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.
Bruised Orange
John Prine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a long ago sunday when I walked through the alley
On a cold winter's morning to a church house
Just to shovel some snow.
I heard sirens on the train track howl naked gettin' nuder,
An altar boy's been hit by a local commuter
Just from walking with his back turned
You can gaze out the window get mad and get madder,
Throw your hands in the air, say "what does it matter? "
But it don't do no good to get angry,
So help me I know
For a heart stained in anger grows weak and grows bitter.
You become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there
Wrapped up in a trap of your very own
Chain of sorrow.
I been brought down to zero, pulled out and put back there.
I sat on a park bench, kissed the girl with the black hair
And my head shouted down to my heart
"you better look out below!"
Hey, it ain't such a long drop don't stammer don't stutter
From the diamonds in the sidewalk to the dirt in the gutter
And you carry those bruises to remind you wherever you go.
John Prine's song "Bruised Orange" is a powerful ballad that tackles complex themes of loss, sorrow, and the struggle for self-acceptance. The song starts off with the comparison of the singer's heart to an "ice house," implying a sense of deep emotional isolation and coldness. This image is further reinforced by the memory of a long-ago Sunday morning, when the singer walked through the bitterly cold alleyways of his town on his way to church.
The mood of the song turns darker in the second verse, as the singer recounts the tragic incident of an altar boy being hit by a train while walking with his back turned. This eerie image of the "sirens on the train track howl naked gettin' nuder" creates a sense of impending doom that amplifies the song's overall sense of sadness and loss. In the chorus of the song, Prine urges listeners to resist the temptation to give in to anger and bitterness, arguing that these emotions only serve to weaken and enslave us.
As the song progresses, the singer reveals that he has also faced great challenges and been "brought down to zero" in his own life. However, he finds solace and hope in small moments of connection and intimacy, such as kissing a girl with black hair on a park bench. The song ends on a bittersweet note, as the singer acknowledges that even though life can be bruising and difficult, these scars and bruises serve as a reminder of the strength and resilience we all possess.
Line by Line Meaning
My heart's in the ice house come hill or come valley
My emotions are frozen and difficult to access, whether I’m going through good or bad times.
Like a long ago Sunday when I walked through the alley
This feeling of emotional distance is similar to the experience I had in the past when I walked down a quiet street on a Sunday morning.
On a cold winter's morning to a church house
I remember walking down that street on a cold winter morning to go to church.
Just to shovel some snow.
My purpose for going there was just to help shovel snow off of the church steps.
I heard sirens on the train track howl naked gettin' nuder,
I recall a specific instance where I heard the sound of train horns wailing, growing louder and more intense by the second.
An altar boy's been hit by a local commuter
This noise was the result of a tragic accident caused by a commuter train hitting an altar boy.
Just from walking with his back turned
The boy was hit simply because he was walking with his back turned to the oncoming train.
To the train that was coming so slow.
Despite the train coming at a slow speed, it still caused serious harm to the boy.
You can gaze out the window get mad and get madder,
It’s easy to get frustrated and angry about bad things that happen in life.
Throw your hands in the air, say "what does it matter? "
It’s tempting to give up and question whether anything ultimately matters.
But it don't do no good to get angry,
However, getting angry doesn’t actually help the situation improve.
So help me I know
I know this from personal experience.
For a heart stained in anger grows weak and grows bitter.
Being consistently angry can degrade a person's emotional state, making them weaker and more pessimistic.
You become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there
In this state of mind, people feel trapped and powerless, stuck in their own heads as they watch themselves spin out of control.
Wrapped up in a trap of your very own
This cycle of negativity and self-destruction is created entirely by one's own thoughts and emotions.
Chain of sorrow.
The result is a deep-seated sense of sadness that holds a person back emotionally.
I been brought down to zero, pulled out and put back there.
I have personally experienced the emotional rock-bottom that comes with self-doubt and feelings of failure.
I sat on a park bench, kissed the girl with the black hair
In one moment of positivity, I sat down next to a girl with dark hair and shared a romantic moment with her.
And my head shouted down to my heart
My mind began to question my heart’s emotions and behavior.
"you better look out below!"
I realized that my current thought patterns could lead to deep emotional pain if I didn't make a change.
Hey, it ain't such a long drop don't stammer don't stutter
However, I also realized that the change didn’t have to be drastic or overwhelming.
From the diamonds in the sidewalk to the dirt in the gutter
I could move from a state of “shining” on the surface to one of “dirty” depths below without causing irreparable damage to myself.
And you carry those bruises to remind you wherever you go.
The emotional bruises left behind serve as a constant reminder to be careful of my thoughts and feelings, wherever I am in life.
Contributed by Abigail D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.