Austin City Limits

-The ninth annual "Austin City Limits" Hall of Fame Honors, a celebration of the artists who've made "Austin City Limits" the longest-running music program in television history.

This year, we honor and induct the late, legendary singer-songwriter John Prine and country music superstar Trisha Yearwood.

In this first of two episodes, we celebrate the legacy of John Prine, with guests...

It's part one of the ninth annual "Austin City Limits" Hall of Fame Honors.

[ Cheers and applause ] -The "Austin City Limits" Hall of Fame was created to honor the artists who contributed to the legacy for the longest-running music program in television history.

In this first of two episodes, we celebrate John Prine.

- I didn't kill anyone No, I'm just tryin' to have me some fun My buddy Gary Fish is going to help us out on this song here, this last one.

-Here is John from his second ACL performance in 1987.

-Please, Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County?

[ Cheers and applause ] When I was a child my family would travel Down to Western Kentucky, where my parents were born And there's a backwards old town that's often remembered So many times that my memories are worn And Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County Down by the Green River, where Paradise lay Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away Well, sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River To the abandoned old prison down by Airdrie Hill Where the air smelled like snakes And we'd shoot with our pistols But empty pop bottles was all we would kill And Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County Down by the Green River, where Paradise lay Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away - And come home in the evening -John joined Bonnie Raitt in 2002 for one of his most iconic songs.

- Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery Make me a poster of an old rodeo Just give me one thing.

I can hold on to To believe in this livin' is just a hard way to go To believe in this livin' Is just a... Hard way... To... Go [ Cheers and applause ] -John's final "ACL" performance in 2018.

-When I get to heaven, I'm going to shake God's hand.

I'm going to thank him for more blessings than one man can stand.

Then I'm going to get a guitar and start a rock 'n' roll band.

Check into a swell hotel.

Ain't the afterlife grand?

Then I'm going to get a cocktail Vodka and ginger ale Yeah, I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's 9 miles long I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the Tilt-a-Whirl 'Cause this old man is goin' to town Then, as God is my witness, I'm getting back into show business.

I'm gonna open a nightclub called The Tree of Forgiveness and forgive everybody ever done me any harm.

Why, I might even forgive a few choice critics, those syph'litic parasites.

Buy 'em a pint of Smithwicks and smother 'em with my charm.

'Cause I'm gonna get a cocktail Vodka and ginger ale Yeah I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's 9 miles long I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the Tilt-a-Whirl 'Cause this old man is goin' to town Here we go, boys.

[ Scatting ] [ Kazoo solo ] [ Cheers and applause ] -Please welcome actor, director, and writer Ethan Hawke.

[ Cheers and applause ] -It's an incredible honor of my life to follow that video.

I mean, you guys, any association to the authenticity of John Prine is very moving for all of us.

To love John Prine and his songs is to be part of one of the greatest conversations imaginable.

As much as any troubadour who ever hit the road and sang a song, John always seemed to be speaking to us.

John Prine spoke directly to our hearts, with minds and words and music that were uniquely brilliant, funny, and real.

I remember a funny story.

Once, I got to meet Kris Kristofferson, and I asked him what he thought of John Prine.

And he said, "You know, I remember the first time I ever saw John Prine play.

I was with -- I saw him, and then I brought Willie Nelson the next night."

and I said, "Well, Willie, what do you think?"

And he said, "Well... We could break his fingers."

[ Laughter ] And I'm here to say John Prine is still speaking to us today.

He's still making us laugh.

We all saw it.

You can't help but laugh.

You can't help but be moved.

And on his final album, an album that -- "The Tree of Forgiveness," I have to put down -- I think -- You always hear, like, "Oh, this is the best first album.

This is the other best debut album."

The greatest final album of all time, "The Tree of Forgiveness."

I mean, what an album to go out on.

I'm so sorry he's not here with us, but to leave us with "The Tree of Forgiveness" is -- is -- is such a gift.

[ Cheers and applause ] "The Tree of Forgiveness" is -- its last song, characteristically stunning.

The album -- The last song is called "When I Get to Heaven."

You know I'm going to... have a... what is it?

A ginger ale and a vodka and smoke a cigarette nine miles long?

So, John, on behalf of everyone here in Austin tonight, we say -- repeat after me.

"Hello up there."

– Audience: "Hello up there."

-We love you.

We thank you.

We honor you for your richly deserved, grand afterlife.

We honor you for a lifetime of the tremendous love you gave us, the extraordinary songs, the kind of meaningful achievements that matter the most.

I'm honored to be a part of this city.

Austin, Texas, a city of music and art, to celebrate one of the greatest songwriters and writers period, full stop.

John once said that if you write from your gut, you'll come up with something interesting.

Whereas if you sit around guessing what people want, you end up with the same kind of schlock that everybody else has got, right?

Okay, so now I'm here to say order in the court.

Let the record reflect, John Prine's body of work is a schlock-free zone, one full of joy and guess what?

Pain and homespun genius.

Don't take it from me, take it instead -- There is another songwriter worth mentioning.

He's a pretty good singer-songwriter from somewhere north of here.

Some people call him Robert Zimmerman.

He has other names.

But he once said, [With accent] "Prine's stuff?

This pure Proustian existentialism, man.

Midwestern mind trips to the nth degree."

[Normally] That's Bob Dylan, ladies and gentlemen.

I agree with him.

[ Cheers and applause ] For the record, my own mind trip began -- I was -- I was born here in Austin.

You see the capitol building right there?

My grandfather served four terms as a Texas state legislature.

That's true.

In 1970, my father helped paint the capitol building.

So somewhere between starting my boyhood here and filming a movie called "Boyhood" here, I like to fancy myself -- thank you -- a citizen of Austin.

John's deep, deep roots were in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.

I've been there, too.

He was born and raised in Maywood, Illinois and spent his life living in Chicago, Nashville, and Ireland.

And like all the great troubadours, on the road with a guitar.

But we know that he was a citizen of the planet who was very much home here in Austin, Texas, where keeping things weird remains a point of pride.

I think so.

So I think we can still claim that.

[ Cheers and applause ] John was a close friend and fellow traveler with many of you here tonight.

Okay?

John Prine played "City Limits" eight times over 40 years.

The first time back in 1979, and the last time in 2019.

So we have good reason to believe that John would have loved to be here tonight, but I'm pretty sure his least favorite word in the phrase "Austin City Limits Hall of Fame" would be the last word, fame.

John Prine is a vivid, beautiful example of a singer-songwriter who chased excellence and truth rather than fame.

For that, we are all grateful.

He's an inspiration to all of us.

[ Cheers and applause ] If I had to pick a favorite John Prine album, it might be "The Missing Years."

And here in 2023, we find ourselves three years into the Missing Years.

I remember during the pandemic, one of the worst parts of it was John's death, and it was the first time for me the whole thing became real.

It was -- I have a lot of friends who are John Prine fans, wonderful friends, and we all, you know, over the 20-30 years beforehand would play John Prine songs late at night, make each other laugh.

And I got all these texts from people that I love, singing John Prine songs.

And I remember just crying and crying and really realizing how real all this thing was.

And we are missing this great artist today.

We are missing this great man.

Obviously, no one more than a few people who are with us tonight -- his beloved wife, Fiona, and his children, who John loved the most.

They're here.

It's an honor to have them.

And though he may be missing, we all know this -- that John Prine will never be forgotten.

And that is it.

[ Cheers and applause ] It's an honor to be here tonight, and my great honor to welcome the one and the only, John Prine, to the "Austin City Limits" Hall of Fame.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Accepting on behalf of John Prine is his wife, Fiona, and sons, Jody, Jack, and Tommy Prine.

[ Cheers and applause ] [ Indistinct conversation ] [ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you so much.

You can't make me cry.

Not yet.

It's -- Thank you, Ethan, for those really kind and thoughtful words.

John would be a proud guy tonight, especially to be inducted with his duet partner and friend, the amazing Trisha Yearwood.

[ Cheers and applause ] Thank you, "Austin City Limits," for this wonderful honor.

John considered "Austin City Limits" to be an important part of his career, going all the way back to the 1970s.

Austin audiences loved and embraced John always.

[ Cheers and applause ] To be invited here more than eight times was something he never took for granted, and getting that call was a thrill every single time.

In a world that is increasingly difficult and presents so many challenges to all of us, "Austin City Limits," in its 50th year, continues to uphold the songwriter and the song, and we are all grateful for that.

[ Cheers and applause ] I want to say a special thank you to Terry -- Terry Lickona and his amazing production crew, all of the folks working here.

They have welcomed me and our sons with open arms back to Austin.

[ Cheers and applause ] I'm so humbled to have our music community here tonight to help us celebrate John's induction to the "Austin City Limits" Hall of Fame.

Thank you.

[ Cheers and applause ] -My name is Tommy Prine.

I am John's youngest son.

[ Cheers and applause ] I'm going to be playing one of my favorite songs tonight by my father.

This song made it into every single set list, pretty much every show he ever played, and every single time he would play this song, he would dedicate it to his dear friend, Steve Goodman.

This song is called "Souvenirs."

[ Cheers and applause ] -One, two, three, four.

And 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 And I hate graveyards and old pawn shops For they always bring me tears I can't forgive the way they robbed me Of my childhood souvenirs Memories that can't be bought They can't be won at carnivals for free And it took me years to get those souvenirs And I don't know how they slipped away from me [ Cheers and applause ] The broken hearts and dirty windows Make life difficult to see That's why last night and this morning Always look the same to me And I hate reading old love letters For they always bring me tears Can't forgive the way they robbed me Of my sweetheart's souvenirs Memories that can't be bought That can't be won at carnivals for free And it took me years to get those souvenirs And I don't know how they slipped away from me [ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] Thank y'all very much.

I miss you, Daddy.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Next, please welcome Kurt Vile.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Hey, now.

Hey.

It's an honor to be here for John, obviously and his family.

Yeah, John's songs, he spoke to my soul, you know, since my early 20s.

And I recorded a few of his songs since, you know, around my mid-30s.

But this song, I actually -- we actually convinced John to come up and record with us.

It's his song called "How Lucky."

And, uh -- [ Cheers and applause ] His friend and my producer at the time, Ferg, called him up that day, and he said, uh, you want to come and play this song?

And he agreed to after the Titans game was over.

So.

[ Laughter ] And when he showed up, he was like, "You know, I love to sing with you, Kurt," which was, you know, as if it happened all the time.

It didn't happen all the time.

And that was a couple of days before New Year's, 2020.

We did this together.

Today, I walked down the street I use to wander Yeah, shook my head and made myself a bet There was all these things that I don't think I remember Yeah, how lucky can one man get?

I bronzed my shoes And I hung 'em from the rearview mirror Bronzed admiration in the blind spot of regret There was all these things that I don't think I remember Yeah, well, how lucky can one man get?

Today, I walked down the street I use to wander Yeah, scratched my head and lit my cigarette Well, there was all these things That I don't think I remember Yeah, well, how lucky can one man get?

Whoo.

[ Laughter ] Today, I walked down the street I use to wander Yeah, shook my head and made myself a bet There was all these things that I don't think I remember Yeah, well, how lucky can one man get?

Yeah, how lucky can one man get?

Yeah... Well, how lucky Can one man Get?

[ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

[ Cheers and applause ] [ Man whistles ] [ Cheers and applause ] -Please welcome Allison Russell.

[ Cheers and applause ] -It is such a tremendous honor to be here, and I've been crying on and off all night.

I feel so lucky that I got to meet John Prine and the Prine family.

I want to limit what I say because there's so much beautiful music to come.

But foundational influence as a writer, as a human, as a -- to know how to walk through the world with grace, building community.

And John's songs have been the soundtrack of so much of my life, from courtship with my partner to hurtling down the road in a in a Chevy van with our little baby girl riding behind her dad, and she'd yell -- if we put on music she didn't like, she would yell, "That's not my music!"

And she would say, "Play the baby song."

Play "Don't Let Your Baby Down."

John Prine was her music.

John Prine is my music.

John Prine is our music.

So...

So good.

"Storm Windows, the baby song.

I can hear the wheels of the automobiles so far away Just moving along through the drifting snow Times like these, when temperatures freeze I sit alone Looking out of a storm window And down on the beach, the Sandman sleeps Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps The country band that plays for keeps They play it so slow Don't let your baby down Don't let your baby down Don't let your baby down Well, the spirits were high till the well went dry For so long, the raven at my window was only a crow I bought the rights to the inside fights Watched a man just beating his hand against a storm window While miles away, o'er hill and stream A candle burns a witch's dreams And silence is golden till it screams Right through your bones Don't let your baby down Don't let your baby down Don't let your baby down Storm windows, gee, but I'm getting old Storm windows keep away the cold Storm windows, gee, but I'm getting old Storm windows keep away the cold I can hear the wheels of the automobiles so far away Just moving along through the drifting snow Times like these when the temperatures freeze I sit alone Just looking at the world through a storm window And down on the beach, the Sandman sleeps Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps And the country band that plays for keeps They play it so slow Don't let your baby down Don't let your baby down Don't let your baby down [ Vocalizing ] [ Cheers and applause ] Lloyd Maines and the ACL band, we love you, John Prine.

John Eternal.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Please welcome Nathaniel Rateliff.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Good evening.

It is a pleasure to be here to honor John.

I was lucky enough to become friends with John and Fiona and Tommy and the rest of the family.

And it's been a real pleasure.

As you all know, John is a fantastic storyteller.

He's a fantastic songwriter, but also in person.

If you ever had the chance to get to sit down with him, he would go on for hours.

And Fiona was always so spectacular at setting this up for me.

At the end of the night, she was like, "Just go sit with John."

And I was like, okay.

And so, you know, one thing you got to do with a storyteller is ask questions.

And so I'd always just try to pry as much as I could with John, and... he was telling me one time about, you know, the back in Chicago and jumping up to Toronto and just kind of cruising around.

And one day he was like, "I went up to Toronto and I was going to go see the Hawk.

You know who The Hawk is?

Ronnie Hawkins."

I was like, "Yeah, I know who he is, John," you know?

And he's like, "Well, we went up there and you know, we was hanging out.

But Ronnie, you know, The Hawk wasn't around."

And John kind of alluded to being up maybe all night, with the -- this crew of folks.

And he said, "Finally, in the morning," he was like, "we were making breakfast, and somebody was like, 'Hey, The Hawk's door's open.

I think he's up.'"

And so John was like, "Well, I went in there to say hi."

And he's like, "The Hawk jumped up on the bed when I got in the room with a Tommy gun."

He's like, "You know what a Tommy gun is?"

I was like, yeah.

He's like, "Well, he jumped up with a hot Tommy gun, started waving it around, and I hit the deck, and I didn't come up, and he didn't recognize me until I started singing."

[ Laughter ] And, for whatever reason, I never asked the question, "What did you sing?"

It's like, "Oh, Johnny, that's you."

But anyhow, that has nothing to do with this song, but I thought I'd share this story with you all.

It's, like I said, a pleasure to be here.

It's a pleasure and an honor to be considered a part of the family and that I'd be asked to be here.

And it's wonderful to be with you all this evening.

So here we go.

-One, two, three, four.

I wish you love And happiness I guess I wish You all the best I wish you don't Do like I do And ever fall in love with Someone like you Cause if you fell Just like I did You'd probably walk around the block like a little kid But kids don't know They can only guess How hard it is To wish you happiness I guess that love Is like a Christmas card You decorate a tree You throw it in the yard It decays and dies And the snowmen melt I once knew love I knew how love felt Yeah, I knew love And love knew me And when I walked Love walked with me And I got no hate And I got no pride Well, I got So much love that I cannot hide Yeah, I got So much love that I cannot hide Say you drive a Chevy Say you drive a Ford Say you drive around this town till you just get bored And then you change your mind For something else to do And then your heart gets bored with your mind And it changes you Well, it's a doggone shame And it's an awful mess I wish you love I wish you happiness I wish you love I wish you happiness I guess I wish You all the best [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you so much.

We love you, handsome Johnny.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Now, please welcome Tyler Childers.

[ Cheers and applause ] -How are you doing?

Well, it's an honor to be here paying tribute to Mr. Prine.

Last time I was here was in 2019 as a guest, when Prine played here.

Yeah.

I first heard Prine in a dugout at a ball field.

And when I was in middle school, my dad was really hoping I'd get a scholarship out of baseball.

And while that didn't happen, something good came out of it, I suppose.

[ Laughter ] My birthday is June 21st, the summer solstice.

For anybody that doesn't know, it's the longest birthday of the year.

It's a whole 25 hours all to myself.

It's a real good day for ice cream cakes.

My favorite birthday cake was always ice cream cake.

The first time I ever played with John Prine was in Kentucky, and he'd heard that it was somebody's birthday in his crew.

So he reached in his wallet and he pulled out a Dairy Queen coupon, because that's where you keep those.

And he sent somebody down to the local Dairy Queen to get an ice cream cake.

So when I get to heaven, I hope to have a piece of ice cream cake with John Prine.

[ Cheers and applause ] I'm gonna play you one of my -- one of my favorite John Prine songs.

Also one of my favorite honky tonk songs in general.

Oh, I get drunk most every night Seems like all we do is fight The more I drink, the less I feel blue Sometimes I feel like an awful fool Spending my life on an old barstool And yes, I guess they oughta name a drink after you If this date were to be our last I'd never set down this glass It'd take all the booze in the world to forget you You've left my heart a vacant lot I fill it with another shot And yes, I guess they oughta name a drink after you Looks like I had my fill Guess I better pay my bill When I started out, I only meant to have a few Someone said that you left town I better get a double round And yes, I guess they oughta name a drink after you Yes, I guess they oughta name a drink after you Handsome Johnny.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Finally, please welcome Valerie June.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Good evening to y'all.

I was in Memphis, Tennessee, at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, and I was doing my soundcheck.

We were honoring Roy Orbison, and as I came off, John was coming on to do his soundcheck and he said, "Valerie June, I got a record coming out soon, and me and my wife, Fiona, we really would love it if you'd come on the road and open for us."

It stopped me.

I almost fell down, y'all.

I was shaking, I was like, really?

Is he gon' remember?

Sure enough, time passed and it was "The Tree of Forgiveness" record that came out.

And I got a phone call, and it was John.

He remembered me.

He sure did.

And he said, "Come on and open these shows."

And I went on the road.

And one thing I noticed about being on the road with John was there was a table in the middle of the stage.

I thought, what's he doing with that table up there?

And I got up there, and I saw all of these old photographs.

They were family photographs.

He was so into family, they were with him everywhere.

The Prine family is one of the most beautiful families to be a part of the community with.

And I was invited into that world, and just having that time with him, I learned to respect his songwriting so much more from seeing how he treated his band members that he was with for 20 years.

I know I'm talking a lot, but I just want to say that he was one of our teachers, the songwriters.

He was the gospel truth, and he was an angel.

He is an angel.

[ Cheers and applause ] I am an old woman Named after my mother My old man is another Child who's grown old If dreams were thunder And lightning was desire This old house would've burned down A long time ago So make me an angel That flies from Montgomery Make me a poster Of an old rodeo Just give me one thing That I can hold on to To believe in this livin' Is just a hard way to go When I was a young girl Well, I had me a cowboy He weren't much to look at Just a free ramblin' man But that was a long time And no matter how I tried Those years just flowed by Like a broken down dam Make me an angel That flies from Montgomery Make me a poster Of an old rodeo Just give me one thing That I can hold on to To believe in this livin' Is just a hard way to go Well, there's flies in the kitchen I can hear 'em there buzzin' And I ain't done nothing Since I woke up today How the hell can a person Go to work in the morning Then come home in the evening And have nothing to say?

Make me an angel That flies from Montgomery Make me a poster Of an old rodeo Just give me one thing That I can hold on to To believe in this livin' Is just a hard way to go Can you sing it with me?

– All: Make me an angel That flies from Montgomery Make me a poster Of an old rodeo - Well, just give me one thing That I can hold on to To believe in this livin' Is just a hard way to go Make me an angel That flies from Montgomery Make me a poster Of an old rodeo Let me hear you now.

Just give me one thing That I can hold on to To believe in this livin' Is just a hard way to go To believe in this livin' Is just a hard Way to go [ Cheers and applause ] Thank y'all so much.

If I can, I want to invite some friends back out here.

I got some friends here I'd like to invite up on stage.

-Please welcome back to the stage Nathaniel Rateliff, Allison Russell, Kurt Vile, Tyler Childers, and Tommy Prine.

[ Cheers and applause ] - When I was a child my family would travel Down to Western Kentucky, where my parents were born And there's a backwards old town that's often remembered So many times that my memories are worn - And Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County Down by the Green River, where Paradise lay Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away - Well, sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River To an abandoned old prison down by Airdrie Hill Where the air smelled like snakes But we'd shoot with our pistols But empty pop bottles was all we would kill - And Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County Down by the Green River, where Paradise lay Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away - Then the coal company came With the world's largest shovel And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land And they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken And then they wrote it all down as the progress of man [ Cheers and applause ] -All: Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County Down by the Green River, where Paradise lay Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away - When I die, let my ashes float down the Green River Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin' Just five miles away from wherever I am [ Cheers and applause ] -All: Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County Down by the Green River, where Paradise lay Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away - Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County Down by the Green River, where Paradise lay Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away - I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away [ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] - I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin' Just five miles away from wherever I am -All: Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County Down by the Green River, where Paradise lay Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away - I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away