Great man, great song.
So long, John.
See you again,
A little further down the road.
He thought he kept the universe alone;
For all the voice in answer he could wake
Was but the mocking echo of his own
From some tree-hidden cliff across the lake.
Some morning from the boulder-broken beach
He would cry out on life, that what it wants
Is not its own love back in copy speech,
But counter-love, original response.
And nothing ever came of what he cried
Unless it was the embodiment that crashed
In the cliff’s talus on the other side,
And then in the far distant water splashed,
But after a time allowed for it to swim,
Instead of proving human when it neared
And someone else additional to him,
As a great buck it powerfully appeared,
Pushing the crumpled water up ahead,
And landed pouring like a waterfall,
And stumbled through the rocks with horny tread,
And forced the underbrush–and that was all.
When all Earth’s seas shall Levitate,
Dark shawled within the skies,
Upon our eyes will Starfish dance
Their waltz of Blind surprise.
The sun will Rise within wine Dark
As Argonauts imbibed,
Whose drunken arms embrace that sleep
Where Phaeton’s horses Stride.
Upon all of Earth’s wind-sanded shores,
As dolphins Learn to soar,
All we once were on the land
Shall be sealed behind the door
Of Ivory and Chastened Gold,
That the Mystery solved complete
Shall never til the seas’ Long fall
Wake mariners from their sleep.
— Van der Leun
I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this
air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their
parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
— Walt Whitman
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.
I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.
— The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot
Gerard Van der Leun
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I will miss him very much. In times of trouble, or just plain old sadness his music was always there for me. I will forever hold in my heart memories of a wonderful evening aboard the riverboat President listening to John and Steve Goodman.
Spent many an hour learning and playing John Prine songs with my old college roommate who grew up in Chicago and was an early fan. Wonderful, evocative songs… Thanks very much, John. See you down the road…
https://youtu.be/nXbEFTv9zr0
First heard of John Prine in 1974 and marveled at the tenderness and winking good humor in his songwriting. To this day my favorite of his to pick and croak out remains “Angel From Montgomery.”
“The years just flow by like a broken-down dam”: Requiescat in pace, John Prine
The only time I’ve ever teared up at a concert was about 15 years ago hearing John Prine sing Sam Stone. I find Bob Dylan incomprehensible but Prine’s writing was spare, elegant, and meaningful. And damned funny at times. What a loss, what a blessing.
He lived long enough to *become* the old man narrating that song. But unlike that tragic figure, John Prine was well-loved and -respected, as we’re seeing now with the accolades for his work coming from across the cultural spectrum.
Rest in peace, John. Thanks for your brilliant, heartfelt music.
I discovered John when I was young Seaman Recruit in 1970 or ‘71 and he was like peas and carrots for me. I played and sang several of his tunes through the Navy and college and later I was fortunate to find a friend that loved him too and between us we prob knew and played 30 of his songs.
My work sucked up a lot of my time and I switched my focus for a number of years to seriously study classical guitar but memorizing classical pieces takes a lot of time and focus and it is not nearly as fun as grabbing a steel string and kicking off a Prine or a Lightfoot tune.
John has blessed us with some funny and thought provoking songs that people will remember for a long time and we are blessed for having lived in his time. Thanks for everything, Johnny!!
So much, for so long. “Fair and Square” is my favorite album (and “In Spite of Ourselves” shows how well he did with other folks’ stuff). “Lake Marie”, “I Hate It When That Happens To Me”, “Paradise” — the list is endless. A large soul; I’ve been saddened for years that he didn’t get a Kennedy Center honor: he was an American treasure.
What an ending!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exr-DOWJ3A0
A bit prophetic, wot?
“Well, who’s gonna take your garbage out
When I’ve packed my bags and gone?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qFLzyuo6FA
“Where the air smelled like snakes and we’d shoot with our pistols but empty pop bottles was all we would kill”.So many lines from so many songs for so many years. Godspeed John.
“Far From Me” would be my favorite Prine song and it haunts me still. I was there once, long ago, when “A June bug flew from the warmth he once knew” …
I could not help but think that John would want this song sung at his funeral. I know I immediately started mouthing the words it when I read that he had died the other day.
Please Don’t Bury Me
Woke up this morning
Put on my slippers
Walked in the kitchen
And died
And oh, what a feeling!
When my soul
Went through the ceiling
And on up into heaven, I did ride
When I got there, they did say
“John, it happened this way
You slipped upon the floor
And hit your head”
And all the angels say
“Just before you passed away
That these were the very last words
That you said”
“Please don’t bury me
Down in that cold, cold ground
No, I?d rather have ’em cut me up
And pass me all around”
“Throw my brain in a hurricane
And the blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears
If they don’t mind the size”
“Give my stomach to Milwaukee
If they run out of beer
Put my socks in a cedar box
Just to get ’em out of here”
“Venus De Milo can have my arms
Look out! I’ve got your nose
Sell my heart to the junk man
And give my love to Rose”
“But please don’t bury me
Down in that cold, cold ground
I?d rather have ’em cut me up
And pass me all around”
“Throw my brain in a hurricane
The blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears
If they don’t mind the size, oh man!”
“Give my feet to the footloose
Careless, fancy free
And give my knees to the needy
Don’t pull that stuff on me”
“Hand me down my walking cane
It?s a sin to tell a lie
Send my mouth way down south
And kiss my ass goodbye”
“But, please don’t bury me
Down in that cold, cold ground
I?d rather have ’em cut me up
And pass me all around”
“Throw my brain in a hurricane
And the blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears
If they don’t mind the size, that’s right”
Rest in peace, John Prine.
And this…
https://youtu.be/yYHT-TF4KO4
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
Good bye, dear friend that I never knew. Just the soul that you poured out into your songs.
Pretty good, not bad, I can’t complain…..
Thanks for asking.