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.
The Hobo Song
John Prine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When lonely men would wander
Through this land
Rolling aimlessly along
So many times
I've heard of their sad story
Written in the words
Of dead men's songs
Down through the years
Many men have yearned
For freedom
Some found it
Only on the open road
So many tears of blood
Have fell around us
'Cause you can't always do what you are told.
Please tell me where
Have all the hobos gone to
I see no fire burning down
By the rusty railroad track
Could it be that time
Has gone and left them
Tied up in life's eternal traveling sack.
Last Sunday night
I wrote a letter
To my loved one
I signed my name
And knew I'd stayed away
Too long
There was a time
When my heart was free to wander
And I remember as I sing
This hobo song
John Prine's song The Hobo Song follows a narrative about the wandering, lonely men of the past who used to roam aimlessly through the land. The lyrics describe these men as sometimes finding freedom only on the open road, and how many of them lived in sorrow, as they couldn't always follow what they were told to do. The chorus then poses the question, "Please tell me where have all the hobos gone to?", pondering whether these men have vanished into the pages of history, stuck forever in their endless travels. Finally, in the last verse, Prine himself writes a letter to his loved one, reminiscing about the time his heart was free to wander and his regret for staying away for too long.
The song reflects on the American tradition of hoboing, where itinerant workers traveled by freight train and hitchhiking in search of work during the Great Depression. The deep sense of introspective longing in Prine's lyrics resonates with freedom-seeking individuals everywhere. It illustrates the profound impact of circular journeys and return in one's life and how even when roads of life are rough, they continue to remain vital.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a time
There was an era in the past
When lonely men would wander
When men who had no family or friends would aimlessly travel
Through this land
Through the country
Rolling aimlessly along
Traveling without a clear destination or purpose
So many times
Very frequently
I've heard of their sad story
I've learned about their unfortunate lives
Written in the words
Documented in the lyrics
Of dead men's songs
Of songs composed by deceased individuals
Down through the years
Over time
Many men have yearned
A lot of individuals have had a strong desire
For freedom
For liberty and independence
Some found it
Some achieved it
Only on the open road
Exclusively on the highways
So many tears of blood
So much anguish and pain
Have fell around us
Have affected us
'Cause you can't always do what you are told.
Because following orders isn't always possible
Please tell me where
Kindly indicate to me the location
Have all the hobos gone to
Did all the wanderers leave
I see no fire burning down
I don't see any flames lighting up
By the rusty railroad track
Next to the corroded railway line
Could it be that time
Is it possible that the period
Has gone and left them
Has passed and abandoned them
Tied up in life's eternal traveling sack.
Confined in an never-ending journey in life
Last Sunday night
The previous Sunday evening
I wrote a letter
I composed a message
To my loved one
To the person I care for
I signed my name
I put my signature
And knew I'd stayed away
And realized I had been gone for too long
Too long
For an excessive amount of time
There was a time
There existed an era
When my heart was free to wander
When I had no constraints on where to travel
And I remember as I sing
And I recollect while I perform
This hobo song
This anthem of the wandering vagrants
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: John Prine
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind