Spanish Pipedream "Prine himself never went as far as blowing up his own TV, but he did mount an attack on his own boob tube. 'I used to keep a small bowl of real fine pebbles that I picked up on my mail route, and if somebody said something really stupid on T.V., I’d throw some at the screen.'
"Prine’s father Bill was a factory worker and union president who introduced his son to country music. The younger Prine says he always wrote with hopes of impressing his father, which he finally did on “Paradise,” about his parents’ Kentucky home. But Bill Prine didn’t live to see his son’s success; just before Prine’s first album came out on Atlantic Records, he died of a heart attack on the front porch in Maywood, Illinois. John had been with him earlier that day." "Just like he did with every trauma in his life, John wrote about it. Over several verses he evokes the helplessness, anxiety and pain he was feeling: “The cuckoo clock has died of shock and the windows feel no pane,” Prine sings, “The air’s as still as the throttle of a funeral train.” "After an ominous series of observations, only in the last verse does Prine tell us who the song is about: “My father died on the porch outside on an August afternoon/ I sipped bourbon and cried / With a friend by the light of the moon.” John Prine & Josh Ritter - "Mexican Home" (Live)
The things one can find if they open their eyes! I've liked John Prine for a long, long time but I had no idea this thread was here until today. Such good stuff!
John Prine Meets Kris Kristofferson: How One Night In Chicago Changed Country Music Forever John Prine and Kris Krisotfferson © Provided by Whiskey Riff