The John Prine Smile

TOM HILL / WIREIMAGE / GETTY

A young man from a small town
With a very large imagination...

On the evening of April 7th, I knew I would be writing a John Prine blog post on the Monday following his passing. In reading the outpouring of love from his fans, journalists and artists in the music business, what could I say that already hasn't been said about one of the greatest singer-songwriters of his generation. Now John Prine's generation- being born in 1946 is a hallowed sweet spot in time, right after World War II where a mighty legion of singer-songwriters grew of age in the 1960's - 70's to carry folk into country and rock 'n' roll, and then back-to-the-future with Americana.

John Prine's 1971 self-titled first album, John Prine is a masterpiece of songwriting and I was thinking about that album this past week and thought, "did he ever write a bad song?" Then, I thought about doing a comprehensive playlist, and that would be something like 150+ songs. Or, how about doing what many of the news outlets were doing, something like a "John Prine Essentials" list that would include songs like Sam Stone, Hello in There, Angel From Montgomery, Paradise, and the epic Lake Marie.

Then I started thinking about the #hashtag James Taylor has been using in several of his recent social media posts- #SongsOfComfort based on Yo Yo Ma's call for finding songs to help people at home during this pandemic.

That is when it hit me, how about just playing some of the fun and goofy songs where John's writing is the invention of a fun puzzle, an engaging mind-game within himself... the John Prine smile. Songs like, It's A Big Ol' Goofy World and Linda Goes to Mars, where even after the first, second and countless listens, the writer's expression is received... in your smile.

So here's a few of my favorite John Prine smiles that are worthy of the tag #FunSongs, #SongsOfComfort, or songs that simply define #CreativeWriting. Please take time to read the lyrics before playing each video as John's words are a collective bond that have touched so many of us deep to our core.

It's A Big Old Goofy World

Up in the morning

Work like a dog

Is better than sitting

Like a bump on a log

Mind all your manners

Be quiet as a mouse

Some day you'll own a home

That's as big as a house

I know a fella

He eats like a horse

Knocks his old balls

Round the old golf course

You oughta see his wife

She's a cute little dish

She smokes like a chimney

And drinks like a fish

There's a big old goofy man

Dancing with a big old goofy girl

Ooh baby

It's a big old goofy world

Now Elvis had a woman

With a head like a rock

I wished I had a woman

That made my knees knock

She'd sing like an angel

And eat like a bird

And if I wrote a song

She'd know ever single word

Kiss a little baby

Give the world a smile

If you take an inch

Give 'em back a mile

Cause if you lie like a rug

And you don't give a damn

You're never gonna be

As happy as a clam

So I'm sitting in a hotel

Trying to write a song

My head is just as empty

As the day is long

Why it's clear as a bell

I should have gone to school

I'd be wise as an owl

Stead of stubborn as a mule. 

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In Spite Of Ourselves

(feat. Iris DeMent)

She don't like her eggs all runny

She thinks crossin' her legs is funny

She looks down her nose at money

She gets it on like the Easter Bunny

She's my baby I'm her honey

I'm never gonna let her go

He ain't got laid in a month of Sundays

I caught him once and he was sniffin' my undies

He ain't too sharp but he gets things done

Drinks his beer like it's oxygen

He's my baby

And I'm his honey

Never gonna let him go

In spite of ourselves

We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow

Against all odds

Honey, we're the big door prize

We're gonna spite our noses

Right off of our faces

There won't be nothin' but big old hearts

Dancin' in our eyes.

She thinks all my jokes are corny

Convict movies make her horny

She likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs

Swears like a sailor when shaves her legs

She takes a lickin'

And keeps on tickin'

I'm never gonna let her go.

He's got more balls than a big brass monkey

He's a whacked out weirdo and a lovebug junkie

Sly as a fox and crazy as a loon

Payday comes and he's howlin' at the moon

He's my baby I don't mean maybe

Never gonna let him go

In spite of ourselves

We'll end up a sittin' on a rainbow

Against all odds

Honey, we're the big door prize

We're gonna spite our noses

Right off of our faces

There won't be nothin' but big old hearts

Dancin' in our eyes.

There won't be nothin' but big old hearts

Dancin' in our eyes.

[Spoken:]

In spite of ourselves

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Jesus, The Missing Years

[Spoken:]

Jesus... the missing years

It was raining. It was cold

West Bethlehem was no place for a twelve year old

So he packed his bags and he headed out

To find out what the world's about

He went to France. He went to Spain

He found love. He found pain.

He found stores so he started to shop

But he had no money so he got in trouble with a cop

Kids in trouble with the cops

From Israel didn't have no home

So he cut his hair and moved to Rome

It was there he met his Irish bride

And they rented a flat on the lower east side of Rome...

Italy that is

Music publishers, book binders, Bible belters, Money Changers,

Spoon Benders and lots of pretty Italian chicks.

[Chorus:]

Charley bought some popcorn

Billy bought a car

Someone almost bought the farm

But they didn't go that far

Things shut down at midnight

At least around here they do

Cause we all reside down the block

Inside at....23 Skidoo.

Wine was flowing so were beers

So Jesus found his missing years

So He went to a dance and said "This don't move me"

He hiked up his pants and he went to a movie

On his thirteenth birthday he saw "Rebel without a Cause"

He went straight on home and invented Santa Claus

Who gave him a gift and he responded in kind

He gave the gift of love and went out of his mind

You see him and the wife wasn't getting along

So he took out his guitar and he wrote a song

Called "The Dove of Love Fell Off the Perch"

But he couldn't get divorced in the Catholic Church

At least not back then anyhow

Jesus was a good guy he didn't need this shit

So he took a pill with a bag of peanuts and

A Coca-Cola and he swallowed it.

He discovered the Beatles

And he recorded with the Stones

Once He even opened up a three-way package

In Southern California for old George Jones

[Chorus]

The years went by like sweet little days

With babies crying pork chops and beaujolais

When he woke up he was seventeen

The world was angry. The world was mean.

Why the man down the street and the kid on the stoop

All agreed that life stank. All the world smelled like poop

Baby poop that is..the worst kind

So he grew his hair long and threw away his comb

And headed back to Jerusalem to find Mom, Dad and home

But when he got there the cupboard was bare

Except for an old black man with a fishing rod

He said "Whatcha gonna be when you grow up?"

Jesus said "God"

Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?

I'm a human corkscrew and all my wine is blood

They're gonna kill me Mama. They don't like me Bud.

So Jesus went to Heaven and he went there awful quick

All them people killed him and he wasn't even sick

So come and gather around me my contemporary peers

And I'll tell you all the story of

Jesus...The Missing Years

[Chorus]

We all reside down the block

Inside at... 23 Skidoo.

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That's The Way That The World Goes 'Round

I know a guy that's got a lot to lose.

He's a pretty nice fellow but he's kind of confused.

He's got muscles in his head that ain't never been used.

Thinks he own half of this town.

Starts drinking heavy, gets a big red nose.

Beats his old lady with a rubber hose,

Then he takes her out to dinner and buys her new clothes.

That's the way that the world goes 'round.

That's the way that the world goes 'round.

You're up one day and the next you're down.

It's half an inch of water and you think you're gonna drown.

That's the way that the world goes 'round.

I was sitting in the bathtub counting my toes,

When the radiator broke, water all froze.

I got stuck in the ice without my clothes,

Naked as the eyes of a clown.

I was crying ice cubes hoping I'd croak,

When the sun come through the window, the ice all broke.

I stood up and laughed thought it was a joke

That's the way that the world goes 'round.

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Fish and Whistle Lyric Video

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Grandpa Was A Carpenter

Grandpa wore his suit to dinner

Nearly every day

No particular reason

He just dressed that way

Brown necktie and a matching vest

And both his wingtip shoes

He built a closet on our back porch

And put a penny in a burned out fuse.

[Chorus:]

Grandpa was a carpenter

He built houses stores and banks

Chain smoked Camel cigarettes

And hammered nails in planks

He was level on the level

And shaved even every door

And voted for Eisenhower

'Cause Lincoln won the war.

Well, he used to sing me

"Blood on the Saddle"

And rock me on his knee

And let me listen to radio

Before we got TV

Well, he'd drive to church on Sunday

And take me with him too!

Stained glass in every window

Hearing aids in every pew.

[Chorus]

Now my grandma was a teacher

Went to school in Bowling Green

Traded in a milking cow

For a Singer sewing machine

She called her husband "Mister"

And walked real tall and pride

And used to buy me comic books

After grandpa died.

[Chorus]

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Way Back Then

Night is falling

We're doing the things we do

You are acting just like me

I'm acting just like you

Do you remember

When you were my friend?

That's the way I'd like things

Just like way back then

Baby's sleeping

Brother is on the run

I am out undoing

All the good I've done

If you loved me

Tell you what I would do

Wrap the world in silver foil

Bring it home to you.

Lately I feel

That I can't pretend

I may never ever see

The likes of you again

I take a walk, I come back home

Then I sit a spell

Watch the ponies dance around

The empty wishing well.

Night has fallen

I've said the things I did

The only baby sleeping

Is when I was a kid

Do you remember

When you were my friend?

That's the way I'd like things

Just like way back then.

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Linda Goes To Mars

I just found out yesterday that Linda goes to Mars

Every time I sit and look at pictures of used cars

She'll turn on her radio and sit down in her chair

And look at me across the room, as if I wasn't there

[Chorus:]

Oh My stars! My Linda's gone to Mars

Well I wish she wouldn't leave me here alone

Oh My stars! My Linda's gone to Mars

Well, I wonder if she'd bring me something home.

Something, somewhere, somehow took my Linda by the hand

And secretly decoded our sacred wedding band

For when the moon shines down up on our happy, humble home

Her inner space gets tortured by some outer space unknown.

[Chorus]

Now I ain't seen no saucers 'cept the ones upon the shelf

And if I ever seen one I'd keep it to myself

For if there's life out there somewhere beyond this life on earth

Then Linda must have gone out there and got her money's worth.

[Chorus]

Yeah, I wonder if she'd bring me something home.

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Crazy As A Loon

Back before I was a movie star

Straight off of the farm

I had a picture of another man's wife

Tattooed on my arm

With a pack of Camel cigarettes

In the sleeve of my tee shirt

I'm headin' out to Hollywood

Just to have my feelings hurt

That town will make you crazy

Just give it a little time

You'll be walking 'round in circles

Down at Hollywood and Vine

You'll be waitin' on a phone call

At the wrong end of a broom

Yes, that town'll make you crazy

Crazy as a loon

So, I headed down to Nashville

To become a country star

Every night you'd find me hangin'

At every honky-tonk and bar

Pretty soon I met a woman

Pretty soon she done me wrong

Pretty soon my life got sadder

Than any country song

That town will make you crazy

Just give it a little time

You'll be walking 'round in circles

Lookin' for that country rhyme

You'll be waitin' on a phone call

At the wrong end of a broom

Yea, that town'll make you crazy

Crazy as a loon

So, I gathered up my savvy

Bought myself a business suit

I headed up to New York City

Where a man can make some loot

I got hired Monday morning

Downsized that afternoon

Overcome with grief that evening

Now I'm crazy as a loon

So I'm up here in the north woods

Just staring at a lake

Wondering just exactly how much

They think a man can take

I eat fish to pass the time away

'Neath this blue Canadian moon

This old world has made me crazy

Crazy as a loon

Lord, this world will make you crazy

Crazy as a loon

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Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore

While digesting Reader's Digest

In the back of a dirty book store,

A plastic flag, with gum on the back,

Fell out on the floor.

Well, I picked it up and I ran outside

Slapped it on my window shield,

And if I could see old Betsy Ross

I'd tell her how good I feel.

[Chorus:]

But your flag decal won't get you

Into Heaven any more.

They're already overcrowded

From your dirty little war.

Now Jesus don't like killin'

No matter what the reason's for,

And your flag decal won't get you

Into Heaven any more.

Well, I went to the bank this morning

And the cashier he said to me,

"If you join the Christmas club

We'll give you ten of them flags for free."

Well, I didn't mess around a bit

I took him up on what he said.

And I stuck them stickers all over my car

And one on my wife's forehead.

[Chorus]

Well, I got my window shield so filled

With flags I couldn't see.

So, I ran the car upside a curb

And right into a tree.

By the time they got a doctor down

I was already dead.

And I'll never understand why the man

Standing in the Pearly Gates said...

"But your flag decal won't get you

Into Heaven any more.

We're already overcrowded

From your dirty little war.

Now Jesus don't like killin'

No matter what the reason's for,

And your flag decal won't get you

Into Heaven any more."

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The Bottomless Lake

Here's the story of a man and his family

And a big trip that they took

Well, I heard all about in a restaurant

And I read it in a history book

They rented a car at the Erie Canal

But the car didn't have no brake

Said Ma to Pa "My God this car"

"Is gonna fall into the Bottomless Lake"

Well, Mama turned to Daddy with a pale face

Said "I've done something horribly wrong"

"Well, the waters still runnin' in the bathtub"

And I think I left the kitchen light on"

Then I heard a crash the car when splash

And the compass rolled around and around

Oh, for Heaven's Sake! We fell in a lake

And I think we're all gonna drown

[Chorus:]

We are falling down

Down to the bottom of a hole in the ground

Smoke 'em if you got 'em

I'm so scared I can hardly breathe

I may never see my sweetheart again

There was plenty of food in the backseat

And the windows were rolled up tight

So we all nibbled on a chicken leg

Told stories 'way thru' the night

Well, Pa told one that he told before

And the baby got a bellyache

Said Ma to Pa "My God this car"

"Falling down a Bottomless Lake"

[Chorus]

Poppa played the music on the radio

Mama rocked the baby to sleep

He said he would've taken the other road

But he didn't think the lake was that deep

Well, if the ferry been there at the end of the pier

We'd be half way to Uncle Jake's

Instead of looking at fish out the window I wish

We'd hit the bottom of the Bottomless Lake

'Stead of looking at fish out the window I wish

We'd hit the bottom of the Bottomless Lake

So if you're ever goin' on a big trip

Ya better be careful out there

Start everything on you good foot

And wear clean underwear

Take along a Bible in the backseat

Read of David and Solomon

For if you make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake

You may never see your sweetheart again

If you should make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake

You may never see your sweetheart again

If you should make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake

You may never see your sweetheart again

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Souvenirs

All the snow has turned to water

Christmas days have come and gone

Broken toys and faded colors

Are all that's left to linger on

I hate graveyards and old pawn shops

For they always bring me tears

I can't forgive the way they rob me

Of my childhood souvenirs

[Chorus:]

Memories they can't be boughten

They can't be won at carnivals for free

Well it took me years

To get those souvenirs

And I don't know how they slipped away from me

Broken hearts and dirty windows

Make life difficult to see

That's why last night and this mornin'

Always look the same to me

I hate reading old love letters

For they always bring me tears

I can't forgive the way they rob me

Of my sweetheart's souvenirs

[Chorus]

John, you're in good company

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and a last one, that maybe captures this moment...

Well, maybe one more.

For further reading, I recommend-

A couple great articles written this past week, and one almost 50 years ago about John Prine.

• Jason Isbell: John Prine Taught Me to Stay Vulnerable 
• The Zen of John Prine (In Three Lines) by Jason Wilber (thanks to Ken Forman for sharing this article)
• The October 9, 1970 Chicago Sun-Times review by Roger Ebert that changed John Prine's life - SINGING MAILMAN WHO DELIVERS A POWERFUL MESSAGE IN A FEW WORDS

The ebook, John Prine: In Spite of Himself by Eddie Huffman (2015). Here is the Kindle version for $13.99 that I just started reading yesterday and can't put down. Or, you can download an audio version from Audible (free with trial). (Again, thanks to Ken Forman for this recommendation.)

And, if you're inclined to want to take a deep dive that compares John Prine to the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain, read the 2005 Master of Arts thesis by Michael J. Ruwe,  It's a Big Old Goofy World View: John Prine as a Modern-Day Mark Twain (free pdf download).

Wishing you all the best, stay well my friends.