The singing mailman delivers John Prine was born in 1946 in Maywood, Ill. He grew up listening to the country music his dad dialed in on the family's Zenith radio and began playing guitar in his early teens. After a stint in the Army in his 20s, Prine returned to Illinois and got a job as a mailman. He wrote songs on his route and eventually began performing them at Chicago clubs.
John Prine was one of Bob Dylan's 25 musical heroes "Prine's stuff is pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mindtrips to the nth degree. And he writes beautiful songs. I remember when Kris Kristofferson first brought him on the scene. All that stuff about Sam Stone the soldier junky daddy and Donald and Lydia, where people make love from ten miles away. Nobody but Prine could write like that. If I had to pick one song of his, it might be Lake Marie. I don't remember what album that's on," Dylan told MTV producer Bill Flanagan. The song is almost entirely narrated. ------------------------------- Lake Marie CHORUS: We were standing Standing by peaceful waters Standing by peaceful waters Whoa wah oh wha oh Many years ago along the Illinois-Wisconsin border There was this Indian tribe They found two babies in the woods, white babies One of them was named Elizabeth She was the fairer of the two While the smaller and more fragile one was named Marie Having never seen white girls before And living on the two lakes known as the Twin Lakes They named the larger and more beautiful Lake, Lake Elizabeth And thus the smaller lake that was hidden from the highway Became known forever as Lake Marie CHORUS Many years later I found myself talking to this girl Who was standing there with her back turned to Lake Marie The wind was blowing especially through her hair There was four Italian sausages cooking on the outdoor grill And they was sssizzlin' Many years later we found ourselves in Canada Trying to save our marriage, and perhaps catch a few fish Whatever came first That night she fell asleep in my arms Humming the tune to 'Louie Louie' Aah baby, we gotta go now CHORUS The dogs were barking as the cars were parking The loan sharks were sharking the narcs were narcing Practically everyone was there In the parking lot by the forest preserve The police had found two bodies Nay, naked bodies Their faces had been horribly disfigured by some sharp object I saw it on the news The TV news In a black and white video You know what blood looks like in a black and white video? Shadows, shadows that's what it looks like All the love we shared between her and me was slammed Slammed up against the banks of old Lake Marie, Marie
Dallas Austin, Cat Stevens, John Prine, Jack Tempchin, Tom T. Hall, and Missy Elliott, will become the latest inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, at the organization’s 50th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner, on June 13, 2019 in New York City.
This is a very pretty song, but the lyrics bother me. Not because they are sad, but because of the conclusion. Many comments praise Mr. Prine for being able to understand old people so well at only 25. I'm not so sure he, or those who commented, do. If I went to the park with hollow eyes, and strangers stopped by to say, "Hello, in there," I'm afraid it might seem like simply noise to me. . Maybe the most important message is hidden in these lines: Someday I'll go and call up Rudy. We worked together at the factory. But what could I say if he asks, "What's new?" "Nothing, what's with you? Nothing much to do."
I remember seeing those 'hollow eyes' working in the heart of the city for 8 years. Sitting on benches, under trees or just sitting waiting for something. His imagery in a song is what first drew me to his music. There's flies in the kitchen I can hear 'em there buzzing And I ain't done nothing since I woke up today. How the hell can a person go to work in the morning And come home in the evening and have nothing to say. - Angel from Montgomery And the sky is black and still now On the hill where the angels sing Ain't it funny how an old broken bottle Looks just like a diamond ring But it's far, far from me - Far From Me and a very personal song mirroring the life of a friend of mine. Sam stone came home to his wife and family After serving in the conflict overseas And the time that he served, had shattered all his nerves And left a little shrapnel in his knee But the morphine eased the pain And the grass grew round his brain And gave him all the confidence he lacked With a purple heart and a monkey on his back - Sam Stone
Thank you, Tim for your great post! I first heard "Sam Stone" when John Cash sang it in Austin City Limits. I later heard how he asked John Prine about changing a line in the lyrics.
@Joe Riley I knew the line that was referred to in the article without reading it. I did not post the chorus of Sam Stone because of the line. It is very important to the whole song, I just didn't want to have it as a a center for misunderstanding. " There's a hole in Daddy's arm, where all the money goes..." " Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios..." hits me so hard in that song.