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.
We Are the Lonely
John Prine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a girl I swear I never see
I hear the ringing of her phone
She must live up there all alone
She hangs her clothes out on the line
They're hanging there right next to mine
And if the wind should blow just right
She could be in my arms tonight
[Chorus]
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone
The cashier at the pump & pay
Knows everything's gonna be okay
The all night all right rent-a-cop
Is across the street at the doughnut shop
The waitress waits with whiskey sour
At the single mingle happy hour
The one man band begins to sing
Accompanied by a drum machine
[Chorus]
White divorced swinging male
Seeks company to no avail
Worthless ruthless toothless man
Wants wealthy woman with a plan
SWF with a PhD
Seeks TLC at the A&P
GWM nice and trim
Seeks s-e-x at the g-y-m
Ugly man treats girls like dirt
Wants buttons sewn upon his shirt
DUI at the b-a-r
Seeks m-a-n with c-a-r
[Chorus: x2]
Toothy gal with breasts so large
Takes Visa Amex Master Charge
Dial 1-900 girls for fun
You lonely little hot dog bun
John Prine’s song, We Are the Lonely, narrates the story of people living in a shared living space of a building. In the first verse, the singer talks about his neighbor living upstairs, whom he has never seen but has heard the phone ringing indicating she lives alone. He talks about how their clothes are hung on the same line, creating an intimate setting where his neighbor could be in his arms for the night. The chorus comes in, signifying that all these people living in that building are together, but at the same time, they’re intensely alone.
The second verse continues to describe the other inhabitants of the building. The cashier at the pump and pay seems to know that everything is going to be fine. Further down the street, the rent-a-cop is eating in the doughnut shop, while the waitress is waiting at her job. The setting continues: the one-man band starts singing, accompanied by a drum machine. In each case, there is a listlessness that finds life in ironic or humorous ways.
The last verse talks about other acquaintances of the singer, and the conditions in which they find themselves. Each person is lonely, and like the chorus, they are all alone. The song establishes a feeling of communal solitude, that people are in the same condition, even if the specifics of their loneliness are different. John Prine's song 'We Are the Lonely' presents an emotionally powerful statement about the shared human condition of loneliness, even if it is expressed ironically.
Line by Line Meaning
Down the hall upstairs from me
There's someone who lives near me, but I don't really know her.
There's a girl I swear I never see
I have never actually seen her before.
I hear the ringing of her phone
I can hear when she gets a phone call.
She must live up there all alone
I think she lives by herself.
She hangs her clothes out on the line
I see her clothes hanging on a clothesline outside.
They're hanging there right next to mine
Her clothes are right next to mine.
And if the wind should blow just right
If the wind blows a certain way...
She could be in my arms tonight
...I could imagine that we're together.
We are the lonely all together
We are all lonely in our own way.
All together we're all alone
But despite being together, we're all still alone.
The cashier at the pump & pay
The person who works at the gas station...
Knows everything's gonna be okay
...is optimistic about life.
The all night all right rent-a-cop
The security guard who works all night...
Is across the street at the doughnut shop
...is currently across the street at the doughnut shop.
The waitress waits with whiskey sour
The waitress is waiting for someone to order a whiskey sour.
At the single mingle happy hour
It's happy hour at a nearby bar where singles mingle.
The one man band begins to sing
A man who performs music by himself is about to start playing.
Accompanied by a drum machine
He's using a machine to make drum sounds.
White divorced swinging male
A single white man who likes to have sex with different partners...
Seeks company to no avail
...is trying to find somebody to be with but hasn't been successful.
Worthless ruthless toothless man
An unpleasant man with no teeth...
Wants wealthy woman with a plan
...is looking for a rich woman who has her life together.
SWF with a PhD
Single white female with a PhD...
Seeks TLC at the A&P
...is trying to find love at the grocery store.
GWM nice and trim
Gay white male who's in good shape...
Seeks s-e-x at the g-y-m
...is looking for sex at the gym.
Ugly man treats girls like dirt
An unattractive man who treats women poorly...
Wants buttons sewn upon his shirt
...wants someone to sew buttons on his shirt.
DUI at the b-a-r
Someone who's been drinking and driving...
Seeks m-a-n with c-a-r
...is looking for a man who has a car.
Toothy gal with breasts so large
A woman with big teeth and big breasts...
Takes Visa Amex Master Charge
...accepts credit cards as payment.
Dial 1-900 girls for fun
Call this number to talk to girls for fun...
You lonely little hot dog bun
...if you're feeling lonely like a hot dog bun.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Gary Tolbert Nicholson, John E Prine
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind