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.
Quit Hollerin' at Me
John Prine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't want your car
I don't want to buy no soap
From no washed-up movie star
You are so much louder
Than the show I want to hear
With your sugarless gum
Gee, but I'm dumb
It's enough to make a grown man
Blow up his own TV
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
I heard you the first time
I heard myself say
Seems like the little woman
Is getting bigger every day
You don't have to tell the neighbors
A little silence ain't no sin
They already think my name is
Where in the hell you been?
Louder, louder, louder, louder, louder
Constantly
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Whoa oh whoa oh
Sweet Serenity
Whoa oh whoa oh
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Ain't it great at the end of the day
When there ain't no sound around
Just me and the fence post
Staring each other down
Nothing but a big bunch of nothing
Driving me insane
Cause there ain't no voice that's louder
Than the one inside my brain
Hey you go on
Go on and let me be
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Whoa oh whoa oh
Sweet Serenity
Whoa oh whoa oh
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
The lyrics to John Prine's song "Quit Hollerin' at Me" tell the story of a man who is tired of being hollered at by his partner, and simply wants some peace and quiet. He doesn't want any of the material possessions or products that his partner is offering him, he just wants to be allowed to listen to the show he wants to hear and to have some silence in his life. The constant noise and chaos of his surroundings, including his partner's incessant yelling, are driving him insane, and he longs for the "sweet serenity" of a quiet life.
One possible interpretation of the song is that it is a commentary on the pressures and expectations of modern life, and the way that constant noise and stimulation can wear a person down. The singer of the song is overwhelmed by the demands of his job, his family, and his partner, and he longs to escape the noise and chaos of his surroundings. The refrain of "quit hollerin' at me" can be seen as a plea for the world to slow down and give him some peace.
Overall, the lyrics to "Quit Hollerin' at Me" are a poignant commentary on the frustrations and stresses of modern life, and the need for quiet and solitude in order to maintain one's sanity. The song is a testament to John Prine's gift for storytelling and his ability to capture the complexity and nuance of the human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want your big French Fry
I do not desire anything you may want to offer me, including your large French fry
I don't want your car
I have no interest in owning your automobile
I don't want to buy no soap, From no washed-up movie star
I am not interested in purchasing soap from a has-been actor
You are so much louder, Than the show I want to hear
You're speaking too loudly and preventing me from enjoying the show I want to listen to
With your sugarless gum, Gee, but I'm dumb, Non-alcoholic beer
Your sugar-free chewing gum and my intentional consumption of non-alcoholic beer make me feel foolish
It's enough to make a grown man, Blow up his own TV, Quit hollerin' at me, Quit hollerin' at me
The irritation is severe enough to make a grown man destroy his TV and plead for you to stop speaking loudly at him
I heard you the first time, I heard myself say
I heard you from the beginning and I also heard myself acknowledging that fact
Seems like the little woman, Is getting bigger every day
It appears that my wife is steadily gaining weight
You don't have to tell the neighbors, A little silence ain't no sin, They already think my name is, Where in the hell you been?
You don't need to inform our neighbors that I like quietness; they already have a negative opinion of me
Louder, louder, louder, louder, louder, Constantly
You continue to speak louder, louder, and louder all the time
Whoa oh whoa oh, Sweet Serenity, Whoa oh whoa oh
The peace and quietness is highly enjoyable
Ain't it great at the end of the day, When there ain't no sound around, Just me and the fence post, Staring each other down
Isn't it wonderful when the day ends, there is complete silence, and I can simply stare at a fence post
Nothing but a big bunch of nothing, Driving me insane, Cause there ain't no voice that's louder, Than the one inside my brain
The emptiness is making me crazy because the voice inside my head is louder than anything else
Hey you go on, Go on and let me be, Quit hollerin' at me, Quit hollerin' at me
Please leave me alone and stop speaking loudly at me
Quit hollerin' at me, Quit hollerin' at me
Stop screaming at me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Gary Tolbert Nicholson, John E Prine
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind