great time when my mom showed up. Well I turned into the nervous kid you know " I need to act cool because mom will kill me if I don't" type thing. I will not lie Mom has the ability to turn me into a 5 yr old to this day I don't know why. Well she comes up and I introduce her to everyone and pull her up a seat. She sits and we are all laughing and cutting up having a great time. I look over and see an arm outreached toward my Mom hold a joint. I choked and was like "NOOOOOOO" mentall y of course lol. My mom just smiled and was like " No thank you I don't smoke." I about had a heart attack. I think John saw it in my eyes because he looked like he was about to start rolling with laughter. To this day I don't think my Mom knew what it was. I seriously think that she still thinks it was a normal cigarette lol I knew and to this day my heart skips a beat when I think about it lol.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Ebbie
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 01:02 PM

John Prine did a really great show last night. He electrified the audience and the audience seemed to do the same for him. He gave everything in him to give and it was 11:20 before he stopped.

Wonderful.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: open mike
Date: 29 Jun 08 - 01:35 PM

how can anyone have NOT thought of John Prine for years??!!

Back in the days of the mudcat paltalk jam, we often had whole
sessions with only Prine songs! (we went on for hours...)

http://www.jpshrine.org/lyrics/index.html

Please don't bury me...Flag Decal...Hello in There (often has brought me to tears when my elderly parents lived in Omaha...)and so many others....

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 29 Jun 08 - 11:52 AM

Going to sing some Prine songs this afternoon at a jam. While reviewing some of his material I took a closer look at his song "Spanish Pipe Dream". There is a line in that song that speaks a thousand words.Wow!!, "Well you know she still laughs with me,But she waits just a second to long"

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: mandotim
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 12:03 PM

Paradise works great for a classic bluegrass band...
Tim

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 09:42 PM

Dan, you can't go wrong with Prine.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: olddude
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 09:12 PM

Hey Folks, I thank you very much. There are songs listed in this thread that I have not heard in years or thought about in years and others I have not heard. You bet it is mission for me to find them

Great great feedback and one that is a wonderful help to me

Dan

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Bobert
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 09:03 PM

I have always included "Paradise" in my set lists... Okay, I might do a somewhat bluesified version but ***that*** song is gonna be on my set list as long as I am able to perform...

Now daddy, won'tcha take me back...

B~

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 08:37 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST,Jeff
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 12:01 AM

There's a story in the Clay Eal's book in which I'm referenced as to being onstge while Steve and John engaged in a shouting match over some thing to do w/t Bruised Orange album. In the back of 'The Earl of Old Town'. Never happened. While I appreciate the mention the story is completely false Don't know where Clay got the info for the story, but it's wrong. Had plenty of other experiences w/Stve and JP, but that wasn't one of them. Jeff Jones.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 10:18 PM

Thanks for starting this thread olddude. Just can't get enough of this genius.

Every song, the man has something to say, and as Spaw explained so precise and dead on above; "Geeziz......I've known that for years and never have been able to put it into so few words or phrased so beautifully". To me Spaw, that says it all.

A song of J.P's that has a hell of a lot to say is:
Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard. For those of you who have let this one slip by, have a listen. Also a great line with history of sorts behind it is : "Like a Nun with her head in the oven". Taken from the song "Bruised Orange".

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: DannyC
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 08:36 PM

About a decade ago, I worked with JP's first cousin - Candy W. - at the phone company in Louavul, KY. We got to be big buddies... when our branch came under control of a Columbus, Ohio center, Candy got me to run interference for her when we went up there 'cause she had never been north of the Ohio River and thought them folks might have some funny ways.   I wuz a Yankee she could trust - everything worked out fine.

It wuz Candy and her branch of the family who brought their shared Granpappy down to the big weddin' in Nashville (she said Prine married an Irish girl). Candy says after the big bash on the way home to Western Kentucky, Pappy wuz riled up sayin', "Did you see all that food and flowin' wine. They spent a fortune... They must a spent evey dime they had." AND "I don't see what the big deal wuz about them guitar pickers. Ol' (so n' so) from home could pick rings around them boys down there." (Apparantly the reception featured a cavalcade of stars - Nashville cats.)   

Candy loved telling that story and I loved hearing it - every time. That's all I got for now...

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Bill H //\\
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 05:20 PM

Clay Eals book ---Steve Goodman: Facing The Music--is a great read and also show the relationship between Steve Goodman and John Prine--along with how influental Goodman was in helping launch Prine's career. Goodman's loyalty and generosity are to be much admired. The book has a bevy of wonderful pictures.

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Capt. E
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:25 PM

My favorite memory of John Prine is from the Kerrville Folk Festival and an incredible hours long jam around the campfire after all the official perfomances were done. I can't even begin to list all the songs of his that I love and his versions by other songwriters such as Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans".   Anyone got a pickle?

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:00 PM

OMG! I completely forgot about John Prine until a few months ago, when I was trawling for American folk music to sing. I am American living in UK and attend sing around sessions couple a times a month. New to folk music, (only about 7 years so still in the honeymoon stage) I had been learning mainly English folk. But now I want to sing songs of my homeland too.

So I found my all time favorite from when I was a babe of 18 years. Paradise, still makes me tingle and am relearning it to sing at the sessions here.

But this thread (thank you so much folks) I am now going stock up on as many John Prine recordings as I can lay hands, ears, heart and voice on.

Amazing stuff.

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 12:00 PM

How often do you get to hear a joke embedded in the lyrics?

"For the life of me, I could not see
But I heard a brand new joke
Two men were standing upon a bridge
One jumped and screamed you lose
And just left the odd man holding
Those late John Garfield blues."

Thanks for the "Late John Garfield Blues" reminder...

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: mandotim
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 10:32 AM

I'm with you on the wet eyes, fat B****rd. I find there are some John Prine songs I have to 'take a break' from, and not sing them for a while. Hello in There is one of them; I sometimes struggle to get past certain lines without choking up completely. The man is a genius; he can crack you up with laughter or tears in three verses and a couple of choruses, no problem.
Tim

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: fat B****rd
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:51 AM

All of the above and Hello In There gives me wet eyes as well.
Throw Out The TV !!

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Marion
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 01:33 AM

I don't know if it's my absolute favourite, but I have a lot of affection for a song that hasn't been mentioned yet: Fish and Whistle.

Father forgive us for what we must do
You forgive us, and we'll forgive you
We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue
Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven.

Marion

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: Amos
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 01:27 AM

Can't do much better than that. Sho' nuff.


A

Subject: RE: Let's talk John Prine
From: catspaw49
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 12:57 AM

And just lookee what got posted just today on YouTube!! Now if you think Prine's some kind of god and Emmylou's an angel then see them together just last week. Yeah, she uses a crib sheet but who gives a turkey..........Its Emmylou!

In Spite Of Ourselves

Angel From Montgomery

Lousy quality and balance too but......hey.......JP and Emmlou!

Spaw

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: olddude
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 08:53 PM

Sam Stone, got a hole in his arm .. that's where the money goes

Dear Abby Dear Abby my feet are too long, my hair fallen out and my rights are all wrong ...

sooooo true .... sooo true

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 07:17 PM

copied & pasted from a thread I posted to in 2005

"In 1973, I helped a friend move to Wash DC, and we took a detour through Kentucky to look for Paradise, and 'photographed the song'. We took pictures of every thing named in the song that we could find, from Peabody Coal trucks to the Green River to broken pop bottles at the site to the cooling towers for the power plant. The only thing left of Paradise itself was an old outhouse, leaning at an angle.....but we could 'hear' the words of the song as we stood there in the desolation."

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 05:50 PM

"An old man sleeps with his conscience at night
Young kids sleep with their dreams
While the mentally ill sit perfectly still
And live through life's in-betweens".

Powerful lines by J.P.
Taken from the song "Late John Garfield Blues"

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 02:37 PM

Part of John's greatness lies in his ability to elicit universal themes from totally mundane circumstances without a shred of self-importance or "Look at me!" type cleverness. He's just a guy who sees the world a little crookedly, mainly because the world is a little crooked.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 01:58 PM

Clocks & Spoons is a great one.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 12:31 PM

And your a good guy.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 12:30 PM

No it is an album. And Tom, don't say burn on any threads. It's a bad word.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: topical tom
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 12:26 PM

I don't believe I have heard that album, Beer.If you have it perhaps I could burn myself a copy of it? It sounds like a great one.

P.S.:I said "burn".Is it a cd, though?

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: catspaw49
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 11:07 AM

As everyone has known, JP is truly one of the premier wordsmiths. Coupled with his tunesmith abilities, its a tough combination to match. Every person who meets that criteria has something different in the way it comes out which singles them out. That's probably a thread discussion all by itself.

Prine uses the commonest words and phrases and somehow puts them together in a rhyme and meter that makes what might be an awkward phrase flow together and through the tune......very natural. I may not have explained that well...............Anyway, for me it makes it almost imposssible to think about any of his lyrics without the tune. I don't do that with everyone. Sometimes I do it because I'm that way musically. But in the case of JP, its absolutely impossible for me disassociate one from the other. Again, poorly explained but......................

All that said, he is very capable of writings that make us want to say, "Damn! I even knew that and still never said it!!!" One of his perhaps lesser known songs is "All the Best" which contains this beautiful phrase:

Then you change your mind   
For something else to do
And your heart gets bored with your mind
And it changes you

Geeziz......I've known that for years and never have been able to put it into so few words or phrased so beautifully.

Yeah......I like John Prine a lot.

Spaw

Subject: Lyr Add: ONE RED ROSE (John Prine)
From: Brian Hoskin
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 05:18 AM

So many great songs, as witnessed by the range of choices above. The thing about John Prine for me is that some of his songs can make you laugh, whilst others can make you cry. He has a genius for setting a very vivid scene or completely describing a character in just a couple of lines. He's written far more 'I wish I'd written that' songs than anyone else I can think of.

How's this for an example of his picture painting in song:


ONE RED ROSE
Written by John Prine
As recorded by John Prine on “Storm Windows” (1980)

The rain came down on the tin roof; hardly
A sound was left from the birthday party.
The kitchen light fell asleep on the bedroom floor.
Me and her were talking softer
Than all the time before I lost her.
Picture sat on top of the chest of drawers.

CHORUS: One red rose in the Bible,
Pressed between the holy alphabet.
Probably wouldn't believe you if you told me,
But what I never knew I never will forget.

Rainy nights get dark real early.
Her dress was soft and her hair was curly.
We danced around the table to the old banjo.
Rainy nights were made for lovers.
We lay there still beneath the covers,
And I ain't never felt like that before. CHORUS

INSTRUMENTAL BREAK; CHORUS
What I never knew I never will forget.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: GUEST,Jeff
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 12:06 AM

Played softball against The John Prine Band. Around the time 'Bruised Orange' was released. They talked alot of trash. I played w/t Chicago Folkies. John pitched, Steve Goodman played 2nd base and John Burns played 1st as I recall. I think Angie Varias played ss for them. We had Mike Jordan ss, Tom Dundee 2b, Dave Laser 3b, Marty Peifer lf, Al Day(we made him play rf), Harry Waller c and me, Jeff Jones cf. We killed them. We got 'em 1-2-3 in the first inning and then batted around twice. They knew they were in for a long afternoon. Mike Jordan was an All county BB player in HS and I was drafted, but never signed by the Pirate org. Tom Dundee was just a good all around athlete. We had Jim Tulio, too. He played 1st. Marty played lf and was very, very fast in the outfield. He got to a couple of gap shots that were impressive. I think he could've played pro ball 'cause he could really hit, too. Betsy Redhed played 'rover' and Cassie pitched. We 10 runned 'em twice and then swapped a few players around to make things more even. There's a picture from that game on Tom Dundee's post-humously relaeased CD set called 'Fleeting Moment' where he's leaning in talking to Steve Goodman and tapping his ballglove. Great moment.

OH yeah favorite John Prine songs: 'Iron Ore Betty' w/t immortal words: I'm goin steady w/Iron Ore Betty and she's goin' steady w/me. We get our mail from the same mail box and we watch the same TV. She's got rug burns on her elbows, I got 'em on my knees. I'm goin' steady w/Iron Ore Betty and she's goin' steady w/me.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 10:59 PM

If memory serves me right and I think in this case it does. It was just titled John Prine and he was sitting on a bail of hay.
if this album was released today it would remain on the top for a long long time.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: topical tom
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 10:54 PM

I'm not sure. What was the title, Beer?

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 10:32 PM

Tom.
Have you ever heard his first album?

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: topical tom
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 10:28 PM

Unfortunately I never saw him perform live but his songs are, by turn, spell-binding, touching and humorous. He is a great singer-songwriter. My favorite songs are "The Sound of Loneliness", "Hello In There" and "Sam Stone".There are, however, many more that I love, "In Spite of Ourselves", "Some People Ain't Human" and on and on.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Ebbie
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 05:53 PM

John Prine will come to Juneau Alaska in August. I've seen him on television but it will be my first time to see him live.

Gordon Bok is coming to Juneau in September. Michael Smith was here this spring.

We may be remote but we do get some good ones...

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: bankley
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 05:52 PM

"Fair and Square" was a lot of fun.... nice picking by Jason Wilbur and Shawn Camp...   he's like an old comfy pair of slippers..

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 05:49 PM

In Spite of Ourselves. great, great song and a superb performance by two superb artistes.

"Unwed Fathers", however is indisputably, incontrovertibly and incontestably, the greatest song ever to come from the pen of J Prine, and I have them all as well.

"Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" is probably my least favourite Prine song. Too clever by half, imo, and doesn't actually say anything very meaningful. Damn catchy tune, though ...

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Art Thieme
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 05:42 PM

That club in Chicago that hired him after 3 songs was The Fifth Peg---on Armitage.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: PoppaGator
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 05:32 PM

No one has yet mentioned "Angel from Montgomery," although I believe that the four lines quoted above (as sung by Bonnie Raitt) come from that really great song.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 05:21 PM

I 've seen him a number of times at the Buffalo Folk Festival..lots and lots a years ago. Don't remember any stories; just that he had a genial, totally unaffected and slightly rakish demeanor.

He was a populist without labelsm and his songs have a way of resurfacing over the years. " Hello in There "was a favorite of mine from decades ago, and I sure get a kick out of "In Spite of Ourselves," which I just heard for the first time last year, by some performers in a local coffeehouse. Funny as anything.

But his greatest line ever,imho, is sung by Bonnie Raitt in a voice that's got at least 100 years of weariness:

"How in hell can a person
go to work in the morning
come home in the evening
and have nothing to say?"

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 05:17 PM

So many wonderful songs and so many great lines---one line I have always admired---"...sometimes you have to lose your mind to keep your sanity:.    Insightful in 11 words.


Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Chris in Portland
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 11:05 AM

His recordings of Souvenirs are my favorites - the ones with Steve Goodman's great guitar work. When in doubt about what to sing at a song circle, I do Souvenirs, Hello in There, or Spanish Pipe Dream.
Check out the great interview on the Library of Congress website.
Chris

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: maire-aine
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 10:27 AM

PARADISE, no doubt about it, mostly because I can relate to strip mining in the area my father came from in PA. I guess it was the first John Prine song I ever heard, soooo long ago.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: pdq
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 10:25 AM

oldhippie says: I like "Illegal Smile" best, although "Donald & Lydia" and "Sam Stone"...

Happy to say that there is no way to go from there but up. He actually did some great songs, so keep looking.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Peace
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 10:16 AM

Remarkable songwriter. I love his "Dear Abby".

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 10:14 AM

First saw John Prine at the Philly Folk Festival sometime in the 70's. He sang "The Great Compromise" and I was hooked. Being a Vietnam Vet I think it struck a chord.

He was also in an early concert. Unfortunately, he was three sheets to the wind. He was bothered by a fly that was buzzing around him on stage. He tried to swat it and was so uncoordinated he nearly fell down. Hilarious and not so hilarious at the same time. Still liked his music, though.

I believe he achieved some sort of recovery prior to his Burnt Orange release.

I guess I last saw him about three years ago. He sold out a summer venue in Baltimore. I was amazed at the diversity of folks who were attracted to his music. It was not a typical folk crowd and not quite a rock and roll crowd. He put on a fine show.

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: Lyr Add: IT'S A BIG OLD GOOFY WORLD (John Prine)
From: GUEST,number 6
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 10:13 AM

Another big fan of John Prine here.

"Hello in There" has to be one of the most heart wrenching songs I have ever heard.

with that being said I'll put in a plug of one of my favourite JP songs and that is "It's A Big Old Goofy World"

Up in the morning
Work like a dog
Is better than sitting
Like a bump on a log
Mind all your manners
Be quiet as a mouse
Some day you'll own a home
That's as big as a house

I know a fella
He eats like a horse
Knocks his old balls
Round the old golf course
You oughta see his wife
She's a cute little dish
She smokes like a chimney
And drinks like a fish

There's a big old goofy man
Dancing with a big old goofy girl
Ooh baby
It's a big old goofy world

Now Elvis had a woman
With a head like a rock
I wished I had a woman
That made my knees knock
She'd sing like an angel
And eat like a bird
And if I wrote a song
She'd know ever single word

Kiss a little baby
Give the world a smile
If you take an inch
Give 'em back a mile
Cause if you lie like a rug
And you don't give a damn
You're never gonna be
As happy as a clam

So I'm sitting in a hotel
Trying to write a song
My head is just as empty
As the day is long
Why it's clear as a bell
I should have gone to school
I'd be wise as an owl
Stead of stubborn as a mule.

Ya gotta hand it to anyone who can write that ... yes it is a big old goofy world and I luv it.


biLL

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Beer
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 08:36 AM

I do believe I have every song he has ever done. The amazing thing I find is that in some of the songs that are not that popular I'll go back to and find some amazing lines he has written which I missed the first or second time round. The only other writer I have found that could do the same thing is Bob Dylan.

Back to Prine.
Beer (adrien)

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Nick
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 08:35 AM

Hello in There, Speed of the Sound of Loneliness and Let's Talk Dirty In Hawaiian

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 08:27 AM

Most of 'em are good. Hello in there probably gets my vote although Speed of the sound of loneliness and Paradise are very close. For the novelty value how about Please don't bury me?

Pay a visit here if you can't decide.

Cheers

Dave.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: catspaw49
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 07:59 AM

As to stories..............I used to see him a lot in Nashville at small clubs and always loved his closeness to the audience. Some people are at their best in those situations and Prine is one. He'd have two guitars and a bottle of Jack on the stool beside him.

I'd heard him tell this story a few times then one night I heard him tell it again to John Hiatt on the PBS program, "Sessions at West 54th." He went to the Olde Town School in Chicago while he was still a postman and taking various things. He told of going to a club across the street on open mic night and singing three songs he had written. After hearing him, they hired him as a regular of sorts. The three songs were "Paradise," "Sam Stone," & "Hello In There." No wonder they hired him.


Spaw

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: oldhippie
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 07:42 AM

I like "Illegal Smile" best, although "Donald & Lydia" and "Sam Stone" are powerful songs.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: olddude
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 07:42 AM

OH MY GOD, Six O'Clock news ... wonderful have not heard that one in years and years ... wow ... gotta dig it out for sure
thank you for reminding me

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: evansakes
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 05:49 AM

John Prine sings the happy enchilada song

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Amergin
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 05:31 AM

I've seen him three times, and each time his show was amazing. The last time he brought his brother onstage who I guess lives in the area, and they played together for a couple of songs.

I like Hello In There....and Jesus the Missing Years...

However I think my favourite one is Six O'Clock News....the last line of the song is a shocking contrast from the rest of the lyrics. His brains were on the sidewalk, blood was on his shoes.

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: evansakes
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 05:23 AM

My favourite is the one about the happy enchilada...

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: catspaw49
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 02:45 AM

Olddude.......I linked a few older JP threads at the top for your perusal. I'm sure this one will also draw a crowd as we have a lot of JP fans here, myself included.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Let talk John Prine
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 02:35 AM

Paradise, if that was his only song he would still be an amazing songwriter.

eric

Subject: Let talk John Prine
From: olddude
Date: 15 Jun 08 - 11:18 PM

What is your best story of favorite John Prine song. I have not thought about him in years and he is amazing for sure. Anyone want to share a memory or tune?