John Prine at Carnegie Hall
January 6, 2008 by pistolpete
Question: What do Sergei Rachmaninoff,
Vladimir Horowitz,
Itzhak Perlman,
and John Prine
have in common?
Answer: They have all played Carnegie Hall.
Yes, John Prine - hillbilly prophet, country and western poet laurete, an honest-to-goodness Grammy-award-winning genuine American bard, has now played on the premier stage in the entertainment capital of the world. How this second-generation Kentuckian, former U.S. Postal worker made it from Maywood, Illinois to “the City that’s so great they named it twice” is the stuff that dreams are made of, and beyond the scope of this meager post.
If you want to learn more about the man as well as his music, I encourage, nay, implore you to visit The John Prine Shrine. Spend an afternoon, an evening, maybe even a week browsing around the site and you’ll learn everything you’d ever want to know about this “cancer-beatin’, country-singin’, easy-goin’ guy”.
As intrigued as I am by the life of John Prine, I’m even more interested in his music. Interested isn’t the word, exactly. I adore his music. His music is my personal golden calf.
Before they wheeled me in for surgery once, I talked them into letting me listen to John Prine on my headphones so I could relax enough to let the anesthesia kick in.
A woman who had once opened for John Prine played a concert at my college. I repeatedly demanded (somewhat loudly) that she play a Prine song. Fed up with me, she finally yelled back, “I only know how to play one of his songs and I don’t know the lyrics. Do you want to come up here and sing?” Without hesitation, I bounded up to the stage and sang (very poorly, but with great passion) Prine’s classic, “Paradise”.
At the rehearsal dinner for my wedding, I insisted that there be a tape of John Prine music playing in the background. Who cares if you can’t dance to it? You can live by it.
At my funeral, in addition to Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”, I want Prine’s “Please Don’t Bury Me” played, with everybody joining in on the chorus -
Please don’t bury me
Down in that cold cold ground
No, I’d druther have “em” cut me up
And pass me all around
Throw my brain in a hurricane
And the blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears
If they don’t mind the size
I’ve shared many stories in this blog about the intersection of John Prine’s music and my life (see “A Shrine to John Prine”). In honor of his Carnegie Hall debut, I’ll share one more.
Since moving to Long Island, I have felt more than a little measure of culture shock. I am a man who requires personal space. There is no such thing as personal space on Long Island. There are people everywhere. You can’t shake a stick without hitting a dozen of them. And some can get right in your face. Our first week here we had 3 different salesmen come to the door pretending to be neighbors. One barged into the house and spilled something all over the carpet just to show his product could clean it up.
There are people absolutely everywhere. I walk to work and back each day and see a lot of people out in their yards. Being part-Kentuckian, I feel obliged to smile and wave at everybody I see. My arm was starting to feel like it would fall off and my face was sticking in a permanent grin.
Then, for my birthday I got an iPod. One of the great things about iPods is that when you use them, people accept that you are in a different world. It is as if you have a space helmet on and you’re on a trip to the moon. You are in your own personal space, sharing it only with whoever is singing or playing or talking through those little buds into your ears.
Right away I knew who I wanted most to share my space with - John Prine. Through the library, I got every John Prine CD I could scarf up and programmed those puppies right into that marvelous 3-inch machine.
Prine’s latest recording, Fair and Square, has a song that is just perfect for my walk to and from work. It expresses that sense of un-ease about people occupying your space, and the restorative peace of getting out and just going wherever your two feet might carry you. It is entitled, simply enough, “Taking a Walk”.
Taking A Walk
© John Prine & Pat McLaughlin
A man came to our house
I believe it was yesterday
I would have invited him in
But I didn’t have a lot to sayHis anticipation of me opening the door
Outweighed my apprehension as it never had before
And drove my concentration
Right through that hardwood floorI’m taking a walk
I’m going outside
I’m taking a walk
I’m just getting byThere’s a girl in the white house
I don’t even know her name
Her disheveled appearance
Speaks volumes of shameIt’s an embarrassing situation
But a situation just the same
The way she walks on others
And never takes the blame
Upsets my constitution
Beyond its mortal frameOo-oo a-ha
I’m taking a walk
I’m going outside
I’m watching the birds
I’m just getting byFound a card in the pocket
Of my worn out overalls
From a girl in Cedar Rapids
Now residing in Idaho FallsI wish you could have been there
When she opened up the door
And looked me in the face
Like she never did before
I felt about as welcome
As a Wal-Mart Superstore0o-oo - a-ha
I’m taking a walk
I’m going outside
I’m taking a walk
I don’t need a rideI’m watching the birds
Flying so high
{To order John Prine music and other products, visit the company store at Oh Boy records.}
Love it pistol. I love music that is complex enough to encompass a whole life. Got my hands on Patty Griffin over Christmas….actually it was only a cd - 1000 kisses - and found some wonderful music there.
The Pistol fires back: Patty Griffin, huh? I’ve heard of her. I may have heard some of her music, but I’m not sure. I just put Lucinda Williams’ debut recording on my iPod. If you’re looking for an earthy, brilliant poet/singer, check her out.
you said: “One barged into the house and spilled something all over the carpet just to show his product could clean it up.”
LOLOL — only a new yorker would have the chuzpah to do that.
and then: ” Being part-Kentuckian, I feel obliged to smile and wave at everybody I see.”
Didn’t any of the new yorkers tell you they don’t trust people who walk around smiling and waving??!
Thanks for the heads up. Great songs.
The Pistol fires back: You know, I was getting a lot of suspicious looks from folks I waved to. Actually, the Long Island community where I live is very friendly. I live in an “early sub-division” (1950s) where the houses have character (no cookie-cutter models like they build today). My church is within a mile away, in a quaint village that has good delis, coffee shops, ethnic restaurants, and a fantastic library. It’s actually very nice here. When I get over my culture shock, we hope to settle in for quite a while.
I am a Dylan fan from the mid sixties and I wish he would play sets like Prine, with 3 pieces, calm and quiet. I have about 4 Prine albums and 4 or 5 live shows. I have seen him 4 times all in the last 5 years. I love his music dearly! What a wit!
The last time I saw him in an amphitheatre in PA last year he brought his two boys out at the end of the show. I couldn’t go to Carnegie last night but would have loved to. I am interested in hearing about the show, a set list whatever. My friend who turned me on to JP went, so I will ask him soon enough.
It was a pleasure to read your thoughts above. I agree with many of the things you said and share a love for PP. Loved watching him play (only on tv) at LSU. I’m 51 and still play hoops and sometimes envision him when I hit nice long jumper or make an awesome pass. I grew up with his cousin and we played bball together. Once my friend went to NYC to meet his cousin during an NIT trip at MSG. My friend brought back some drills for us to try with the ball dropping between our legs and we had to catch it before it hit the ground. I smiled when I saw the same tips incorporated into the movie that I recently saw on Yogi and a movie.
My daughter went to Hofstra and I hear you about LI. I live on the Jersey shore, little more quiet down here especially in the winter.
Take care.
It’s gonna be a llooonnnnggggg Monday.
The Pistol fires back:
I love Dylan’s poetry, but the times I’ve seen him perform on TV, I’ve been less than impressed. He seems to fit much more the artistic recluse than Prine, who is just a good old boy who wants to have a good time with his friends.
Though you’ve only seen Prine in the past 5 years, better late than never. His lyrics are timeless. His voice has certainly taken a beating, but in a sense, it’s added texture and character. I went to Prine concerts between the years of 1985-1991, when he was building up Oh Boy records, before he gained much public acclaim (with Grammys, etc…). Still, there’s no bad time to see/hear Prine.
I found some info on the Carnegie Hall concert at the John Prine Shrine site (http://jpshrine.org) I found an entry from one of the concert goers in the forum section (you have to register, but it was easy) in a thread whose title began with “Concerts…” It gives the set list and a general overview. I gained the impression he’s slipping a bit (as any 64 year old has the right to do).
I’m only 43, so I don’t remember the Pistol in his college days, but even as he struggled through the pros, his legend grew. After reading a short biography of him, I was hooked. I became Pistol Pete. I did those drills you mentioned incessantly, constantly carried a basketball with me, everywhere. But, I just couldn’t develop the talent. I could dribble and pass with anybody, but never had the shooter’s touch the Pistol had. I continued playing until a few years ago, when I was in a car accident and herneiated 3 discs in my lower neck.
I hear good things about Hofstra. Hope she enjoys it there.
Funny you should mention “Long Monday”. I was just listening to that walking in this morning and thinking of doing a post on it.
Thanks for weighing in and sharing your love for two greats.
Thanks for the notes. I’d gotten my wife tickets for Christmas but she kept telling everybody (rightly) I got them for myself and invited her along. Well, fate stepped in and my 102-year-old grandmother died and due to a mix-up with the funeral director the funeral was pushed from Wednesday to Saturday, at the other end of NYS. I gave the tickets to some high school friends who “sort of” knew about Prine, mostly through tapes I’ve made for them over the years and they had a great time.
I constantly have lyrics pop into my head that are triggered by whatever is going on around me and John Prine clearly supplies the most lines in the soundtrack of my life. After all, it’s a big old goofy world.
The Pistol fires back: It was great you passed on the legacy of his music to a new generation. It amazes me how Prine’s songs describe the lives of so many people, as if he were speaking to us one-at-a-time. And they are so timeless. The same songs spoke to me as a wide-eyed 19-year-old out to conquer the world as they now do to me as a 43-year-old struggling to get by day-to-day. And his new songs speak just as clear. I would be interested to know if those teenagers who went to the concert find his songs just as meaningful.
Mr. P has been at Carnegie before. I saw him back in 79 after the release of his Pink Cadillac LP. He had a full electric band and Rick Danko opened the show.
The Pistol fires back: Good piece of info from a true, blue fan. That surprises me, actually. Though before my “Prine Time”, I understood his Pink Cadillac days were rocky with the record label (In fact, I think he left to form “Oh Boy” after that). I’m surprised they booked him at Carnegie. How did it go?