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.
If She Were You
John Prine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never know exactly what to do
I'd like to tell her just how much I want her
And I could find the way if she were you
Her eyes may shine for me and not another,
Her lonely arms reach out to hold me too,
She wants to take your place and be my lover
I never knew how much I cared about you
Till your memory made me a lovesick fool
When she speaks to me I hear you sweet voice calling
When I close my eyes your face comes into view
I remember how it hurt when I was falling
And I could fall again if she were you
I never knew how much I cared about you
Till your memory made me a lovesick fool
She wants to take your place and be my lover
And I could make her mine if she were you
Yes, I could make her mine if she was you
The lyrics of John Prine's song "If She Were You" express the feeling of a person who is struggling to move on from a romantic relationship. The singer, who has tried to love other people after his breakup, realizes that no one can compare to his former lover. He says that he would be able to find the right way to love again if the person he was trying to love was his former lover.
The second stanza reveals that the singer's former lover still loves him and is trying to replace the singer's new lover. The singer expresses his desire to be with his former lover but acknowledges that it cannot happen. He feels that he is a lovesick fool for not realizing how much he cared about his former lover before it was too late.
In the final stanza, the singer realizes that his former lover's memory haunts him and every time he tries to move on, he cannot help but compare them to her. The lyrics suggest that the singer is still in love with his former lover but cannot be with her again.
Overall, John Prine's song "If She Were You" is a poignant portrayal of the pain of unrequited love and struggling to move on from past relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, everytime I try to love another
Even though I try to love another, I always fail
I never know exactly what to do
I am unsure about how to express my feelings to my new love interest
I'd like to tell her just how much I want her
I want to express my feelings to my new love interest
And I could find the way if she were you
I know how to express my feelings if my ex-lover was in the new love interest's place
Her eyes may shine for me and not another,
The new love interest could be interested in me only
Her lonely arms reach out to hold me too,
The new love interest wants to show her affection towards me
She wants to take your place and be my lover
The new love interest is willing to replace my ex-lover
And I could make her mine if she were you
I know how to make her mine only if she was my ex-lover
When she speaks to me I hear your sweet voice calling,
The new love interest's voice reminds me of my ex-lover's voice
When I close my eyes your face comes into view
I can't forget my ex-lover
I remember how it hurt when I was falling
I remember the painful breakup with my ex-lover
And I could fall again if she were you
I could fall in love again only if my ex-lover was in the new love interest's place
Yes, I could make her mine if she was you
I am confident that I can make the new love interest mine if she was my ex-lover
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: JOHN PRINE, STEVE GOODMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@howardspencer7022
Damn I miss this guy
@jacquismith3277
Beautiful. Thanks JP ❤❤
@robertwilliams5151
Thank you for all the beautiful music, Brother! RIP.
@gilesfamily2653
What a voice
@rogerbacorn2848
Oh Boy is right!!
@mikemcnamara6119
His music will last for generations
@JeffinBville
This is one of those albums you bought back in the day and played the heck out of and then moved on to others as John released them while this one would eventually sit on the record shelf gathering dust. But then someone comes along and posts a few cuts and you go, "damn, is this still great today or what?" forcing you to hit the P section of your collection and put needle to vinyl all over again and again and again.