John Prine - RIP

Wildly imaginative, witty, humble, hilarious, wry, tender, offbeat, empathetic, insightful, spine-chilling, magnetizing, lighthearted, illuminating, overpowering, honest, simple, timeless, introspective, heartfelt, challenging, influential, underappreciated, under the radar, hard-to-categorize, straightforward, whimsical, fatalistic.

Since John Prine died the first week of April, I’ve been scouring the Internet to find adjectives written by people who write much better than I to describe John Prine’s music.  I found a lot of them.  I’m quite sure the list I’ve compiled is incomplete, but each one applies.  A friend of mine from the old neighborhood said “there’s no such thing as a bad John Prine song” – and she’s right.  If there is one, I haven’t heard it.

As is my wont, whenever a musician I like passes away, I do the deep dive into the songbook and try to create a good playlist.  Keeping in mind my friend’s thoughts about there being no bad John Prine songs, some are more equal than others.  Otherwise, my playlist would be every song John Prine ever recorded.  Not all the songs on my list were written by him.  There’s a Hank Williams song here, and A.P. Carter song there, and a Buck Owens song somewhere else, but I like how he played them.  The entire debut album is here because it was that good.  There is much to enjoy.

Here’s my playlist.  As always, it’s just one pinhead’s point of view [mine].

Illegal Smile [John Prine, 1971]

Spanish Pipedream [John Prine, 1971]

Hello In There [John Prine, 1971]

Sam Stone [John Prine, 1971]

Paradise [John Prine, 1971]

Pretty Good [John Prine, 1971]

Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore [John Prine, 1971]

Far From Me [John Prine, 1971]

Angel From Montgomery [John Prine, 1971]

Quiet Man [John Prine, 1971]

Donald and Lydia [John Prine, 1971]

Six O'Clock News [John Prine, 1971]

Flashback Blues [John Prine, 1971]

The Late John Garfield Blues [Diamonds in the Rough, 1972]

Sour Grapes [Diamonds in the Rough, 1972]

Billy the Bum [Diamonds in the Rough, 1972]

The Frying Pan [Diamonds in the Rough, 1972]

Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You [Diamonds in the Rough, 1972]

Sweet Revenge [Sweet Revenge, 1973]

Please Don't Bury Me [Sweet Revenge, 1973]

Christmas In Prison [Sweet Revenge, 1973]

Blue Umbrella [Sweet Revenge, 1973]

Mexican Home [Sweet Revenge, 1973]

Often Is a Word I Seldom Use [Sweet Revenge, 1973]

Linda Goes to Mars [German Afternoons, 1986]

Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian [German Afternoons, 1986]

Dear Abby (Live) [Sweet Revenge, 1973]

Other Side of Town (Live) [Fair & Square, 2005]

Quit Hollerin' at Me (Live) [Live on Tour, 1997]

Space Monkey (Live) [Live on Tour, 1997]

He Was In Heaven Before He Died [Common Sense, 1975]

The Accident (Things Could Be Worse) [Sweet Revenge, 1973]

Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow) [Bruised Orange, 1978]

That's the Way the World Goes Round [Bruised Orange, 1978]

Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard [Common Sense, 1975]

Jesus, the Missing Years [The Missing Years, 1991]

Lake Marie [Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings, 1995]

Everything Is Cool [A John Prine Christmas, 1994]

The Sins of Memphisto [The Missing Years, 1991]

Great Rain [The Missing Years, 1991]

Ain't Hurtin' Nobody [Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings, 1995]

In Spite of Ourselves [In Spite of Ourselves, 1999]

Mental Cruelty [For Better, or Worse, 2016]

Just Waitin' [For Better, or Worse, 2016]

Crazy as a Loon [Fair & Square, 2005]

Bear Creek Blues [Fair & Square, 2005]

Lonesome Friends of Science [The Tree of Forgiveness, 2018]

Summer's End [The Tree of Forgiveness, 2018]

When I Get to Heaven [The Tree of Forgiveness, 2018]

RIP John Prine, and thank you.