“How the hell can a person, go to work in the morning’, come home in the evenin’, and have nothin’ to say.”
A lonely and neglected woman spends yet another day hoping an angel will take her away from her life of hopelessness and despair. Her husband, whom she once loved, perpetrates one of the most painful crimes a man can commit against his wife; he ignores her.
A touching song that has always been one of my favorites, and somehow, a man was able to write this song from the perspective of this mournful woman who feels her life slipping away with each passing day.
John Prine wrote it, but over the years his good friend Bonnie Raitt has adopted it and made it her own.
“She just wants to be.”
Answer to Yourself
Anxious Living – Graveyard Orbit
Doris Duke – Ghost of Myself
You probably already know this but Angel From Montgomery is the term for a reprieve from the Governor of Alabama for death row inmates. I think the woman wants to be saved, but wants to save her husband as well.
JP is one of my favorite songwriters, his work is full of empathy. He really captures loneliness and longing. The stories are odd but relatable, like this one –
Maureen Maureen
Don’t miss a chance to see him live. I’ve taken friends who were lukewarm on him and they became huge fans. His rapport with the audience is like no one else I’ve ever seen. They guy is an original, one of a kind.
Thank you for the great John Prine stuff, Hannibal! Your insight is always helpful and appreciated!
I also like Susan Tedeschi’s version, and she always adds a nice touch by singing Sugaree at the end.
Nice, I never heard her version! And thanks for the kind words.
John Prine is probably the greatest songwriter of our era. As much empathy and loneliness as he put into so many songs he could also bring the funny in a big way. This is a piece from Fair and Square, which also gives a good peek into his rapport with the audience.
This cracks me up
HAPPY ENCHILADA!!!
Evidence – Throw It All Away:
Hank Marvin who was a guitarist in the band “The Shadows” had a significant influence on Neil Young.
Neil Young has said sevral times over the years that Jimi Hendrix is, “the greatest electric guitar player to ever live”.
From the perspective of a man whose long marriage is coming to an end…
From Hank to Hendrix by Neil Young:
…part of me feels like a bit of eleanor rigby is appropriate
…but there’s another part of me that goes two ways at the death row reference
…or
what can I say…I gots me some divided loyalties…
Well sometimes I’ve had to blind myself in the name of empathy. If your heart’s not in it. Glen Hansard.
…not at all convinced they belong in the same line up but for some reason that made me remember this for the first time in a long while
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils – Jackie Blue:
“How the hell can a person, go to work in the morning’, come home in the evenin’, and have nothin’ to say.”
John Prine obviously never worked in a prison.
No, but he was a mailman in Chicago. He got his start In music because he was unimpressed by an act at an open mic. The guy challenged JP to do better. He went home, wrote his first song, came back the next week and performed it. The owner of the club offered him a job on the spot emceeing the weekly open mic and doing his own stuff. So he started writing, sometimes in the car on his way to the club. He’s a natural storyteller.
huh…. generally if i come home from work and want to talk about it it went something like this
otherwise its been uneventfull
John Prine is a goddamn national treasure.
How prescient is this one?
It’s a phrase that’s overused but in this case absolutely true. Bob Dylan has called JP his favorite songwriter. That’s pretty high praise.