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.
Summer's End
John Prine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The swimming suits are on the line just dryin'
I'll meet you there per our conversation
I hope I didn't ruin your whole vacation
Well you never know how far from home you're feelin'
Until you've watched the shadows cross the ceilin'
Well, I don't know but I can see it snowin'
Just come on home
Come on home
No, you don't have to be alone
Just come on home
Valentines break hearts and minds at random
That ol' Easter egg ain't got a leg to stand on
Well I can see that you can't win for tryin'
And New Year's Eve is bound to leave you cryin'
Come on home
Come on home
No, you don't have to be alone
Just come on home
The moon and stars hang out in bars just talkin'
I still love that picture of us walking
Just like that ol' house we thought was haunted
Summer's end came faster than we wanted
Come on home
Come on home
No you don't have to be alone
Come on home
Come on home
No you don't have to be alone
Just come on home
John Prine's "Summer's End" is a poignant contemplation of the passage of time and the changing of the seasons. In the first verse, Prine sets the scene for the end of summer, with swimming suits left out to dry as he heads to a previously arranged meeting. However, he expresses some anxiety about the meeting, wondering if he's inadvertently caused offense: "I hope I didn't ruin your whole vacation." This anxiety could be read as emblematic of wider concerns about the passage of time - each summer comes to an end, and each year brings new challenges that we may or may not be adequately prepared for.
These broader concerns become more explicit in the second verse, as Prine notes that "you never know how far from home you're feeling until you've watched the shadows cross the ceiling." This simple image is loaded with meaning: it speaks to the idea that we're all subject to the passage of time, and that the inevitability of old age and death can make us feel increasingly isolated and disconnected from the world around us. Prine goes on to suggest that, in the face of this, we need to find ways of connecting with others and finding comfort in shared experiences. The final verse, with its references to Valentine's Day, Easter, and New Year's Eve, captures this sense of shared experience, as well as the loneliness that can come with feeling like an outsider looking in.
Taken as a whole, "Summer's End" is a beautiful, elegiac song that speaks to some of the most profound truths about the human experience. Through its evocative imagery and heartfelt lyrics, it captures the bittersweet beauty of life - the fact that everything is fleeting, but that we can still find comfort and meaning in our connections with others.
Line by Line Meaning
Summer's end around the bend just flyin'
The end of summer is approaching quickly and seemingly without warning.
The swimming suits are on the line just dryin'
Summer is ending, and people are putting away their swimsuits for the season.
I'll meet you there per our conversation
We had previously arranged to meet, and I will be there.
I hope I didn't ruin your whole vacation
I am concerned that something I did may have negatively impacted your entire vacation.
Well you never know how far from home you're feelin'
Sometimes you don't realize how disconnected you are from your roots until you're far away from home.
Until you've watched the shadows cross the ceilin'
Watching the shadows move across the ceiling of a room can emphasize your feelings of displacement.
Well, I don't know but I can see it snowin'
It's not actually snowing, but I can sense that winter is coming.
In your car, the windows are wide open
You're letting the cool breeze in, even though it's getting cooler outside.
Just come on home
I want you to come back to your roots.
No, you don't have to be alone
You don't have to be by yourself.
Valentines break hearts and minds at random
Valentine's Day can be a difficult holiday that causes emotional pain unpredictably.
That ol' Easter egg ain't got a leg to stand on
Easter has lost some of its meaning and significance.
Well I can see that you can't win for tryin'
You're struggling even though you're trying your best.
And New Year's Eve is bound to leave you cryin'
New Year's Eve can often bring feelings of sadness and tears.
The moon and stars hang out in bars just talkin'
Nature is always there, and we take it for granted while it simply exists.
I still love that picture of us walking
I have a cherished memory of a time when we walked together.
Just like that ol' house we thought was haunted
That old house has a spooky history or stories surrounding it.
Summer's end came faster than we wanted
The end of summer arrived too soon and wasn't something we were ready for.
Come on home
I want you to come back to your roots.
Come on home
I want you to come back to your roots.
No you don't have to be alone
You don't have to be by yourself.
Come on home
I want you to come back to your roots.
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: John E Prine, Patrick James McLaughlin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@katherinehunter9526
@@sjoh104041
My heart is breaking too.
I'd trade places with John in a heart beat.
I go from crying to singing his songs as I try and do something around here today.
But to be honest, I haven't done anything all day, but feed and care for my cat's, and singing along with Bonnie Raitt and John Prine.
And damning this virus for attacking him.
My prayers go out to you J.P that you may find peace, love and health.
🤞💞🎶🙏
KEH 🇨🇦
@gwilsher16
My husband was older than me and was a fan of folk music and listened to Prine. He passed away a year and a half ago and now I search endlessly for him through Prine's lyrics. My husband wasn't a huge communicator but now I understand how deeply he felt being connected to his music. I feel him in the music.
@mackenzieobrien510
Thank you for sharing! Music really is a part of us! I hope you experience him again and again through John's music!
@ThePot80
Beautiful post. ❤
@colinsacks8200
@@ThePot80 This is my cover of John Prine's song about old folks. I am one now, and still love the song. I will keep doing John Prine songs until I too am gone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koaOUA76p9Q
@ATPMolloy1
I am 72 years old, I have been listening to this man for ABOUT FOUR WEEKS!! - Just four bloody weeks - How did this genius get past me for all those years. I am into lyrics, Dylan, Kristofferson, Shane McGowan, I do not know whether to be overjoyed at "discovering" him or distraught at the lost time.
@theduck848
Be overjoyed Andrew. Enjoy the gift.
@gregsmht40
Me as well 👍🏼🇺🇸
@sharonazar1
my thoughts exactly!! at least we are fortunate enough to have discovered this beautiful, deep heart and precious voice...
@brandonshaw7619
I don't know if he has acted in any others but check out the movie Daddy and Them. It's a Billy Bob Thornton vehicle but it's got some of the greatest actors in it its kind of a dark comedy but johns in it it came out I think 01 or 03.
@biscodawg
Andrew Molloy are you familiar with Townes Van Zandt? I discovered him 1.5 years ago after watching a band cover one of his songs and it moved me. So started digging around his catalog and the journey through his music has profoundly changed me. It even lead me to discovering John Prine. I'd recommend Live at the Old Quarter as a good starting place if your interested. Take care