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.
It
John Prine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A stealing invitation
To take what's not really ours
To make it through the midnight hours
It's a cheating situation
Just a cheap imitation
Doing what we have to do
When there's no love at home
There's no use in pretending
There'll be a happy ending
Where our love's concerned
Sweetheart, we both know
We'll take love where we find it
Love and try to hide it
It's all we got
For we know they're not
Gonna let us go
It's a cheating situation
A stealing invitation
To take what's not really ours
To make it through the midnight hours
It's a cheating situation
Just a cheap imitation
Doing what we have to do
When there's no love at home
It's a cheating situation
When there's no love at home
The song "It's a Cheating Situation" by John Prine and Dolores Keane is a tender and melancholic expression of the pain and isolation that can occur when a relationship is lacking in love and commitment. The lyrics describe the temptation to cheat as a result of feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied in the current relationship. The opening line, "It's a cheating situation, a stealing invitation" aptly captures the feeling of sneaking around and acting in secret to seek the comfort and affection that is not being provided at home. The song acknowledges the loneliness and confusion that can lead someone to cheat, but ultimately shows that this is not a solution to the problem.
The chorus repeats the idea that the cheating situation is a "cheap imitation" and a last resort to make it through the difficult times. The lyric "We'll take love where we find it, love and try to hide it, it's all we got, for we know they're not gonna let us go" conveys the sense that the affair is a fragile and temporary escape from an unsatisfying reality. The song speaks to the heartbreak and moral dilemma of infidelity, conveying the pain of being caught between the desire for passion and the guilt of betraying someone's trust.
Overall, "It's a Cheating Situation" is a powerful example of storytelling in songwriting, as it captures the complexity of human emotions and relationships in an artful and poignant way.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a cheating situation
Being unfaithful is the current predicament
A stealing invitation
It's an undeniable plea to philander
To take what's not really ours
It's about stealing someone else's affection that's not ours to take
To make it through the midnight hours
It's a way to keep going through the long, lonely nights
It's a cheating situation
Being unfaithful is the current predicament
Just a cheap imitation
It's a pitiful attempt at being genuine
Doing what we have to do
It's something we have to do for survival
When there's no love at home
It's the sad truth of having no love or affection at home
There's no use in pretending
There's no point in pretending that things will turn out well
There'll be a happy ending
There won't be a happy ending in our relationship
Where our love's concerned
When it comes to our love, we know it's in a dire state
Sweetheart, we both know
We both know the truth about our situation
We'll take love where we find it
We'll accept love wherever we come across it
Love and try to hide it
We'll attempt to conceal our love for the sake of others
It's all we got
Our love is all we possess in this relationship
For we know they're not
We realize that others won't accept our love
Gonna let us go
Others won't allow us to move on and end this relationship
When there's no love at home
It's the sad truth of having no love or affection at home
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Curly Putman, Sonny Throckmorton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
BCpov
I think I've watched this at least 20 times now. Here's to 20 more.
RIP John.
Dale Fuller
@Nick B well if there's anybody that can make you smile John Prine Bill Murray once said he was in a dark place for a long time and then he heard John Prine my Linda goes to Mars and it made him smile for the first time in months now go get yourself a cocktail vodka and ginger ale LOL
Nick B
20 times this week. Going through a breakup so pretty much listening to it 3 times a day lol
Yannick Omani
"Far From Me" still brings a wistful tear or two every time I listen to it. Watching the two great songwriters relive their youthful days thru this song is just awesome.
Hunt Life
i miss him and what songs he still had in his pocket
Dale Fuller
I went out and bought a few kazoos just to play along at the end
Ottis Merrydude
John Prine is not dead. Until the last person who ever heard his songs dies, he will never die. peace my brother.
Johnny Spoons
@Ottis Merrydude - lovely words. John used to have a house in Kinvarra, County Galway, in Ireland, not too far from where I live, so I sing there most weeks. I was privileged that he came into a pub where I was singing with a couple of friends one night. He was very kind - when the band played "Speed At The Sound Of Loneliness" we didn't even realise he was there!!!!!! Later, at the bar, he was kind enough to tell me he liked the version!!! What a gentleman.....
Thomas R
I feel this. Caught on to him too late to see him live, but to me he is still alive. Same goes for all of my favs whose legacies will not be soon forgotten. The real Papa John!!
Shawn Mcginnity
Amen to that us fans will keep that going for another 50 years or so thank you John