Songs For Saturday: John Prine

Hi there! Welcome to Songs For Saturday, my weekly blog forum where I post about songs I like.

Most of the songs I usually post about are tunes that I've heard from years ago and they've been on a playback loop inside my brain probably since childhood.

Today's post is about music I just discovered. 

Today's post is about John Prine.

As I noted in last week's  Songs For Saturday, I had heard of John Prine and listened to others wax rhapsodic about his skills as a songwriter and a performer. But I never sought out his music. 

It took his death to compel me to do that.

And I feel bad about that. I sincerely wish that I known of John Prine's music sooner.  

What I discovered was a man of considerable talent and skill. His way with lyrics to pluck our heart strings with heartfelt emotion is remarkable. The resonation of sadness in his words match the sadness in my own heart. 

And the lifting joy of humor in his songs lifts my own heart from that sadness. 

I get why so many people have spoken so passionately about the music of John Prine. 

Up first is a quirky little song or what John calls in his introduction, "an epic" involving planets and the end of the world. Here is "Lonesome Friends of Science" performed live by John Prine on January 20, 2018.   

The Earth is not my home. I just get my mail here. 

I love this sentiment. 

Last week I posted a link to a song called "Paradise", a haunting lament to a town lost to strip mining. (Click here if you want to hear it again.)  

John was not afraid to get political in his music and sadly, his songs remain relevant to modern life, long after the songs were written.  Like for instance this next song. John wrote this song about the conflation of patriotism and religion at the peak of the Vietnam War.  But the message and the warning of the dangers of mixing patriotism and religion are just as pertinent today. From a live performance in 2010, here is John Prine with "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore."  

John Prine remained a creative force in his later years. Just two years ago, he released a new album of music which is what brought him to the stage of the Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Joining John Prine are Brandi Carlile and Sturgill Simpson with "Summer's End".  

I'm going to let Stephen Colbert more eloquently express his admiration of John Prine. This video also includes a beautiful version of John Prine's "Hello In There" by Brandi Carlile.  

I said I felt sad for not discovering the music of John Prine until after he died. But I am grateful for the music he produced in his lifetime and I grateful to find out what everyone was raving about. 

Thank you for dropping by and letting me share some of John Prine's music. 

Stay safe, remember to be good to one another. 

And to everyone hunkered down in our time of isolation, "Hello in there."