Angel From Montgomery
March 30, 2020 1:30 AM Subscribe
John Prine: singer-songwriter critically ill with Covid-19 symptoms, family says
This is John Prine [Spotify]
The Tree of Forgiveness [Spotify]
Bruised Orange [Spotify]
Angel from Montgomery (with Bonnie Raitt) [YouTube]
John Prine previously on Metafilter
This is John Prine [Spotify]
The Tree of Forgiveness [Spotify]
Bruised Orange [Spotify]
Angel from Montgomery (with Bonnie Raitt) [YouTube]
John Prine previously on Metafilter
Noooooo
posted by yodelingisfun at 1:46 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by yodelingisfun at 1:46 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Hello In There (Live From Sessions at West 54th)
posted by Lanark at 2:17 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Lanark at 2:17 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
I don’t even have words for how sad this makes me.
posted by transient at 2:24 AM on March 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by transient at 2:24 AM on March 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
Fucking fuck.
posted by soundguy99 at 3:09 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by soundguy99 at 3:09 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
This is the first coronavirus-related news story that has made me cry. Suddenly it's really hitting me how many people we're going to lose to this.
Angel from Montgomery is my favorite song of all time.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 4:21 AM on March 30, 2020 [12 favorites]
Angel from Montgomery is my favorite song of all time.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 4:21 AM on March 30, 2020 [12 favorites]
This is the worst news.
posted by octothorpe at 4:33 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 4:33 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
same, SuperSquirrel. i've not cried but a couple times the last few weeks. this is just almost putting me over the edge.
i've been very upset since finding this out last night. this is making things too too real.
this is the song i can't stop of thinking of.
Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore
these idiots running around with their flag lapel pins selling their stocks instead of taking measure to protect the citizens they are to represent are causing so much harm and literally killing people to profit.
"Jesus don't like killing no matter what the reason's for".
Amen, John. Amen.
i don't know if i'll be able to listen Angel From Montgomery without bawling ever again. it was already a verklempt song and this ... i just hope he makes it through.
posted by affectionateborg at 4:47 AM on March 30, 2020 [8 favorites]
i've been very upset since finding this out last night. this is making things too too real.
this is the song i can't stop of thinking of.
Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore
these idiots running around with their flag lapel pins selling their stocks instead of taking measure to protect the citizens they are to represent are causing so much harm and literally killing people to profit.
"Jesus don't like killing no matter what the reason's for".
Amen, John. Amen.
i don't know if i'll be able to listen Angel From Montgomery without bawling ever again. it was already a verklempt song and this ... i just hope he makes it through.
posted by affectionateborg at 4:47 AM on March 30, 2020 [8 favorites]
Oh no!
posted by PMdixon at 4:48 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by PMdixon at 4:48 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
sorry for the extra post.
i listened to the youtube link above of Angel from Montgomery and cried so hard.
" ... just give me one thing that i can hold on to, to believe in this living is just a hard way to go."
we all need something to hold on to so much right now.
posted by affectionateborg at 4:56 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
i listened to the youtube link above of Angel from Montgomery and cried so hard.
" ... just give me one thing that i can hold on to, to believe in this living is just a hard way to go."
we all need something to hold on to so much right now.
posted by affectionateborg at 4:56 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
Summer's End just came up yesterday on one of my "Sad and Gone" playlists. Hopefully not prescient.
posted by kuanes at 4:57 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by kuanes at 4:57 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
I didn't realize until just now that Angel From Montgomery, Sam Stone, Hello in There, Illegal Smile and Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore are all from his first album. That's a hell of debut.
posted by octothorpe at 4:59 AM on March 30, 2020 [21 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 4:59 AM on March 30, 2020 [21 favorites]
This is so damn sad. Prine has been a favorite of mine and an inspiration since 1972, when I discovered him, at age 15. Grew up with the man's music. One of America's absolute finest, right up there with Dylan, Randy Newman, Hank Williams, Tom Waits... a giant.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:05 AM on March 30, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:05 AM on March 30, 2020 [9 favorites]
This Tampa Bay Times article includes a link to an Instagram video from Fiona Prine who also has the virus but with mild symptoms.
posted by lordrunningclam at 5:10 AM on March 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by lordrunningclam at 5:10 AM on March 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
oh shit.
posted by valkane at 5:13 AM on March 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by valkane at 5:13 AM on March 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also how does a 25 year old write lyrics like those in "Hello in there" or "Angel from Montgomery"? How do you get that kind of perspective at such a young age?
Me and Loretta, we don't talk much moreposted by octothorpe at 5:16 AM on March 30, 2020 [18 favorites]
She sits and stares through the back door screen
And all the news just repeats itself
Like some forgotten dream that we've both seen
Someday I'll go and call up Rudy
We worked together at the factory
But what could I say if asks "What's new?"
"Nothing, what's with you? Nothing much to do"
Self link here, to a cover of The Great Compromise, which I recorded at home this morning here in Tokyo and just now uploaded to YT.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:26 AM on March 30, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:26 AM on March 30, 2020 [6 favorites]
Around 10 years ago, an old high school friend appeared out of the woodwork with a free ticket for me to see Prine. Someone gave them to him, and he knew I lived near the venue, so he called me up and we went. Neither of us knew much about the performer. What an awesome surprise! Prine put on a long, very personal show and it was a hell of a time, and a memorable surprise. Turned out I knew far more of his songs than I thought, and even his new stuff was great to hear.
Hope the best for him.
posted by SoberHighland at 5:37 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Hope the best for him.
posted by SoberHighland at 5:37 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Ugh this is so awful. "Hello In There" is just the saddest song. What a writer.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:16 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:16 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
First thing that came to mind when I heard this was Tom Piazza's great 2018 Oxford American profile "Living in the Present with John Prine":
It takes a while, but John Prine finally appears, wearing a big smile and carrying two gallon jugs of water. “Just in case!” he says. “That’s a long bridge coming up.” We are headed for Sarasota, and between it and us stretches a very long causeway, the kind where they tell you to check your gas level before you start across. The car was only just delivered to him two days ago, and aside from a turn or two around the block, this is its first serious drive.
“Isn’t there coolant in the radiator?”
“I don’t know,” he says. “We’ll find out. When it starts smoking we’ll pull over and get a beer!”
Hang in there, Mr. Prine - your country needs you.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:24 AM on March 30, 2020 [7 favorites]
It takes a while, but John Prine finally appears, wearing a big smile and carrying two gallon jugs of water. “Just in case!” he says. “That’s a long bridge coming up.” We are headed for Sarasota, and between it and us stretches a very long causeway, the kind where they tell you to check your gas level before you start across. The car was only just delivered to him two days ago, and aside from a turn or two around the block, this is its first serious drive.
“Isn’t there coolant in the radiator?”
“I don’t know,” he says. “We’ll find out. When it starts smoking we’ll pull over and get a beer!”
Hang in there, Mr. Prine - your country needs you.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:24 AM on March 30, 2020 [7 favorites]
Feeling ok? Pretty good, not bad, can't complain.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:11 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:11 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
Last month, right before the virus hit America, my son played in a high school variety show. He's stage-shy, but the director got him to agree to pick up a new instrument (bass) because they had two guitarists already.
This group of kids and one adult practiced for weeks; one of their numbers was "Angel From Montgomery." My son was excited about the number during rehearsals, and at the show it was awesome, played straightahead with a great young woman singer.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:36 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
This group of kids and one adult practiced for weeks; one of their numbers was "Angel From Montgomery." My son was excited about the number during rehearsals, and at the show it was awesome, played straightahead with a great young woman singer.
Just give me one thing that I can hold on toIt doesn't matter whether the adult or one of the kids suggested it to the group: either way, they all agreed and they really delivered. (I just listened to them again: so good!) Prine's music is good for everyone.
To believe in this living is just a hard way to go
How the hell can a person go to work in the morning
And come home in the evening and have nothing to say
posted by wenestvedt at 7:36 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
Beautiful world, beautiful world,
Sending me dreams,
Touching my hair,
Making me cry,
So I know I'm alive,
Beautiful world, why do I hide?
posted by os tuberoes at 7:44 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
Sending me dreams,
Touching my hair,
Making me cry,
So I know I'm alive,
Beautiful world, why do I hide?
posted by os tuberoes at 7:44 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
Steve Goodman was too soon, and yet, if John were to pass, it would be too soon as well. Art, and music in particular, is so much more durable in this digital age, but we can only hold and protect the artists as long as chance allows. Time for some Sweet Revenge, and long past time to finally learn Please Don't Bury Me on the six-string.
Best wishes to one of my musical heroes and his family.
posted by Godspeed.You!Black.Emperor.Penguin at 8:16 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
Best wishes to one of my musical heroes and his family.
posted by Godspeed.You!Black.Emperor.Penguin at 8:16 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
John Prine - A Message from Bill Murray, 2017
posted by Lanark at 8:21 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Lanark at 8:21 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
One of my last best memories of my BIL (who died unexpectedly in 2017) was performing with him at a talent show at family camp up in the Sierras, and he played the guitar while we sang "Angel from Montgomery". So John Prine is for me all tangled up with that loss as well.
posted by suelac at 8:35 AM on March 30, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by suelac at 8:35 AM on March 30, 2020 [6 favorites]
always loved A3's take on Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
posted by philip-random at 9:00 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 9:00 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
They played one of his songs on the radio here a few months ago. A listener rang in afterwards to say "I just drove past his house in Kinvara. He's outside painting it".
Father forgive us for what we must do
You forgive us and we'll forgive you
We'll forgive each other 'til we both turn blue
And we'll whistle and go fishing in the heavens
posted by night_train at 9:04 AM on March 30, 2020 [8 favorites]
Father forgive us for what we must do
You forgive us and we'll forgive you
We'll forgive each other 'til we both turn blue
And we'll whistle and go fishing in the heavens
posted by night_train at 9:04 AM on March 30, 2020 [8 favorites]
I saw this on MetaFilter last night and slammed my laptop and burst into tears. Please no.
posted by mostly vowels at 9:09 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by mostly vowels at 9:09 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
It's a happy enchilda and you think you're gonna drown...
posted by Not A Thing at 9:14 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by Not A Thing at 9:14 AM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
My dad bought his first record when it came out in '71, when I was about two, and he remained a fan throughout his life, so Prine was always sort of in the background when I was a kid, and as an adult, I still love him. My father never held court with any sort of religious impulses, so at his memorial service, the two songs that were played were "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and Prine's "It's a Big Old Goofy World." The man is a part of my personal firmament, and the world will be a lesser place without him. Wishing the best for him and his family, however that may transpire.
Wait awhile eternity
Old mother nature's got nothing on me...
posted by talking leaf at 9:42 AM on March 30, 2020 [7 favorites]
Wait awhile eternity
Old mother nature's got nothing on me...
posted by talking leaf at 9:42 AM on March 30, 2020 [7 favorites]
This hurts. I hope he pulls through. He is really nice - I had an encounter with him once years ago.
Back then I worked two jobs, selling merch at a venue and also dishwashing at a restaurant. I had been a huge John Prine fan, and so I was overjoyed when he came to town and played our venue. Of course I got to work it, and his show was unforgettable.
After the show word came down that John wanted Bacardi and our venue didn’t have a spirits license. And all the liquor stores were closed. So I left - I ran down to my other job at the restaurant and told the manager there that I needed rum for John Prine. I’ve never been handed a bottle faster.
When I brought it back to the venue, it was like a hero’s welcome. I delivered it to John in his dressing room, and after thanking me he poured a couple of shots and asked me to join. We ended up doing a couple of rounds while shooting the shit. And that’s how I got drunk with John Prine.
Good luck you wonderful man.
posted by chuntered inelegantly from a sedentary position at 11:11 AM on March 30, 2020 [43 favorites]
Back then I worked two jobs, selling merch at a venue and also dishwashing at a restaurant. I had been a huge John Prine fan, and so I was overjoyed when he came to town and played our venue. Of course I got to work it, and his show was unforgettable.
After the show word came down that John wanted Bacardi and our venue didn’t have a spirits license. And all the liquor stores were closed. So I left - I ran down to my other job at the restaurant and told the manager there that I needed rum for John Prine. I’ve never been handed a bottle faster.
When I brought it back to the venue, it was like a hero’s welcome. I delivered it to John in his dressing room, and after thanking me he poured a couple of shots and asked me to join. We ended up doing a couple of rounds while shooting the shit. And that’s how I got drunk with John Prine.
Good luck you wonderful man.
posted by chuntered inelegantly from a sedentary position at 11:11 AM on March 30, 2020 [43 favorites]
Singer John Prine is in stable condition, his wife says
His wife, Fiona, by the way, had also contracted the virus, but is now home and recovering. Yay!!
posted by NoMich at 12:01 PM on March 30, 2020 [20 favorites]
His wife, Fiona, by the way, had also contracted the virus, but is now home and recovering. Yay!!
posted by NoMich at 12:01 PM on March 30, 2020 [20 favorites]
Through no wisdom of my own but out of sheer blind luck, I walked into the Fifth Peg, a folk club on West Armitage, one night in 1970 and heard a mailman from Westchester singing. This was John Prine.
He sang his own songs. That night I heard "Sam Stone," one of the great songs of the century. And "Angel from Montgomery." And others. I wasn't the music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, but I went to the office and wrote an article. And that, as fate decreed, was the first review Prine ever received.
October 9, 1970: Roger Ebert discovers John Prine
posted by Rumple at 12:25 PM on March 30, 2020 [12 favorites]
He sang his own songs. That night I heard "Sam Stone," one of the great songs of the century. And "Angel from Montgomery." And others. I wasn't the music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, but I went to the office and wrote an article. And that, as fate decreed, was the first review Prine ever received.
October 9, 1970: Roger Ebert discovers John Prine
posted by Rumple at 12:25 PM on March 30, 2020 [12 favorites]
In spite of ourselves: https://youtu.be/P8tTwXv4glY
posted by anshuman at 9:45 PM on March 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by anshuman at 9:45 PM on March 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
just half an enchilada, John, you can do it!
posted by cabin fever at 10:49 PM on March 30, 2020
posted by cabin fever at 10:49 PM on March 30, 2020
Glad to hear he's doing better. The prospect of Henry Kissinger outliving John Prine puts me in a shit mood.
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:46 AM on March 31, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:46 AM on March 31, 2020 [6 favorites]
Times when I am down, I crank up this Steve Goodman Tribute slice on YouTube, mostly to hear John Prine talk about his friend....
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 5:42 PM on March 31, 2020
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 5:42 PM on March 31, 2020
Fiona Whelan Prine has clarified that "stable" does not currently mean "improving."
Speaking of Steve Goodman and John Prine, here they are singing Prine's Souvenirs.
Speaking of Steve Goodman and John Prine, here they are singing Prine's Souvenirs.
All the snow has turned to waterposted by Not A Thing at 9:18 PM on March 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
Christmas days have come and gone
Broken toys and faded colors
Are all that's left to linger on
John Prine And Stephen Colbert: "That's the Way the World goes Round" [2016]
Five John Prine tributes you need to hear [AL.com]
posted by chavenet at 2:37 PM on April 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Five John Prine tributes you need to hear [AL.com]
posted by chavenet at 2:37 PM on April 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
John Prine, Who Chronicled the Human Condition in Song, Dies at 73
.
I loved John and his music dearly. Thinking of his wife, family, and everyone who loved him tonight.
posted by lakemarie at 6:32 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
.
I loved John and his music dearly. Thinking of his wife, family, and everyone who loved him tonight.
posted by lakemarie at 6:32 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
.
posted by mostly vowels at 6:45 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by mostly vowels at 6:45 PM on April 7, 2020
Farewell, John Prine, you beautiful man. People will be singing your songs for a long time to come.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:45 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:45 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Damn, I don't know if I'm more sad or angry.
posted by octothorpe at 6:46 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by octothorpe at 6:46 PM on April 7, 2020
.
posted by octothorpe at 6:46 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by octothorpe at 6:46 PM on April 7, 2020
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