John Prine, 1946-2020
April 7, 2020 6:49 PM Subscribe
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posted by Grandysaur at 6:51 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by Grandysaur at 6:51 PM on April 7, 2020
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posted by j_curiouser at 6:51 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by j_curiouser at 6:51 PM on April 7, 2020
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posted by lazaruslong at 6:52 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by lazaruslong at 6:52 PM on April 7, 2020
“The combination of being that tender and that wise and that astute, mixed with his homespun sense of humor — it was probably the closest thing for those of us that didn’t get the blessing of seeing Mark Twain in person.” —Bonnie Raitt
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posted by valkane at 6:53 PM on April 7, 2020 [38 favorites]
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posted by valkane at 6:53 PM on April 7, 2020 [38 favorites]
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His first record is one of the perfect American albums.
A great writer, musician, and a heartful human being.
posted by selfnoise at 6:53 PM on April 7, 2020 [13 favorites]
His first record is one of the perfect American albums.
A great writer, musician, and a heartful human being.
posted by selfnoise at 6:53 PM on April 7, 2020 [13 favorites]
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posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 6:54 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 6:54 PM on April 7, 2020
May he rest in song. May we remember him. May his music play on.
Thank you, John.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:54 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
Thank you, John.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:54 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
I'm absolutely gutted. He had so much life left in him.
From an excellent, moving Pitchfork profile from 2017, talking about Everything is Cool -- a song which, to the author, was a way of coping with the loss of his daughter, and to John, a story of redemption after his marriage ended in acrimony:
posted by theoddball at 6:56 PM on April 7, 2020 [14 favorites]
From an excellent, moving Pitchfork profile from 2017, talking about Everything is Cool -- a song which, to the author, was a way of coping with the loss of his daughter, and to John, a story of redemption after his marriage ended in acrimony:
I ask if it surprises him that his divorce song would be my death song, that it would speak to me so clearly of grief and grace, redemption and transfiguration. He thinks for a second, then smiles. “Well, there’s only two things,” he says. “There’s life, and there’s death. So it’s a 50/50 shot.”Or, put another way, maybe, it's a half an inch of water and you think you're gonna drown.
posted by theoddball at 6:56 PM on April 7, 2020 [14 favorites]
I don't believe in heaven myself, cuz I am one of them lonesome friends of science, but I hope he's up there starting his rock n roll band.
posted by Maxwell's demon at 6:59 PM on April 7, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by Maxwell's demon at 6:59 PM on April 7, 2020 [9 favorites]
He's there smoking a cigarette nine miles long.
posted by Grandysaur at 6:59 PM on April 7, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by Grandysaur at 6:59 PM on April 7, 2020 [10 favorites]
I had literally just watched a recording of When I Get to Heaven when my wife walked upstairs and told me the news. We saw him at the Grand Old Opry in May of last year, where he performed "Paradise" and "Unwed Fathers" and told stories that just made you want it to last forever. Nothing ever does, and nobody ever does, but I hope to remember him until I can't.
Bless you, John Prine.
posted by grimjeer at 7:00 PM on April 7, 2020 [20 favorites]
Bless you, John Prine.
posted by grimjeer at 7:00 PM on April 7, 2020 [20 favorites]
Back in 1970, new Chicago Sun Times hire Roger Ebert wrote Prine's first ever review.
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posted by General Malaise at 7:00 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
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posted by General Malaise at 7:00 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
Oh. This explains why my neighbor was just playing that song. What beautiful music he made.
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posted by kalimac at 7:02 PM on April 7, 2020
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posted by kalimac at 7:02 PM on April 7, 2020
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posted by Mister Moofoo at 7:05 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by Mister Moofoo at 7:05 PM on April 7, 2020
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posted by ducky l'orange at 7:05 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by ducky l'orange at 7:05 PM on April 7, 2020
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I kind of hate everything right now.
posted by octothorpe at 7:06 PM on April 7, 2020 [27 favorites]
I kind of hate everything right now.
posted by octothorpe at 7:06 PM on April 7, 2020 [27 favorites]
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posted by Lawn Beaver at 7:07 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by Lawn Beaver at 7:07 PM on April 7, 2020
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I kind of hate everything right now.
I get this.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:07 PM on April 7, 2020 [8 favorites]
I kind of hate everything right now.
I get this.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:07 PM on April 7, 2020 [8 favorites]
I feel like we had Marsalis and a couple of others but Prine is sort of the recognition of the beginning of a wave that hasn't even begun to crest yet. Might best pace your grieving because things are going to be ugly.
Fuck this virus. I'm so sad about Prine. I wasn't even ever what I would call a fan, but I had so much respect for him and his craft and might even be a fan if I had paid attention to something more than his name and the veneration others have for him.
I don't have energy right now, but in the future, I will sit down with the man's work.
I echo my earlier .
posted by hippybear at 7:10 PM on April 7, 2020 [14 favorites]
Fuck this virus. I'm so sad about Prine. I wasn't even ever what I would call a fan, but I had so much respect for him and his craft and might even be a fan if I had paid attention to something more than his name and the veneration others have for him.
I don't have energy right now, but in the future, I will sit down with the man's work.
I echo my earlier .
posted by hippybear at 7:10 PM on April 7, 2020 [14 favorites]
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posted by rhiannonstone at 7:12 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:12 PM on April 7, 2020
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posted by Silverstone at 7:13 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by Silverstone at 7:13 PM on April 7, 2020
Just give me one thing that I can hold onto,
To believe in this living is just a hard way to go
posted by Daily Alice at 7:15 PM on April 7, 2020 [45 favorites]
To believe in this living is just a hard way to go
posted by Daily Alice at 7:15 PM on April 7, 2020 [45 favorites]
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posted by SoberHighland at 7:16 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by SoberHighland at 7:16 PM on April 7, 2020
Couldn’t have been more excited when I snagged tickets to finally see him at the Apollo this June. My heart hangs heavy and I wish Fiona and his family peace.
posted by thejoshu at 7:17 PM on April 7, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by thejoshu at 7:17 PM on April 7, 2020 [6 favorites]
When I die let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I am.
posted by octothorpe at 7:18 PM on April 7, 2020 [14 favorites]
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I am.
posted by octothorpe at 7:18 PM on April 7, 2020 [14 favorites]
I still haven’t figured out how to link. ( dumb in some ways smart in others) but if anyone emotionally bent by this get yoself over to finding John Prine and Iris Dement singing “in spite of yourself”. Says everything
posted by pipoquinha at 7:21 PM on April 7, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by pipoquinha at 7:21 PM on April 7, 2020 [11 favorites]
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posted by cybrcamper at 7:22 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by cybrcamper at 7:22 PM on April 7, 2020
Ain't it funny how an old broken bottle
Looks just like a diamond ring
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:22 PM on April 7, 2020 [6 favorites]
Looks just like a diamond ring
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:22 PM on April 7, 2020 [6 favorites]
Father forgive us for what we must do
You forgive us we'll forgive you
We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue
Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven
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posted by ActionPopulated at 7:23 PM on April 7, 2020 [11 favorites]
You forgive us we'll forgive you
We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue
Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven
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posted by ActionPopulated at 7:23 PM on April 7, 2020 [11 favorites]
I still haven’t figured out how to link. ( dumb in some ways smart in others) but if anyone emotionally bent by this get yoself over to finding John Prine and Iris Dement singing “in spite of yourself”. Says everything
Here you go:
In Spite of Ourselves
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:24 PM on April 7, 2020 [17 favorites]
Here you go:
In Spite of Ourselves
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:24 PM on April 7, 2020 [17 favorites]
I am heartbroken. My heart is built from the words of many musicians; John Prine's were load-bearing.
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:28 PM on April 7, 2020 [31 favorites]
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:28 PM on April 7, 2020 [31 favorites]
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posted by mcdoublewide at 7:30 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by mcdoublewide at 7:30 PM on April 7, 2020
When I get to heaven, I'm gonna shake God's hand
Thank him for more blessings than one man can stand
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posted by lakemarie at 7:31 PM on April 7, 2020 [10 favorites]
Thank him for more blessings than one man can stand
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posted by lakemarie at 7:31 PM on April 7, 2020 [10 favorites]
Hal Willner too. This is gonna be a straight-up hell of a year for In Memoriam segments.
posted by Guy Smiley at 7:38 PM on April 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Guy Smiley at 7:38 PM on April 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
Rolling Stone ended their tribute with his own words on being a songwriter: “I gotta say, there’s no better feeling than having a killer song in your pocket, and you’re the only one in the world who’s heard it.”
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posted by HillbillyInBC at 7:38 PM on April 7, 2020 [22 favorites]
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posted by HillbillyInBC at 7:38 PM on April 7, 2020 [22 favorites]
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posted by Thrakburzug at 7:43 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by Thrakburzug at 7:43 PM on April 7, 2020
unbelievably devastated. my brothers and i were sung to sleep by my dad's rendition of "sabu visits the twin cities alone" for years; every word of dozens of john prine songs is etched directly into my brain. he was everything to me and my whole family. i remember as an anxious, insecure teen, i used to write the chorus to "dear abby" in my journal over and over again, part prayer, part panacea.
"you have no complaint. you are what you are and you ain't what you ain't. so listen up, buster, and listen up good: stop wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood."
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i hope he's at peace, and that his family finds some soon.
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 7:50 PM on April 7, 2020 [17 favorites]
"you have no complaint. you are what you are and you ain't what you ain't. so listen up, buster, and listen up good: stop wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood."
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i hope he's at peace, and that his family finds some soon.
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 7:50 PM on April 7, 2020 [17 favorites]
Oof. I just found some footage someone took of him playing Lake Marie at the show we went to two Decembers ago. Watching him dance himself off stage will always be one of my most cherished memories of people making music.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:55 PM on April 7, 2020 [15 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:55 PM on April 7, 2020 [15 favorites]
My first exposure to John Prine was working in college town AAA radio. The morning DJ played "Sam Stone" without end and people called us KBJohnPrine. I'm glad I grew up and was exposed to the rest of his genius. RIP
posted by cyndigo at 7:55 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by cyndigo at 7:55 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
I got this news while I was on a zoom call, because I spend my life on zoom these days, but this was a virtual dinner with friends, one of whom is a talented musician, so she pulled out her guitar and played In Spite of Ourselves, and we all sang along, zoom acoustics be damned.
I was in high school the first time I saw him live. I regret I didn't see him play live more than I did.
This fucking sucks.
posted by gingerbeer at 7:58 PM on April 7, 2020 [12 favorites]
I was in high school the first time I saw him live. I regret I didn't see him play live more than I did.
This fucking sucks.
posted by gingerbeer at 7:58 PM on April 7, 2020 [12 favorites]
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posted by Miss Cellania at 8:01 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Miss Cellania at 8:01 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
His songs probably saved me when I was going through a very bad time. I learned a lot of them, and would play them on guitar and find comfort in their bleakness and honesty. I watched the Sessions at West 54th DVD so many times that my exasperated wife asked me "Are you trying to become him?" I kept hoping he would pull through.
Fuck.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:01 PM on April 7, 2020 [20 favorites]
Fuck.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:01 PM on April 7, 2020 [20 favorites]
I regret I didn't see him play live more than I did.
When John Lee Hooker died 3 weeks after he came to my city and I didn't go because I couldn't get anyone to go with me, I resolved to see everyone live as much as I can if I care to. Live music is the major entertainment outlay of my life, and I regret none of it.
Go see them. You never if if they'll never come back around.
posted by hippybear at 8:02 PM on April 7, 2020 [14 favorites]
When John Lee Hooker died 3 weeks after he came to my city and I didn't go because I couldn't get anyone to go with me, I resolved to see everyone live as much as I can if I care to. Live music is the major entertainment outlay of my life, and I regret none of it.
Go see them. You never if if they'll never come back around.
posted by hippybear at 8:02 PM on April 7, 2020 [14 favorites]
I discovered him late in my life but I fell hard. Goddamnit.
posted by PussKillian at 8:03 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by PussKillian at 8:03 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
This is fucking Trump's fault.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:05 PM on April 7, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:05 PM on April 7, 2020 [11 favorites]
When this all began here, before I knew he was sick, and I was thinking through how I was going to stand it—the isolation, the fear, the waiting—all I could think was to put John Prine on and keep it playing.
This is a lonely disease and people talk about dying alone—but he must have known he was surrounded by the love of so many people, not just his family and friends but the regular ordinary people he made the center of his beautiful songs. He radiated love for others.
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posted by sallybrown at 8:06 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
This is a lonely disease and people talk about dying alone—but he must have known he was surrounded by the love of so many people, not just his family and friends but the regular ordinary people he made the center of his beautiful songs. He radiated love for others.
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posted by sallybrown at 8:06 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
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posted by rhamphorhynchus at 8:08 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 8:08 PM on April 7, 2020
Way down
Way down it must be
I can't stop this misery
it must be way down
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posted by kneecapped at 8:09 PM on April 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
Way down it must be
I can't stop this misery
it must be way down
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posted by kneecapped at 8:09 PM on April 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
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posted by Standard Orange at 8:10 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by Standard Orange at 8:10 PM on April 7, 2020
Come on home,
you don't have to,
be alone,
come on home.
this broke the dam for me, my crappy brain has been 90% covid for a month, but this finally brought the tears and i expect they'll be here for a long time.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 8:14 PM on April 7, 2020 [9 favorites]
you don't have to,
be alone,
come on home.
this broke the dam for me, my crappy brain has been 90% covid for a month, but this finally brought the tears and i expect they'll be here for a long time.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 8:14 PM on April 7, 2020 [9 favorites]
John Prine was a neighbor, here in Florida; he would drive around town in a huge Cadillac and purportedly carry around ketchup for the hot dogs that he would eat whenever he had the chance. We would walk by his house (which was extremely modest, probably even smaller than our silly grungy middle-class house) and remark to ourselves “that’s the guy who wrote ‘Angel From Montgomery’ dontcha know” and keep on walking.
Before that, in grad school, in Nashville, we would sing his songs with whatever instruments we could scrape together around a campfire or a kitchen table or just in a living room with a guitar. “Paradise.” “Dear Abby.” “In Spite of Ourselves.” And more.
To hear that he’s gone is just... it’s like a huge, horrible piece has been torn out of the universe. It’s like the world has become colder, or rather hotter and heavier in a way that you really don’t want. Goodbye, my man, wish the world was better for you.
posted by lorddimwit at 8:17 PM on April 7, 2020 [24 favorites]
Before that, in grad school, in Nashville, we would sing his songs with whatever instruments we could scrape together around a campfire or a kitchen table or just in a living room with a guitar. “Paradise.” “Dear Abby.” “In Spite of Ourselves.” And more.
To hear that he’s gone is just... it’s like a huge, horrible piece has been torn out of the universe. It’s like the world has become colder, or rather hotter and heavier in a way that you really don’t want. Goodbye, my man, wish the world was better for you.
posted by lorddimwit at 8:17 PM on April 7, 2020 [24 favorites]
I’ll never forget my first and only John Prine concert. Had to drive 18 hours to get to the venue. We had front row tickets. It was an amazing show. John was pure class.
My wife and I ended up stuck in a hotel during a hurricane on the way home from the concert. The power was out. Wasn’t much to do.
Nine months later, to the day, my son was born.
We had tickets to see him again in June. I hope he’s standing by peaceful waters now, fishin’ and whistlin’.
posted by Brodiggitty at 8:19 PM on April 7, 2020 [26 favorites]
My wife and I ended up stuck in a hotel during a hurricane on the way home from the concert. The power was out. Wasn’t much to do.
Nine months later, to the day, my son was born.
We had tickets to see him again in June. I hope he’s standing by peaceful waters now, fishin’ and whistlin’.
posted by Brodiggitty at 8:19 PM on April 7, 2020 [26 favorites]
Some twenty years ago I missed out on a chance to see him in a small club I played many times. Can’t recall why at this remove — maybe I was working? Anyway, a longtime bandmate of mine named Steve sat in with Prine on guitar that night and they did not have a bass player. If I had gone... anyway, Steve died of lung cancer maybe eight years back, so they are both gone.
Dammit dammit dammit.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:28 PM on April 7, 2020 [9 favorites]
Dammit dammit dammit.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:28 PM on April 7, 2020 [9 favorites]
God damn it. I hoped like hell he would pull through. Had to break the news to my aunt and she was crushed. Godspeed, Mr. Prine.
posted by caution live frogs at 8:31 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by caution live frogs at 8:31 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
down by the green river...
posted by cabin fever at 8:37 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by cabin fever at 8:37 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Wherever you are John Prine, I hope I can go there too, because I want to see the look on your face when I ask you to play the 'happy enchilada' song, and then laugh my ass off the way I did the first time I heard you tell that story.
posted by jamjam at 8:38 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by jamjam at 8:38 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
Well, I got my window shield so filled with flags I couldn't see
So, I ran the car upside a curb and right into a tree
By the time they got a doctor down I was already dead
And I'll never understand why the man standing in the pearly gates said
"But your flag decal won't get you into Heaven anymore
We're already overcrowded from your dirty little war"
"Now Jesus don't like killin', no matter what the reason's for
And your flag decal won't get you into Heaven anymore"
Goddammit, this one hurts. RIP.
posted by non canadian guy at 8:42 PM on April 7, 2020 [19 favorites]
"And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile
It don't cost very much, but it lasts a long while
Won't you please tell the man I didn't kill anyone
No I'm just tryin' to have me some fun...."
RIP man, your passing really hurts.
posted by Lynsey at 8:48 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
It don't cost very much, but it lasts a long while
Won't you please tell the man I didn't kill anyone
No I'm just tryin' to have me some fun...."
RIP man, your passing really hurts.
posted by Lynsey at 8:48 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
I hope he's up there starting his rock n roll band.
My uncle has been in the one he had here on earth for the past few years. To lose Prine, on top of everything else (no work for touring musicians, the tornado that just hit East Nashville)...
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:49 PM on April 7, 2020 [12 favorites]
My uncle has been in the one he had here on earth for the past few years. To lose Prine, on top of everything else (no work for touring musicians, the tornado that just hit East Nashville)...
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:49 PM on April 7, 2020 [12 favorites]
Thank you John
posted by dragonian at 8:58 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by dragonian at 8:58 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
My best ever celebrity name-dropping story is that while I was at the Country Music Hall of Fame as the guest of county music historian Barry Mazor for a Kris Kristofferson artist - in - residence show, John Prine arrived slightly late and on the way to his seat, he stepped on my foot.
Sadly, that is as close as I ever got to seeing him live - and, I mean, it was plenty close but he wasn't singing at the time.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:06 PM on April 7, 2020 [13 favorites]
Sadly, that is as close as I ever got to seeing him live - and, I mean, it was plenty close but he wasn't singing at the time.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:06 PM on April 7, 2020 [13 favorites]
This is fucking Trump's fault.
With all these artists and other cultural icons starting to die from an entirely avoidable, early cause, I won't be surprised if mainstream America will start to feel the same way about Trump, that a lot of gay men who survived the 1980s and 90s learned to feel about Reagan.
Mr. Prine was a great musician and well loved in my family. I wish his family peace and solace.
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posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:11 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
With all these artists and other cultural icons starting to die from an entirely avoidable, early cause, I won't be surprised if mainstream America will start to feel the same way about Trump, that a lot of gay men who survived the 1980s and 90s learned to feel about Reagan.
Mr. Prine was a great musician and well loved in my family. I wish his family peace and solace.
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posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:11 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
I’m sad, I’m angry, I’m heartbroken. I would do well to heed the lesson he imparted in Chain of Sorrows, but right now, I cannot. So much power in his words - he was a beautiful human being.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:16 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:16 PM on April 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by dudemanlives at 9:30 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by dudemanlives at 9:30 PM on April 7, 2020
I hope the give his knees to the needy.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:31 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:31 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
Tonight is the Pink Super Moon…
The moon is down
All over town
The forecast is gray
Now that she’s gone away
The stars in the skies
Fell out of her eyes
They shattered when they hit the ground
And now the moon is down
The sun will be fine
It’ll still shine all the time
The sky will be blue
And do what it’s supposed to do
You see gravity pulls
But it can’t keep you around
It’ll be one long day
And now the moon is down
The moon is down
All over town
The stars in the skies
Fell out of her eyes
The gravity pulls
But it can’t hold you down
It’ll be one long day
Now the moon is down
It’ll be one long day
Now the moon is down
Goodbye John
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posted by jabo at 9:33 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
The moon is down
All over town
The forecast is gray
Now that she’s gone away
The stars in the skies
Fell out of her eyes
They shattered when they hit the ground
And now the moon is down
The sun will be fine
It’ll still shine all the time
The sky will be blue
And do what it’s supposed to do
You see gravity pulls
But it can’t keep you around
It’ll be one long day
And now the moon is down
The moon is down
All over town
The stars in the skies
Fell out of her eyes
The gravity pulls
But it can’t hold you down
It’ll be one long day
Now the moon is down
It’ll be one long day
Now the moon is down
Goodbye John
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posted by jabo at 9:33 PM on April 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
There was a time, here in Chicago, early mid 70's, when we held it all, like gold dust in a wind storm, Earl of Old Town, Quiet Knight, Second City, blues clubs, the burgeoning theater scene, all that. Now the wind has taken the last speck of gold. Life! You take your eyes off it for a second, and poof!
posted by Chitownfats at 9:41 PM on April 7, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by Chitownfats at 9:41 PM on April 7, 2020 [10 favorites]
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posted by snuffleupagus at 9:43 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:43 PM on April 7, 2020
One from the archives: John and friends, sitting around a kitchen table, late at night, after everybody's had a few pops, just having a grand ol' time singing about the happy enchilada.
posted by theoddball at 9:46 PM on April 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by theoddball at 9:46 PM on April 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
So long, John. You may see me tonight with an illegal smile. I think you’d approve.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:48 PM on April 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:48 PM on April 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
I got kicked off of Noah's Ark
I turn my cheek to unkind remarks
There was two of everything
But one of me
And when the rains came tumbling down
I held my breath and I stood my ground
And I watched that ship go sailing
Out to sea
. to a true American original.
posted by delfin at 9:48 PM on April 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
I turn my cheek to unkind remarks
There was two of everything
But one of me
And when the rains came tumbling down
I held my breath and I stood my ground
And I watched that ship go sailing
Out to sea
. to a true American original.
posted by delfin at 9:48 PM on April 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
Also, as his hometown Tribune's obit captured nicely, John didn't really go in for the highfalutin' praise. Opening grafs:
Talking about the singer-songwriter John Prine, Bob Dylan said, “Prine’s stuff is pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mind trips to the nth degree. And he writes beautiful songs.”posted by theoddball at 9:50 PM on April 7, 2020 [8 favorites]
“Proustian existentialism?” Prine told the Tribune in a 2010 interview, shortly before returning to play at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, where he took guitar lessons as a teenager from Maywood. "I can’t even pronounce that.”
Don't think I've ever heard any of his work. Nor many others that this virus is claiming. That being said.
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For all we are losing
posted by Windopaene at 9:53 PM on April 7, 2020
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For all we are losing
posted by Windopaene at 9:53 PM on April 7, 2020
Saw him once, in San Francisco in the '90s. Iris DeMent joined him for "In spite of ourselves." Prine was obviously having a BLAST on the stage.
Tonight I'm listening to his happy enchilada story, Hello In There, and Lake Marie - which ends in a total rave-up.
The friend who turned me on to Prine was a youngster when he inherited his much-older brother's albums. That friend listened to Prine's first album over and over as a kid, and it informed his ethics. He's still the person who looks after old folks in his neighborhood.
posted by goofyfoot at 10:00 PM on April 7, 2020 [6 favorites]
Tonight I'm listening to his happy enchilada story, Hello In There, and Lake Marie - which ends in a total rave-up.
The friend who turned me on to Prine was a youngster when he inherited his much-older brother's albums. That friend listened to Prine's first album over and over as a kid, and it informed his ethics. He's still the person who looks after old folks in his neighborhood.
posted by goofyfoot at 10:00 PM on April 7, 2020 [6 favorites]
The first John Prine song I knew wasn't sung by Prine, but rather by John Denver: Paradise. I was also told by my father I couldn't mention that song around my Uncle (his brother) because he worked for a coal mining company.
It's possible you know Prine without knowing it was him.
posted by hippybear at 10:01 PM on April 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
It's possible you know Prine without knowing it was him.
posted by hippybear at 10:01 PM on April 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
I'll probably get homesick.
I love you. Goodnight.
.
posted by talking leaf at 10:03 PM on April 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
I love you. Goodnight.
.
posted by talking leaf at 10:03 PM on April 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
"Naked as the eyes of a clown"
I am, sadly, a retroactive John Prine fan, but it hurts me to know I'd be here 20+ years ago. In college, late 90s, a contingent from our school, "we're going to the Egg in Albany, to see John Prine." I opted out.
Why do I remember that moment so vividly 20+ years later? What's the psychological phenomenon for this sort of focused regret? For instance I don't feel the same as turning down other concert invites from friends. Why'd this one stick with me??
My questions only scrape deeper the more I listen to his tracks -- wonderfully observant lyrics.
.
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 10:17 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
I am, sadly, a retroactive John Prine fan, but it hurts me to know I'd be here 20+ years ago. In college, late 90s, a contingent from our school, "we're going to the Egg in Albany, to see John Prine." I opted out.
Why do I remember that moment so vividly 20+ years later? What's the psychological phenomenon for this sort of focused regret? For instance I don't feel the same as turning down other concert invites from friends. Why'd this one stick with me??
My questions only scrape deeper the more I listen to his tracks -- wonderfully observant lyrics.
.
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 10:17 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
.
This hits home. John Prine is one of the great american song writers and performers. A huge loss for us all.
posted by AugustWest at 10:18 PM on April 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
This hits home. John Prine is one of the great american song writers and performers. A huge loss for us all.
posted by AugustWest at 10:18 PM on April 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
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posted by mygothlaundry at 10:27 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by mygothlaundry at 10:27 PM on April 7, 2020
.
posted by Reverend John at 10:55 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by Reverend John at 10:55 PM on April 7, 2020
There are so many lyrics to post, but these are the words of a man who had faced death twice already and then succumbed tonight.
When I get to heaven, I'm gonna shake God's hand
Thank him for more blessings than one man can stand
Then I'm gonna get a guitar and start a rock-n-roll band
Check into a swell hotel; ain't the afterlife grand?
And then I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah, I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl
'Cause this old man is goin' to town
Then as God as my witness, I'm gettin' back into showbusiness
I'm gonna open up a nightclub called "The Tree of Forgiveness"
And forgive everybody ever done me any harm
Well, I might even invite a few choice critics, those syph'litic parasitics
Buy 'em a pint of [?] and smother 'em with my charm
'Cause then I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl
Yeah this old man is goin' to town
Yeah when I get to heaven, I'm gonna take that wristwatch off my arm
What are you gonna do with time after you've bought the farm?
And them I'm gonna go find my mom and dad, and good old brother Doug
Well I bet him and cousin Jackie are still cuttin' up a rug
I wanna see all my mama's sisters, 'cause that's where all the love starts
I miss 'em all like crazy, bless their little hearts
And I always will remember these words my daddy said
He said, "Buddy, when you're dead, you're a dead pecker-head"
I hope to prove him wrong, that is, when I get to heaven
'Cause I'm gonna have a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl
Yeah this old man is goin' to town
Yeah this old man is goin' to town
He was and is truly America's greatest songwriter, and no collective link dump of the "best of" can do him justice. I think some people have waxed about Dylan or Johnny Cash in the same league, but I don't think it's even close.
I work in community health. I am a physician who sits down with people and instantly I manage to enjoy intimate conversation with people from every walk of life, from the homeless heroine addicted sex worker to the Microsoft executive. I wish I had the gift to give these people voices, but John Prine absolutely had that gift. He's the Mark Twain of American music, only more so.
I have been sad for many days about his health and have been listening to a lot of his music in the last couple weeks. My life partner had just finished her 12 hour shift in the hospital dealing with this Fucking Virus when she wanted to know why I was sitting in the dark listening to him. We were in very different head spaces and I didn't even know he died, so I left the house and went for a walk to go listen to the Tree of Forgiveness. When I returned, she was waiting up and asked if I was sad because John Prine had died. That was how I found out.
Yes, I am sad. This is the one artist who fully understood the world I inhabit. At this moment, I cannot think of a single artist who understood better the soul of America. As he dies, so does the soul of America.
.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:58 PM on April 7, 2020 [33 favorites]
When I get to heaven, I'm gonna shake God's hand
Thank him for more blessings than one man can stand
Then I'm gonna get a guitar and start a rock-n-roll band
Check into a swell hotel; ain't the afterlife grand?
And then I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah, I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl
'Cause this old man is goin' to town
Then as God as my witness, I'm gettin' back into showbusiness
I'm gonna open up a nightclub called "The Tree of Forgiveness"
And forgive everybody ever done me any harm
Well, I might even invite a few choice critics, those syph'litic parasitics
Buy 'em a pint of [?] and smother 'em with my charm
'Cause then I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl
Yeah this old man is goin' to town
Yeah when I get to heaven, I'm gonna take that wristwatch off my arm
What are you gonna do with time after you've bought the farm?
And them I'm gonna go find my mom and dad, and good old brother Doug
Well I bet him and cousin Jackie are still cuttin' up a rug
I wanna see all my mama's sisters, 'cause that's where all the love starts
I miss 'em all like crazy, bless their little hearts
And I always will remember these words my daddy said
He said, "Buddy, when you're dead, you're a dead pecker-head"
I hope to prove him wrong, that is, when I get to heaven
'Cause I'm gonna have a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl
Yeah this old man is goin' to town
Yeah this old man is goin' to town
He was and is truly America's greatest songwriter, and no collective link dump of the "best of" can do him justice. I think some people have waxed about Dylan or Johnny Cash in the same league, but I don't think it's even close.
I work in community health. I am a physician who sits down with people and instantly I manage to enjoy intimate conversation with people from every walk of life, from the homeless heroine addicted sex worker to the Microsoft executive. I wish I had the gift to give these people voices, but John Prine absolutely had that gift. He's the Mark Twain of American music, only more so.
I have been sad for many days about his health and have been listening to a lot of his music in the last couple weeks. My life partner had just finished her 12 hour shift in the hospital dealing with this Fucking Virus when she wanted to know why I was sitting in the dark listening to him. We were in very different head spaces and I didn't even know he died, so I left the house and went for a walk to go listen to the Tree of Forgiveness. When I returned, she was waiting up and asked if I was sad because John Prine had died. That was how I found out.
Yes, I am sad. This is the one artist who fully understood the world I inhabit. At this moment, I cannot think of a single artist who understood better the soul of America. As he dies, so does the soul of America.
.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:58 PM on April 7, 2020 [33 favorites]
I am so very sad to hear this. He was one of my favourites. His song "Sam Stone", written almost 50 years ago, is the most devastating song about addiction I've ever heard with lyrics that ring true today about the carnage drug addiction causes to families. "There's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes ..."
posted by essexjan at 11:04 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by essexjan at 11:04 PM on April 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
Wait awhile eternity
Old mother nature's got nothing on me
Come to me
Run to me
Come to me, now
We're rolling
My sweetheart
We're flowing
By God
posted by murphy slaw at 11:17 PM on April 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
Old mother nature's got nothing on me
Come to me
Run to me
Come to me, now
We're rolling
My sweetheart
We're flowing
By God
posted by murphy slaw at 11:17 PM on April 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
Slarty Bartfast: Yes, I am sad. This is the one artist who fully understood the world I inhabit. At this moment, I cannot think of a single artist who understood better the soul of America. As he dies, so does the soul of America.
I'm not an American. At this point in time, I could find lots of things to say about America. But I'll leave it like this: there's a lot I like about America. John Prine and his music was and is one of those things. People like you and your partner are the other things.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:27 PM on April 7, 2020 [16 favorites]
I'm not an American. At this point in time, I could find lots of things to say about America. But I'll leave it like this: there's a lot I like about America. John Prine and his music was and is one of those things. People like you and your partner are the other things.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:27 PM on April 7, 2020 [16 favorites]
Here he is singing In Spite of Ourselves with Iris DeMent. Every line in this song is my favourite line.
posted by Paul Slade at 12:18 AM on April 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Paul Slade at 12:18 AM on April 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
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posted by daybeforetheday at 12:19 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by daybeforetheday at 12:19 AM on April 8, 2020
My introduction to John Prine was Picture Show and hence his 1991 album The Missing Years. Had no idea he had made so much great music before that time - or would go on to do so since.
Guardian obituary.
.
posted by rongorongo at 12:29 AM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Guardian obituary.
.
posted by rongorongo at 12:29 AM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
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posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 12:41 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 12:41 AM on April 8, 2020
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posted by Sing Fool Sing at 1:04 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by Sing Fool Sing at 1:04 AM on April 8, 2020
Everything is cool
Everything's okay
Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away
Across the sea to an island
While the bridges brightly burn
So far away from my land
The valley of the unconcerned
I was walking down the road, man
Just looking at my shoes
When God sent me an angel
Just to chase away my blues
I saw a hundred thousand blackbirds
Just flying thru the sky
And they seemed to form a teardrop
From a black haired angel's eye
That tear fell all around me
And it washed my sins away
Now everything is cool
Everything's okay
Everything is cool
Everything's okay
Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away
And I find it real surprising
For myself to hear me say
That everything is cool
Everything's okay
Everything is cool
Everything's okay
Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away.
[Everything's not cool. Fare thee well, John. Enjoy your heaven, vodka & ginger ale.]
posted by chavenet at 1:13 AM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
Everything's okay
Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away
Across the sea to an island
While the bridges brightly burn
So far away from my land
The valley of the unconcerned
I was walking down the road, man
Just looking at my shoes
When God sent me an angel
Just to chase away my blues
I saw a hundred thousand blackbirds
Just flying thru the sky
And they seemed to form a teardrop
From a black haired angel's eye
That tear fell all around me
And it washed my sins away
Now everything is cool
Everything's okay
Everything is cool
Everything's okay
Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away
And I find it real surprising
For myself to hear me say
That everything is cool
Everything's okay
Everything is cool
Everything's okay
Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away.
[Everything's not cool. Fare thee well, John. Enjoy your heaven, vodka & ginger ale.]
posted by chavenet at 1:13 AM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
This is got me thinking, when you’re sad at a young person’s death, it’s because all that could have been. But when you’re sad at a old person’s death, it’s because of all that was.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:42 AM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:42 AM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
.
posted by MexicanYenta at 2:11 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by MexicanYenta at 2:11 AM on April 8, 2020
.
posted by lordrunningclam at 4:46 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by lordrunningclam at 4:46 AM on April 8, 2020
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posted by jilloftrades at 4:54 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by jilloftrades at 4:54 AM on April 8, 2020
From The Bitter Southerner: The Big Old Goofy World of John Prine. It's from a couple of years back, and contains wonderful memories of a stellar human being.
"Iris DeMent: John tells a story about how he called me after he had his surgery (in 1998, Prine underwent substantial surgery and radiation treatment to remove cancer in his neck) and how he wanted to record a song called “In Spite of Ourselves” with me. When I saw the lyrics, I thought twice, to put it mildly. He’s not lying when he says I told him I wouldn’t record the song as long as my mom were alive, but I broke my word, and I did it anyway. I always liked to give my mom my records, and so I told him and his former manager, Al Bunetta, that “In Spite of Ourselves” was the first record I couldn’t give to my mother. The next thing you know, a copy of that CD shows up in the mail that looked exactly like the original, but it had that song removed, so I could give it to my mom."
[Their duet, “In Spite of Ourselves,” played at my wedding reception and I will never, never forget the horrified look on my mother's face as my new husband and I held hands, and realized what was coming out of the speakers, and laughed and laughed and laughed. Thank you, John.]
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:19 AM on April 8, 2020 [17 favorites]
"Iris DeMent: John tells a story about how he called me after he had his surgery (in 1998, Prine underwent substantial surgery and radiation treatment to remove cancer in his neck) and how he wanted to record a song called “In Spite of Ourselves” with me. When I saw the lyrics, I thought twice, to put it mildly. He’s not lying when he says I told him I wouldn’t record the song as long as my mom were alive, but I broke my word, and I did it anyway. I always liked to give my mom my records, and so I told him and his former manager, Al Bunetta, that “In Spite of Ourselves” was the first record I couldn’t give to my mother. The next thing you know, a copy of that CD shows up in the mail that looked exactly like the original, but it had that song removed, so I could give it to my mom."
[Their duet, “In Spite of Ourselves,” played at my wedding reception and I will never, never forget the horrified look on my mother's face as my new husband and I held hands, and realized what was coming out of the speakers, and laughed and laughed and laughed. Thank you, John.]
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:19 AM on April 8, 2020 [17 favorites]
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posted by The Vice Admiral of the Narrow Seas at 5:52 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by The Vice Admiral of the Narrow Seas at 5:52 AM on April 8, 2020
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posted by pianoblack at 5:55 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by pianoblack at 5:55 AM on April 8, 2020
I'm so sad about this. I was really hoping he'd recover, dammit.
.
posted by camyram at 6:04 AM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by camyram at 6:04 AM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Kacey Musgraves wrote a fitting song about him and once had the privilege of performing it with him. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6A-pRJxCKR8
posted by clownschool at 6:41 AM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by clownschool at 6:41 AM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Such sad news. My wife and I were lucky enough to see him last year and the year before that.
I hope that, at this very moment, he is having a vodka and ginger ale cocktail and smoking a cigarette that is nine miles long.
.
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 6:51 AM on April 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
I hope that, at this very moment, he is having a vodka and ginger ale cocktail and smoking a cigarette that is nine miles long.
.
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 6:51 AM on April 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
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posted by fourpotatoes at 7:15 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by fourpotatoes at 7:15 AM on April 8, 2020
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posted by wicked_sassy at 7:19 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by wicked_sassy at 7:19 AM on April 8, 2020
I just texted my sisters, who are all pretty conservative and listen to radio country. Growing up, the only 8-track we would all agree on was John Denver's "Aerie", which has some...pretty stark cover songs, looking back as an adult. "Spanish Pipe Dream", aka Blow up the TV, was one of the covers on that album.
Anyway, I texted that "the guy who wrote Blow Up the TV died." And two of them wrote back, "yeah, I heard that, and thought of growing up"
So, even through the fog of politics, Prine brought us together.
(putting vodka and ginger ale on the grocery list...)
posted by notsnot at 7:25 AM on April 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Anyway, I texted that "the guy who wrote Blow Up the TV died." And two of them wrote back, "yeah, I heard that, and thought of growing up"
So, even through the fog of politics, Prine brought us together.
(putting vodka and ginger ale on the grocery list...)
posted by notsnot at 7:25 AM on April 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
"There's a hole in daddys arm where all the money goes.
Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose."
Sam Stone is the saddest song I have ever heard in my life.
The best kind of sad though.
I will never not miss him.
posted by jcworth at 7:40 AM on April 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose."
Sam Stone is the saddest song I have ever heard in my life.
The best kind of sad though.
I will never not miss him.
posted by jcworth at 7:40 AM on April 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
.
posted by Bob Regular at 8:01 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by Bob Regular at 8:01 AM on April 8, 2020
.
posted by imelcapitan at 8:21 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by imelcapitan at 8:21 AM on April 8, 2020
Saw him in San Francisco many years ago. Illegal smile.
Saw him in Oregon a few years ago. Hello in There.
Missed him and Todd Snider in Portland a couple of years ago. Damn.
Ah, Goodbye John. Say Hello to Steve for me.
posted by mule98J at 8:31 AM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Saw him in Oregon a few years ago. Hello in There.
Missed him and Todd Snider in Portland a couple of years ago. Damn.
Ah, Goodbye John. Say Hello to Steve for me.
posted by mule98J at 8:31 AM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Dammit. Thanks Mr. Prine.
posted by oneironaut at 8:32 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by oneironaut at 8:32 AM on April 8, 2020
I knew it was going to happen soon, but it still just breaks my heart all the more.
My dad played us "Please Don't Bury Me" once, in an old garage. It was probably the moment that made me want to write songs, and it led to a lifelong obsession.
I learned it for his funeral. I suppose I never knew either of them particularly well, but I'm missing them both today.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:38 AM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
My dad played us "Please Don't Bury Me" once, in an old garage. It was probably the moment that made me want to write songs, and it led to a lifelong obsession.
I learned it for his funeral. I suppose I never knew either of them particularly well, but I'm missing them both today.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:38 AM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
.
posted by Token Meme at 9:29 AM on April 8, 2020
posted by Token Meme at 9:29 AM on April 8, 2020
There is not a time in my life that didn't have John Prine in it. His first album came out in 1971, the year of my birth. I was 4 years old and "Paradise" was right up there with "Band On The Run" & "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" as the only songs I knew all the lyrics to. Songs that he wrote and the sound of his recordings seemed to touch on aspects of early-to-mid 70s West Virginia counterculture that I experienced as a child. I was going to type more, but I can't see because of my tears. Thanks for the songs, John. Your absence leaves a great big hole in my heart.
posted by frodisaur at 10:51 AM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by frodisaur at 10:51 AM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
A decade or so back, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) helped pull together a tribute album to John Prine, Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows. (It's pretty good! Not bad.) Vernon was -- is -- a huge fan of Prine's work, to the extent that Eaux Claires, the music festival he organizes, did an entire day's lineup billed as Bon Iver Presents John Prine and the American Songbook.
Anyway, Vernon wrote the liner notes to that tribute album. They don't seem to be online anywhere, so I transcribed his essay. It's quite an encomium, and really resonates with me:
Anyway, Vernon wrote the liner notes to that tribute album. They don't seem to be online anywhere, so I transcribed his essay. It's quite an encomium, and really resonates with me:
I was holding the Discman so carefully, I didn't want the CD to skip, and this was a bumpy road. We were headed for a weekend at the lake in rural Wisconsin -- Dad at the wheel, Mom riding shotgun, kid in the backseat with his headphones on, balancing that music player like it was a plateful of pearls.posted by theoddball at 11:26 AM on April 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
My parents always had a big record collection. LPs and tapes made from those LPs. When music started coming out on compact discs, Mom and Dad chose their first pair carefully: Van Morrison, and John Prine's Great Days.
So this was me, deep in those foam pads, floating the player up and down to counter the roll of the road, and in my ears a voice like a next-door neighbor, the kind of guy a teenager might have been prone to ignore, but he had me, had me right by the throat of my heart with the simplest of words: "Hello In There ... Hello."
Songs. Songwriters. You have your craftsmen, your flashy ones, the ones that are great or the ones that are genius. We talk about it, form up our own sort of academia, with cliques and blinders and deconstructions. But every John Prine song dismisses the desire to even break it down like that. His singing voice and his literary voice are one. This is so rare among even the greatest in the echelons of western-song.
The humble, heart-broke and beautifully playful disposition of his songs feel more his nature than his art. And thus we believe everything he sings. Hello In There somehow reached into my 12-year-old frame and allowed me to feel the quiet devastation of the old man and Loretta. The simple and modest veracity of those words and vocals not only conveyed the pain of the characters in the song, but every lonely loose-ends feeling ever -- even ones I was too young to know. A few chords, some jotted words, and you had a lifetime.
You wonder how -- or if -- John Prine will feel about this album. If it will make any sense. Sometimes a tribute becomes less a salute than a mismatched group of shout-outs. After all the years gone, you wonder if John Prine feels a distance between the songs and the listeners. If these old songs seem folded over by now. But then it's back to another element of Prine songs -- humility. A delicate humility, not to be confused with weakness. And that is how we offer these songs, Mister Prine: humbly, with gratitude, our tuppence to honor you and your life's works. Your songs are still here, John, beautifully breathing and beating us up. Thank you.
The Sessions at West 54th DVD is out of print and scalpers are asking hundreds of dollars. It, um, might be available here.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:33 AM on April 8, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:33 AM on April 8, 2020 [9 favorites]
Crap.
I have many Prine stories. My favorite:
I used to hold my infant daughters in my arms and sing Paradise to them to lull them to sleep. Many years later, now divorced and driving my 8 & 10 year old back to their mothers, Paradise came on the CD I had in. Both of them sat straight up and said "we know this song".
John Prine has been an important part of my life for almost 50 years. And he will be until I also move on. So It Goes.
Gotta go now. Can't see to type for the dust in my eyes.
posted by jeporter99 at 11:49 AM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
I have many Prine stories. My favorite:
I used to hold my infant daughters in my arms and sing Paradise to them to lull them to sleep. Many years later, now divorced and driving my 8 & 10 year old back to their mothers, Paradise came on the CD I had in. Both of them sat straight up and said "we know this song".
John Prine has been an important part of my life for almost 50 years. And he will be until I also move on. So It Goes.
Gotta go now. Can't see to type for the dust in my eyes.
posted by jeporter99 at 11:49 AM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
The sun can play tricks with your eyes on the highway
The moon can lay sideways till the ocean stands still
But a person can’t tell his best friend he loves him
Till time has stopped breathing—you’re alone on the hill.
.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 12:48 PM on April 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
The moon can lay sideways till the ocean stands still
But a person can’t tell his best friend he loves him
Till time has stopped breathing—you’re alone on the hill.
.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 12:48 PM on April 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
.
posted by PippinJack at 1:03 PM on April 8, 2020
posted by PippinJack at 1:03 PM on April 8, 2020
.
At least his loved ones don't have to wonder what he wanted done with his remains.
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:10 PM on April 8, 2020 [9 favorites]
At least his loved ones don't have to wonder what he wanted done with his remains.
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:10 PM on April 8, 2020 [9 favorites]
.
My dad used to sing Sam Stone to me when I was little. Today is his birthday, we're separated because of this god awful virus, and I just didn't have the heart to tell him this news.
posted by ppl at 2:32 PM on April 8, 2020
My dad used to sing Sam Stone to me when I was little. Today is his birthday, we're separated because of this god awful virus, and I just didn't have the heart to tell him this news.
posted by ppl at 2:32 PM on April 8, 2020
I never met him, never saw him, but we sure have had many a fun time singing In Spite of Ourselves while doing the dishes. I take the Iris Dement parts and he takes the John Prine.
[Verse 1: John Prine]
She don't like her eggs all runny
She thinks crossin' her legs is funny
She looks down her nose at money
She gets it on like the Easter Bunny
She's my baby
I'm her honey
I'm never gonna let her go
[Verse 2: Iris Dement]
He ain't got laid in a month of Sundays
I caught him once and he was sniffin' my undies
He ain't too sharp but he gets things done
Drinks his beer like it's oxygen
He's my baby
And I'm his honey
I'm never gonna let him go
[Chorus: Both]
In spite of ourselves
We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow
Against all odds
Honey, we're the big door prize
We're gonna spite our noses
Right off of our faces
There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
Dancin' in our eyes
[Verse 3: John Prine]
She thinks all my jokes are corny
Convict movies make her horny
She likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs
Swears like a sailor when shaves her legs
She takes a lickin'
And keeps on tickin'
I'm never gonna let her go
[Verse 4: Iris Dement]
He's got more balls than a big brass monkey
He's a whacked out weirdo and a lovebug junkie
Sly as a fox and crazy as a loon
Payday comes and he's howlin' at the moon
He's my baby
I don't mean maybe
Never gonna let him go
[Chorus: Both]
posted by HotToddy at 2:50 PM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
[Verse 1: John Prine]
She don't like her eggs all runny
She thinks crossin' her legs is funny
She looks down her nose at money
She gets it on like the Easter Bunny
She's my baby
I'm her honey
I'm never gonna let her go
[Verse 2: Iris Dement]
He ain't got laid in a month of Sundays
I caught him once and he was sniffin' my undies
He ain't too sharp but he gets things done
Drinks his beer like it's oxygen
He's my baby
And I'm his honey
I'm never gonna let him go
[Chorus: Both]
In spite of ourselves
We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow
Against all odds
Honey, we're the big door prize
We're gonna spite our noses
Right off of our faces
There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
Dancin' in our eyes
[Verse 3: John Prine]
She thinks all my jokes are corny
Convict movies make her horny
She likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs
Swears like a sailor when shaves her legs
She takes a lickin'
And keeps on tickin'
I'm never gonna let her go
[Verse 4: Iris Dement]
He's got more balls than a big brass monkey
He's a whacked out weirdo and a lovebug junkie
Sly as a fox and crazy as a loon
Payday comes and he's howlin' at the moon
He's my baby
I don't mean maybe
Never gonna let him go
[Chorus: Both]
posted by HotToddy at 2:50 PM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
I have avoided listening to the songs or reading the obits since I heard as this is just too hard. I've been a fan since Bruised Orange and live Maywood adjacent. He's been so much of a favorite and haven't even considered like, not being a fan. not listening to everything, not knowing lyrics.
I've been lucky enough to know people that knew him well. He was a peach. I have been on the board of a non profit that serves his childhood neighborhood, he did a couple of fund raisers for us ten years ago next month, playing in the auditorium of his old high school. He did long shows telling stories, talking to folks in the audience he knew from way back when (drag racing tales, skipping school, playing in the dump). He told a story about being in basic training in the army and realizing that many of his fellow soldiers were freaked out at sleeping and eating with those of a different race, but to him it was natural because Maywood was the rare town that was racially diverse - all just poor people who had come north to do factory work during WWII.
He ended both shows singing Paradise with his brothers and his sons all on stage, not a dry eye in the house. I have to be careful where i hear that song as it always makes me cry (sob really) especially since then. Last show I went to was a John Prine cover band made up of artists from different local Chicago bands that were playing on a weeknight as a labor of love. I will have to track them down.
He will be missed.
posted by readery at 2:58 PM on April 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
I've been lucky enough to know people that knew him well. He was a peach. I have been on the board of a non profit that serves his childhood neighborhood, he did a couple of fund raisers for us ten years ago next month, playing in the auditorium of his old high school. He did long shows telling stories, talking to folks in the audience he knew from way back when (drag racing tales, skipping school, playing in the dump). He told a story about being in basic training in the army and realizing that many of his fellow soldiers were freaked out at sleeping and eating with those of a different race, but to him it was natural because Maywood was the rare town that was racially diverse - all just poor people who had come north to do factory work during WWII.
He ended both shows singing Paradise with his brothers and his sons all on stage, not a dry eye in the house. I have to be careful where i hear that song as it always makes me cry (sob really) especially since then. Last show I went to was a John Prine cover band made up of artists from different local Chicago bands that were playing on a weeknight as a labor of love. I will have to track them down.
He will be missed.
posted by readery at 2:58 PM on April 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
.
posted by ecourbanist at 4:03 PM on April 8, 2020
posted by ecourbanist at 4:03 PM on April 8, 2020
I first heard John Prine on tour with Nanci Griffith in the early 90s--she had covered Speed of the Sound of Loneliness on album, and their storytelling styles and good humor while performing were gloriously complimentary. When I started learning to play the banjo a few years later, I discovered that so many of his songs fit both the banjo and my rudimentary abilities perfectly. His duets album is one of my all time favorites.
I've seen it referenced a few times in the thread, but I haven't seen anyone link the video for Summer's End. It is a beautiful song, a different kind of song about addiction and its effect on families than Sam Stone, and the video is one of the most heartbreaking things ever.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:12 PM on April 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
I've seen it referenced a few times in the thread, but I haven't seen anyone link the video for Summer's End. It is a beautiful song, a different kind of song about addiction and its effect on families than Sam Stone, and the video is one of the most heartbreaking things ever.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:12 PM on April 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
.
posted by amelliferae at 4:20 PM on April 8, 2020
posted by amelliferae at 4:20 PM on April 8, 2020
.
Here's hoping he's with that girl on the Tilt-a-Whirl
posted by ahimsakid at 5:10 PM on April 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
Here's hoping he's with that girl on the Tilt-a-Whirl
posted by ahimsakid at 5:10 PM on April 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
I've been trying for two days for words, and I still have none that are fitting.
.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:37 PM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:37 PM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 10:17 AM on April 9, 2020
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 10:17 AM on April 9, 2020
Man, this news hurts. His debut album was in constant rotation during my college years (the later 1980s). And we owe him for Bonnie Raitt's wonderful rendition of "Angel From Montgomery."
posted by Gelatin at 11:15 AM on April 9, 2020
posted by Gelatin at 11:15 AM on April 9, 2020
.
posted by spinifex23 at 12:38 PM on April 9, 2020
posted by spinifex23 at 12:38 PM on April 9, 2020
John Prine's surprise gift (Michael Branch, CNN)
I want to tell you all about a great kindness John Prine and his wife Fiona did for my family. Prine, deemed the "Mark Twain of American songwriting" by Rolling Stone magazine, died Tuesday in Nashville due to complications of Covid-19.posted by Johnny Wallflower at 3:53 PM on April 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass just posted a 30-minute compilation of some songs he's played there over the last several years.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:31 PM on April 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:31 PM on April 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Statement on the death of John Prine by the President of Ireland
It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of John Prine, songwriter, musician and great friend of Ireland.posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:47 PM on April 9, 2020 [11 favorites]
John Prine was a true master of songcraft. A gifted and evocative lyricist, he was the songwriter other songwriters looked to for inspiration. He was a voice of tolerance, inclusion, whimsy, and protest.
John’s songs are marked by a sensitivity and social conscience and capture the experience of those on the margins in societies, who have suffered broken dreams, broken homes, and broken hearts. His songs were profound and soulful, often sorrow-tinged, but ultimately affirming and wrapped in a distinctively mischievous humour.
John left a very deep impression on the people of the West of Ireland. A regular feature of and beloved presence in Galway, his songs brought a troupe of captivating characters with him and set them free in small packed rooms in Kinvara, Headford and Galway City.
He had a great love for the Irish landscape, especially the Burren and Flaggy Shore, as well as for the Irish people with whom he felt a great freedom. He was held in deep affection and warmth in particular in the village of Kinvara, where he had a home, and where his sessions in Greene’s were legendary.
Despite being one of Johnny Cash’s ‘big four’ he was marked by a great humility. He always used local musicians as support acts for his concerts in Ireland, and collaborated with renowned Irish musicians, such as Dolores Keane, Paul Brady, Declan O’Rourke, Arty McGlynn, and most particularly before his passing, ‘the clontarf cowboy’ Philip Donnelly. It was fitting that he was the last act to play a concert in Seapoint as a venue before it was converted to a bingo hall
Sabina and I offer our condolences to his wife Fiona Whelan, who shared his musical and life journey with him, and children Tommy and Jack and Jody all of whom as musicians keep his legacy alive, as well as his bandmates of twenty years guitarist Jason Wilber and bassist Dave Jacques and those of his extended family and friends who mourn his passing.
Stephen Colbert reminisces about John and Brandi Carlisle plays "Hello In There."
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:39 PM on April 10, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:39 PM on April 10, 2020 [4 favorites]
That Brandi Carlile/Stephen Colbert clip ... gold.
posted by chavenet at 2:43 AM on April 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 2:43 AM on April 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
NPR's Tiny Desk (Home) Concert's tribute.
posted by metaquarry at 6:02 AM on April 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by metaquarry at 6:02 AM on April 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
Sunday nights at the Fifth Peg on Armitage.
posted by dragonian at 1:30 PM on April 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by dragonian at 1:30 PM on April 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Somehow I managed to live my entire life without hearing of John Prine, but when the news hit that he died I checked out his songs, and that's all I've listened to for a week now. There are at least twenty of his songs that I know well enough to sing along without missing any words. This is some of the best music I've ever heard, and I'm seriously upset that I didn't know about him until it was too late to ever see him in concert but glad that I have these words now.
Yesterday Rolling Stone ran an article about his last days. Prine had always wanted to play Paris, but never had enough of a fan base there to add a Paris show to his tours. Finally, he told his manager that he wanted to play Paris and he wanted to stay at the George V, even if it was a financial loss. It was arranged, and he played a small club there on Feb 13 this year.
Ali Watkins, on Twitter: "John Prine’s final days are starting to sound like the greatest John Prine song we’ll never get to hear."
posted by Pater Aletheias at 5:46 PM on April 14, 2020 [10 favorites]
Yesterday Rolling Stone ran an article about his last days. Prine had always wanted to play Paris, but never had enough of a fan base there to add a Paris show to his tours. Finally, he told his manager that he wanted to play Paris and he wanted to stay at the George V, even if it was a financial loss. It was arranged, and he played a small club there on Feb 13 this year.
Prine’s sound engineer Andy Primus says Prine was “giddy,” telling more stories than usual: “People were sitting on the stairs and hanging over the railings, it felt like he was playing in your living room. Prine was feeding off the vibe and just having a blast.”Soon after he developed a cough, and passed away less than two months after the joy of his Paris show.
“He might as well have danced off the stage,” says Fiona. “He was so proud that he did that show, and it was sold out and they loved him. It felt like a victory lap.”
Ali Watkins, on Twitter: "John Prine’s final days are starting to sound like the greatest John Prine song we’ll never get to hear."
posted by Pater Aletheias at 5:46 PM on April 14, 2020 [10 favorites]
Remembering 'Uncle John'
For west suburban residents who knew him best, John Prine was first a decent man, then a masterful songwriter
posted by readery at 12:04 PM on April 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
For west suburban residents who knew him best, John Prine was first a decent man, then a masterful songwriter
posted by readery at 12:04 PM on April 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
The Sessions at West 54th DVD referenced above also contains John Hiatt's interview with Prine.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:18 AM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:18 AM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
John Hiatt's interview with Prine.
Thank you for this! They talk about Lake Marie, which is just about my favorite of his.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:08 PM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Thank you for this! They talk about Lake Marie, which is just about my favorite of his.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:08 PM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Today Prine's label, Oh Boy Records, sent an email with many interesting links, including a call-in radio wake next Wednesday and an essay by Jason Wilbur, his long-time guitarist.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:37 AM on April 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:37 AM on April 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
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posted by Silvery Fish at 6:51 PM on April 7, 2020 [4 favorites]