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.
Everything Is Cool
John Prine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everything's okay
Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away
Across the sea to an island
While the bridges brightly burn
So far away from my land
I was walking down the road, man
Just looking at my shoes
When God sent me an angel
Just to chase away my blues
I saw a hundred thousand blackbirds
Just flying through the sky
And they seemed to form a teardrop
From a black haired angel's eye
That tear fell all around me
And it washed my sins away
Now everything is cool
Everything's okay
Everything is cool
Everything's okay
Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away
And I find it real surprising
For myself to hear me say
That everything is cool
Everything's okay
Everything is cool
Everything's okay
Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away.
In John Prine's song "Everything Is Cool," he sings about a personal loss and how he copes with it. The opening lines of the song suggest that Prine's life is alright, but they are juxtaposed with the heartbreaking news that his baby went away just before Christmas. The lyrics become more poignant as they describe the distance between him and his love, across the sea on an island, while the bridges brightly burn. This metaphorical bridge connects two people, but is now burning, leaving both of them stranded on either side.
Prine's tone changes after he explains his heartbreak; he goes on to explain how God sent him an angel to chase away his blues. In his lowest moment, Prine sees a flock of blackbirds forming a teardrop out of a black-haired angel's eye, which washes away his sin and helps him ease his pain. The song's message is one of resilience and hope - Prine endured the loss of his baby, but he has found a way to cope with his grief, knowing that everything is cool and okay.
Line by Line Meaning
Everything is cool
The singer is expressing contentment that everything in their life is going well.
Everything's okay
The singer is affirming that things are going smoothly in their life.
Why just before last Christmas
The singer is questioning the timing of their lover's departure, which occurred right before the holiday season.
My baby went away
The artist's significant other left them and went to an island far away.
Across the sea to an island
The artist is emphasizing that their lover has gone far away to an island across the sea.
While the bridges brightly burn
The singer is conveying a sense of melancholy by describing the bridges burning, which may symbolize the breaking of ties or relationships.
So far away from my land
The singer is emphasizing the distance between themselves and their lover, who is in a distant land.
The valley of the unconcerned
The artist is using an expression to describe the place where their lover has gone, emphasizing that they seem to be uninterested or unconcerned about the artist's well-being.
I was walking down the road, man
The artist is simply stating that they were walking down the road, using a casual expression to do so.
Just looking at my shoes
The artist is indicating that they were looking downwards, whether introspectively or simply because their shoes were interesting to them at that moment.
When God sent me an angel
The singer is suggesting that they received divine intervention in the form of an angelic figure arriving to comfort them.
Just to chase away my blues
The angelic figure helped to alleviate the artist's sadness or depression.
I saw a hundred thousand blackbirds
The singer describes seeing a large flock of birds passing overhead.
Just flying through the sky
The birds were simply flying through the air, with no particular destination or goal in mind.
And they seemed to form a teardrop
The birds' formation seemed to take the shape of a teardrop.
From a black haired angel's eye
The artist is tying this image to the angel that came to see them earlier.
That tear fell all around me
The artist suggests that the tear-shaped formation of the birds released some sort of emotional release in them.
And it washed my sins away
The singer is using a religious expression to describe how the emotional response helped them feel better and forget their past mistakes.
Now everything is cool
The singer is reiterating that they now feel content with how their life is going.
And I find it real surprising
The artist is expressing disbelief or surprise at their own positive outlook, given the recent departure of their lover.
For myself to hear me say
The artist is emphasizing their own surprise at the positive tone they are taking.
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: John E Prine
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gottadomor7438
It's Christmastime again & we love you John Prine. Just like all year too.
@stevensmolak52
John – You made it so completely and utterly clear that all men's hearts are one, and the same! Wow, wow, wow! Hard to believe that we felt such great and wonderful depths, of two hearts that were somehow one, though they beat, against two separate rib cages !!! I've got So much love that I cannot hide . . . What a thing you were... You were really something in your time here as John Prine, thank you thank you!
@michaelwinters4063
Great song writer and a great man.
@horizonmusic4639
Defending Jacob brought me here. Wow powerful stuff.
@livlovelaugh
me too
@itsbrutalouthere9500
Same
@multi3ditz
same and right!
@chadhartman1040
Me 5
@moniquechenard
Me too :)
@josephspott3132
God Bless John Prine. Take him home gently.