I came to John Prine rather late in my life. For years, my older brother, Mojoe Ryder, would rave about Prine, but I didn't quite understand the attraction. I was more in to The Moody Blues or Pink Floyd. But Prine grew on me...almost like toenail fungus. "Sam Stone", "Space Monkey", "Lake Marie", and, of course, "Angel From Montgomery". Songs that stick to you, in you, and on you. Prine-isms.
I saw Prine a few years back on his comeback tour after beating cancer for a second time (neck and lung). His dedicated followers flocked to Roanoke's Chernobyl Performance Center. I came in a curious attender and left a lifetime fan.
Some of my favorite times over the past twenty years or so are our family gatherings. No matter where my brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews gather, music is sure to sprout. Led by Mojoe Ryder and accompanied by Jesse Dukes, Prine songs abound. Sing-alongs. Tender ballads. Bawdy romps.
Last year, after 13 years, Prine released one of his best records ever, "The Tree of Forgiveness". The last song on the CD sort of frames his unique outlook on life and the after-life. As he struggles against Covid-19 with only one lung, Prine is still fighting to stay alive in this world. I think that's just to annoy his "syphylitic critics".
by John Prine
[Verse 1]
When I get to heaven, I'm gonna shake God's hand
Thank him for more blessings than one man can stand
Then I'm gonna get a guitar and start a rock-n-roll band
Check into a swell hotel; ain't the afterlife grand?
[Chorus]
And then I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah, I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl
'Cause this old man is goin' to town
[Verse 2]
Then as God as my witness, I'm gettin' back into show business
I'm gonna open up a nightclub called "The Tree of Forgiveness"
And forgive everybody ever done me any harm
Why, I might even invite a few choice critics, those syphilitic parasitics
Buy 'em a pint of Smithwick's and smother 'em with my charm
[Chorus]
'Cause then I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl
Yeah this old man is goin' to town
[Verse 3]
Yeah when I get to heaven, I'm gonna take that wristwatch off my arm
What are you gonna do with time after you've bought the farm?
And them I'm gonna go find my mom and dad, and good old brother Doug
Well I'll bet him and cousin Jackie are still cuttin' up a rug
I wanna see all my mama's sisters, 'cause that's where all the love starts
I miss 'em all like crazy, bless their little hearts
And I always will remember these words my daddy said
He said, "Buddy, when you're dead, you're a dead pecker-head"
I hope to prove him wrong... that is, when I get to heaven
[Chorus]
'Cause I'm gonna have a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl
Yeah this old man is goin' to town
Yeah this old man is goin' to town
No comments:
Post a Comment