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.
Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You
John Prine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seems like all we do is fight
The more I drink
The less I feel blue
Sometimes I feel like an awful fool
Spendin' my life on an old bar stool
And yes, I guess they oughta name a drink after you
Bloody Mary
If this date were to be our last
I'd never sit down this glass
It'd take all the booze in the world
To forget you
You've left my heart a vacant lot
I'll fill it with another shot
And yes, I guess they oughta name a drink after you
Near beer
Looks like I had my fill
Guess I better pay my bill
When I started out I only meant to have a few
Someone just said that you left town
I better get a double round
And yes I guess they oughta name a drink after you
Yes, I guess they oughta name a drink after you
The song "Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You" by John Prine tells the story of a man who drinks every night to forget his troubles, particularly a woman who has left him. The lyrics express a sense of despair and hopelessness, with the man feeling like an "awful fool" for spending his life on a bar stool. The more he drinks, the less he feels blue, but he also knows that he's just numbing the pain and not actually dealing with the root of the problem.
In the second verse, the man acknowledges that if this were his last day on earth, he still wouldn't be able to stop drinking to forget the woman who left him. He compares his heart to a vacant lot that he tries to fill with another shot, as if alcohol can replace the love that he lost. In the final verse, he realizes that the woman has left town, but instead of trying to move on, he decides to have another drink in her honor, suggesting that she deserves to have a drink named after her.
The song does not glorify or romanticize drinking, but rather portrays it as a coping mechanism for emotional pain. It shines a light on the dangers of alcohol abuse and how it can lead to self-destructive behavior. The lyrics are infused with a sense of irony, as the man suggests naming drinks after the woman who has caused him so much pain, highlighting the absurdity of trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, I get drunk most every night
I consume alcohol almost every night
Seems like all we do is fight
It appears that we constantly argue
The more I drink
The less I feel blue
Drinking alcohol tends to reduce my depression
Sometimes I feel like an awful fool
Spendin' my life on an old bar stool
At times, I feel foolish for spending my entire life at a bar
And yes, I guess they oughta name a drink after you
Bloody Mary
It would be appropriate to have a beverage named after you, for example, a Bloody Mary
If this date were to be our last
I'd never sit down this glass
It'd take all the booze in the world
To forget you
In case this were our final meeting, I would not consume alcohol. It would take an enormous quantity of alcohol to forget about you
You've left my heart a vacant lot
I'll fill it with another shot
And yes, I guess they oughta name a drink after you
Near beer
You've emptied my heart, and I'll refill it with another shot of 'near beer.' Hence, they should name a drink after you, such as 'near beer'
Looks like I had my fill
Guess I better pay my bill
When I started out I only meant to have a few
It seems that I've consumed enough alcohol. It's time to pay my bill. Initially, I only intended to consume a small amount
Someone just said that you left town
I better get a double round
And yes I guess they oughta name a drink after you
I just heard that you left town, and I will order two rounds of drinks. Yes, it would be appropriate to name a drink after you
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Prine
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind