RIP, John Prine

Deserves its own thread.

John Prine, One of America's Greatest Songwriters, Dead at 73

 

Damn it.

 

Crushed. That guy was the soundtrack of my young life, and rediscovering him in my later years fueled my love of songwriting.

I got to see him in 2017. Amanda Shires opened, and surprise guest Sturgill Simpson showed up in the encore and sang “Paradise,” and it was the one of the best things these ears had ever heard.

 

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

 

Aww, man. Rest well, sir.

 

Sad, sad news.

He and Steve Goodman are two of the best musicians/songwriters to come out of Chicagoland, and now they're both gone. Thankfully their great songs will always live on.

RIP.

 

Dear Abby, Dear Abby
You have no complaint
You are what you are and
You ain’t what you ain’t

RIP

 

Please don't bury him down in the cold, cold ground.

 

I saw him at St. Paul Summerfest in the late 1980s, with Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie, then again in PDX with Bonnie Raitt in the mid-1990s. He and Bonnie did Angel from Montgomery and Your Sweet and Shining Eyes in a combined encore. Fantastic show. I fell in love with his music in 1973 and never fell out.

We lost Johnny
To the COVID War
And I still don't know what for
Don't matter anymore

I'm glad he never grew lonesome.

 

Remember seeing him on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's 50th Anniversary Special from the Ryman - dude was gold. One of the things that makes great songwriters is they have a real point of view and perspective on life - they've lived a little. Wish the world had more Prine.