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.
Clay Pigeons
John Prine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gonna buy a ticket to ride
I'm gonna find that lady with two or three kids
And sit down by her side
Ride 'til the sun comes up and down around me
'Bout two or three times
Smokin' cigarettes in the last seat
Sing this song for the people I meet
Go where the people say "y'all"
Sing a song with a friend
Change the shape that I'm in
And get back in the game
And start playin' again
I'd like to stay
But I might have to go to start over again
I might go back down to Texas
Might go to somewhere that I've never been
And get up in the mornin' and go out at night
And I won't have to go home
Get used to bein' alone
Change the words to this song
And start singin' again
I'm tired of runnin' 'round
Lookin' for answers to questions that I already know
I could build me a castle with memories
Just to have somewhere to go
Count the days and the nights
That it takes to get back in the saddle again
Feed the pigeons some clay
Turn the night into day
And start talkin' again, when I know what to say
I'm goin' down to the Greyhound Station
Gonna buy a ticket to ride
I'm gonna find that lady with two or three kids
And sit down by her side
Ride 'til the sun comes up and down around
'Bout two or three times
Smokin' cigarettes in the last seat
Sing my song for the people I meet
And get along with it all
Go down where the people say "y'all"
Feed the pigeons some clay
Turn the night into day
Start talkin' again
When I know what to say
The song "Clay Pigeons" by John Prine is a tale of a man who is lost, disconnected from the world around him and looking for a way to start over. The singer says he is going to the Greyhound Station and buying a ticket to ride. The idea is to find a woman with two or three kids and sit next to her on the bus. He will smoke cigarettes and sing to the people he meets. The image is of a wanderer, making his way through life, searching for connection and meaning.
The singer is tired of running around, looking for answers to questions he already knows. He wants to build a castle of memories to have somewhere to go, but he also wants to get back in the saddle again. He wants to feed the pigeons some clay, turn the night into day and start talking again. In a sense, this song is about rebirth, about finding a way to start over and reconnect with the world.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm goin' down to the Greyhound Station
I am heading towards the bus station
Gonna buy a ticket to ride
I am going to purchase a ticket to go someplace
I'm gonna find that lady with two or three kids
I will look for a woman who has two or three children
And sit down by her side
I am going to take a seat beside her
Ride 'til the sun comes up and down around me
I will keep riding until the sunrise and it goes down around me
'Bout two or three times
Probably 2 to 3 times
Smokin' cigarettes in the last seat
I'll smoke cigarettes at the last seat
Sing this song for the people I meet
I will sing this song for the people I meet
And get along with it all
I'll be at peace with everything
Go where the people say "y'all"
I will go where people use the word ‘y'all’
Sing a song with a friend
I'll sing a song together with a friend
Change the shape that I'm in
I will change who I am currently
And get back in the game
I will re-enter the competition
And start playin' again
Begin playing the game again
I'd like to stay
I would prefer to stay
But I might have to go to start over again
To start everything from the beginning, I may have to leave
I might go back down to Texas
I might go to Texas again
Might go to somewhere that I've never been
I might go someplace where I’ve never been before
And get up in the mornin' and go out at night
I will take trips in the morning and night
And I won't have to go home
I will not need to return home
Get used to bein' alone
I’ll get habituated to being by myself
Change the words to this song
Revise the lyrics to this song
And start singin' again
Begin singing once more
I'm tired of runnin' 'round
I am tired of running around
Lookin' for answers to questions that I already know
Searching for answers for the queries which I already have the answers to
I could build me a castle with memories
I can construct a castle full of recollections
Just to have somewhere to go
Just to have someplace to visit
Count the days and the nights
Calculate the number of days and nights
That it takes to get back in the saddle again
The time it would take to resume forward momentum
Feed the pigeons some clay
Offer the pigeons some clay to eat
Turn the night into day
Transform the night into day
And start talkin' again
begin to converse again
When I know what to say
Only when I know what to say
Lyrics © DistroKid, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Michael David Fuller
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind