“Nobody but Prine could write like that” – Bob Dylan
Singer-songwriters connect with audiences in ways impossible for mere performers. They lay bare their own hopes and heartbreaks, triumphs and
tragedies.
Some songs are funny, other lines are sad, but John Prine’s lyrics don’t float in one ear and out the other. The Illinois native has been making music and telling stories for almost a half century, and this Friday, March 10, he’ll do it once again at the Peabody Opera House.
Some of Prine's lyrics are teasing plays on diction, including this one about a dancer:
Well, I sat there at the
table and I acted real naive
For I knew that topless lady had something up her sleeve
Well, she danced around the bar room and she did the hoochy-coo
Yeah she sang her song all night long, tellin' me what to do
10. "Rocky Mountain Time"
Ya’ know that old trees just grow stronger,
And old rivers grow wilder ev’ry day.
Old people just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say, “Hello in there, hello.”
5. "We Are the Lonely"
Or this one, following a similar theme:
We are the lonely, all together
All together, we're all alone
-We are the Lonely
4. "Everybody"
Prine isn't afraid to comment on politics or religion, either:
While out sailing on the ocean
While out sailing on the sea
I bumped into the Savior
And He said pardon me
I said "Jesus you look tired"
He said "Jesus so do you,
Sit down son
'Cause I got some fat to chew"
3. "Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore"
This protest song came out during the height of Vietnam:
But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more
They're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reasons for
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more
2. "Angel From Montgomery"
Commentary on relationships, the thing we sing about most, is woven throughout many of his songs.
There's flies in the kitchen
I can hear 'em there buzzing
And I ain't done nothing since I woke up today
How the hell can a person go to work in the morning
And come home in the evening and have nothing to say
1. "[We're Not] The Jet Set"
Places work their way into Prine's work. Jeff Co. even made it into this one…
No, we're not the jet set
We're the old Chevro-let set
There's no Riviera
In Festus, Missouri
And you won't find Onassis
In Mullinville, Kansas
No, we're not the jet set
We're the old Chevro-let set
But ain't we got love
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