John Prine: An Appreciation
When you’re a 17 year old kid, in the North-East of England, with dreams of being a songwriter, you inevitably look across the Atlantic for inspiration. I can’t remember when I first heard John Prine’s songs. He and Steve Goodman (another talent that was taken much too soon) seemed to come as a pair, so it was probably Goodman’s cover of ‘Donald & Lydia’ that first grabbed my heart. Here was someone who didn’t write songs, so much as shot movies in sound. It was the best ‘punchline’ song I’d ever heard. From that moment on, I hoovered up as much of his music as I can find.
For such a long time, I felt that John Prine was my little secret, and I sang his songs in folk clubs around the UK. So, I was surprised to see that, after Covid-19 claimed his life, there was a whole retinue of people for whom he’d also been a seminal influence. Stephen Colbert, Seth Myers, Bill Murray, Springsteen, Dylan, Hunter Thompson, Roger Ebert.… you can usually judge a talent by the company they keep.
Most of the tributes have rightly focused upon the warmth in his writing. God knows, he couldn’t play guitar very well, and his singing voice wasn’t the best. But every song bursts with humanity and compassion. ‘Hello In There’ could have been written for these days, telling us to look out for the most vulnerable. ‘Sabu Visits The Twin Cities Alone’ is a true story about a child actor, displaced and alone. And that’s the tip of a mountain of love to explore, if you’re unfamiliar with his work.
It’s usually the way that it’s only after an artist dies that their catalogue is ‘discovered’ by a bigger audience. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case with John. He was acutely aware of the clock ticking (listen to ‘When I Get To Heaven’, the final song on his final album, ‘Tree Of Forgiveness’, and you’ll see what I mean). But that pinnacle of a 50 year career also brought him his biggest audience. A grammy award, and rave reviews meant that he was able to really savour the rewards of his talent while at the end of his life.
He survived cancer — twice. He lost part of his neck, and one of his lungs. But, he lived long enough to see a whole generation of young artists tell him how much his music meant — and that must have been so affirming. He’s passed, but his songs will be sung for a long, long time. And what a gift — to know how lucky, and loved, you’ve been: “When I get to heaven/I’m gonna shake God’s hand/I’m gonna thank him for more blessings/Than one mand can stand”
Thank you, John Prine.
