Born and raised in Maywood, Illinois, Prine learned to play the guitar at age 14. He attended classes at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. After serving in West Germany with the U.S. Army, he returned to Chicago in the late 1960s, where he worked as a mailman, writing and singing songs first as a hobby and then as a club performer.
A member of Chicago's folk revival, a laudatory review by critic Roger Ebert built Prine's popularity. Singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson heard Prine at Steve Goodman's insistence, and Kristofferson invited Prine to be his opening act, leading to Prine's eponymous debut album with Atlantic Records in 1971. The acclaim Prine earned from his first LP led to three more albums for Atlantic. He then recorded three albums with Asylum Records. In 1981, he co-founded Oh Boy Records, an independent label where he released most of his subsequent albums.
Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for humorous lyrics about love, life, and current events, as well as serious songs with social commentary and songs that recollect sometimes melancholy tales from his life.
Prine was the son of William Mason Prine, a tool-and-die maker, and Verna Valentine (Hamm), a homemaker, both originally from Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. He was born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Maywood. In summers, they would go back to visit family near Paradise, Kentucky. Prine started playing guitar at age 14, taught by his brother, David. He attended classes at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music, and graduated from Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois. He was a U.S. Postal Service mailman for five years and was drafted into the United States Army during the Vietnam War era, serving as a vehicle mechanic in West Germany before beginning his musical career in Chicago.
Prine is widely regarded as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation. He has been referred to as "the Mark Twain of songwriting".
Johnny Cash, in his autobiography Cash, wrote, "I don't listen to music much at the farm, unless I'm going into songwriting mode and looking for inspiration. Then I'll put on something by the writers I've admired and used for years—Rodney Crowell, John Prine, Guy Clark, and the late Steve Goodman are my Big Four ..."
Roger Waters, when asked by Word Magazine in 2008 if he heard Pink Floyd's influence in newer British bands such as Radiohead, replied, "I don't really listen to Radiohead. I listened to the albums and they just didn't move me in the way, say, John Prine does. His is just extraordinarily eloquent music—and he lives on that plane with Neil [Young] and [John] Lennon." He later named Prine as among the five most important songwriters.
Prine's influence is seen in the work of younger artists, whom he often mentored, including Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires, Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson, Kacey Musgraves, Margo Price, Tyler Childers, and Robin Pecknold.
The last song Prine recorded before he died was "I Remember Everything", released on June 12, 2020, alongside a music video. It was released following the two-hour special tribute show, A Tribute Celebrating John Prine aired on June 11, 2020, which featured Sturgill Simpson, Vince Gill, Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves, Bonnie Raitt, Rita Wilson, Eric Church, Brandi Carlile and many other country artists and friends.[45] On the first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Prine singing "I Remember Everything" was the soundtrack to the COVID-19 memorial video.
Angel From Montgomery
John Prine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My old man is another child that's grown old
If dreams were lightning, thunder were desire
This old house would have burnt down a long time ago
Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery
Make me a poster of an old rodeo
Just give me one thing that I can hold on to
To believe in this living is just a hard way to go
When I was a young girl, well, I had me a cowboy
He weren't much to look at, just a free rambling man
But that was a long time and no matter how I try
The years just flow by like a broken down dam
Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery
Make me a poster of an old rodeo
Just give me one thing that I can hold on to
To believe in this living is just a hard way to go
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?
Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery
Make me a poster of an old rodeo
Just give me one thing that I can hold on to
To believe in this living is just a hard way to go
John Prine's song "Angel From Montgomery" tells the story of an old woman who feels stuck in her life. She is named after her mother and her old man is like a child who has grown old. The lyrics seem to reflect a sense of weariness and resignation with life. Prine contrasts the woman's dreams and desires with the reality of her life – their differences so striking that they create a sense of tension within the song. The chorus "Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery / Make me a poster of an old rodeo / Just give me one thing that I can hold on to / To believe in this living is just a hard way to go" represents the woman's hopes and desires, and her longing for a better life. She wants to be free like an angel and live a life that she can believe in, but instead, she feels trapped and stuck in a hard life without any hope.
The past relationship with the cowboy is the only thing she can look back on with fondness in the song. She sees the years flowing by like a broken down dam, and the chorus appears once again, reflecting her continued desire for something to believe in. The final verse introduces the mundane details of the woman's life, including the "flies in the kitchen" and the "nothing to say" after her day of work. Despite her struggles, the woman still holds on to her hopes and desires, and the chorus seems to represent her desperate plea for something to believe in that could help her escape her difficult circumstances.
Interesting Facts:
Line by Line Meaning
I am an old woman named after my mother
I am a woman who was named after my mother, and I have grown old.
My old man is another child that's grown old
My husband is like another child, who has grown old like me.
If dreams were lightning, thunder were desire
If dreams could be actualized easily and quickly, desire would act as the driving force.
This old house would have burnt down a long time ago
If dreams and desires had the power to manifest easily, this old house would have been burnt down a long time ago.
Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery
I desire to become an angel that can fly away from this place called Montgomery.
Make me a poster of an old rodeo
I long for a poster that shows an old rodeo, something to hang on to and remember.
Just give me one thing that I can hold on to
I just want one thing that I can keep and cherish, something to believe in.
To believe in this living is just a hard way to go
Finding something to believe in while living is a challenging task.
When I was a young girl, well, I had me a cowboy
When I was a young girl, I had a cowboy as a partner.
He weren't much to look at, just a free rambling man
He wasn't physically attractive, but he was a free-willed person.
But that was a long time and no matter how I try
That was in the past, and no matter how hard I try, I cannot return to that time.
The years just flow by like a broken down dam
The years pass quickly without any control, like water from a broken dam flooding through.
There's flies in the kitchen, I can hear 'em there buzzing
There are flies in the kitchen, and I can hear them making buzzing noises.
And I ain't done nothing since I woke up today
I haven't accomplished anything since I woke up today.
How the hell can a person go to work in the morning
How can a person go to work in the morning?
And come home in the evening and have nothing to say?
And when they come home in the evening, have nothing to say about their day?
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Prine
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind