Austin City Limits

-"Austin City Limits" presents the very best of legendary singer-songwriter John Prine.

- Is five miles away from wherever I am -Classic performances from over the past 40 years.

- And, Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County Down 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 -John Prine was an American songwriter known for his ability to tell stories through the lens of his gigantic imagination.

John's songs seemed like they'd been easy to write, like they'd fallen out of him like magic.

Praised for his dry humor and loved for his kindness and generosity, John had the courage to write plainly about the darkest aspects of the American experience.

The thing I admired most about John songs was the way he could step so completely into someone else's life.

John had the gift and the curse of great empathy.

John Prine's work taught me that you can be whoever you want to be as long as you get the details right, and John always got the details right.

If the artist's job is to hold up a mirror to society, John Prine had the cleanest and the clearest mirror of anyone I've ever known.

Sometimes it seemed he had a window and he would climb right through.

Now here's the very best of John Prine from "Austin City Limits."

-Sadly, we lost John Prine in 2020.

Here are 12 of his best performances, beginning in 1978.

- I been thinking lately about the people I meet The carwash on the corner and the hole in the street The way my ankles hurt with shoes on my feet And I'm wondering if I'm gonna see tomorrow Father, forgive us for what we must do You forgive us, we'll forgive you We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven I was in the army, but I never dug a trench I used to bust my knuckles on a monkey wrench I'd go to town and drink, give the girls a pinch But I don't think they ever even noticed me Father, forgive us for what we must do You forgive us, we'll forgive you We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven Fish and whistle, whistle and fish Eat everything that they put on your dish And when we get through, we'll make a big wish That we never have to do this again On my very first job, I said thank you and please They made me scrub a parking lot down on my knees Then I got fired for being scared of bees And they only give me 50 cents an hour Father, forgive us for what we must do You forgive us, we'll forgive you We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven Whistle and go fishing in heaven We'll whistle and go fishing in heaven [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

We had an apartment in the city And me and Loretta liked living there Well, it'd been years since the kids had grown A life of their own, left us alone John and Linda live in Omaha And Joe is somewhere on the road We lost Davy in the Korean War I still don't know what for, it don't matter anymore You know that old trees just grow stronger And old rivers grow wilder every day Old people just grow lonesome Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello" Me and Loretta, we don't talk much more She sits and stares through the backdoor screen And all the news just repeats itself Like some forgotten dream that we've both seen Someday I'll go and call up Rudy We worked together at the factory But what could I say if he asks "What's new?"

"Nothing, what's with you?

Nothing much to do."

You know that old trees just grow stronger And old rivers grow wilder every day Old people just grow lonesome Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello" So if you're walking down the street sometime And spot some hollow ancient eyes Please don't just pass 'em by and stare As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello" Thank you.

[ Cheers and applause ] This is a song about a couple people that got along fine just by themselves but they became a couple.

And... [ Laughter ] ...they developed like a third personality as a couple and nobody liked that third person.

And they didn't like to spend time with each other alone.

Hey, there she goes Well, I thought she'd never leave Heaven knows You know it sure gives me the creeps Well, I went and loved that woman To the power of height And we both got jivin' fever Screwed our heads uptight Then it came to blows Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, there she goes Hey, there she goes Hey, there she goes Just a walkin' down the street I suppose The next fellow that she meets Should have her head examined By an x-ray machine So he can see all of them pictures That I've already seen Just so he knows Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, there she goes Yeah, there she goes Well, there must be something somewhere That makes me want to hurt myself inside Yeah, we were a regular Dr. Jekyll But together, we were Mr. and Mrs. Hyde Oh, what a rough, rough ride Hey, there she goes She's walking out on me With all her clothes Lookin' fine as she could be Well, I seen her on down at the courthouse I was sober as a judge We'd tried to talk things over But the grudge wouldn't budge I said adios Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, there she goes Yeah, there she goes Well, there must be something somewhere That makes me want to hurt myself inside Yeah, we were a regular Dr. Jekyll But together, we were Mr. and Mrs. Hyde Hey, there she goes Well, I thought she'd never leave Heaven knows You know it sure gives me the creeps Well, I went and loved that woman To the power of height And we both got jivin' fever Screwed our heads uptight Then it came to blows Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, there she goes Hey, there she goes Yeah, there she goes There she goes [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

Not too long ago, we played Washington DC late this summer, and we had an extra day to hang around, and didn't have to do anything or be anywhere.

So we decided we'd take in to be tourists for a day and just go around and see some of the things in the nation's capital.

My buddy Al Bunetta had his video camera, which he hasn't set down since he got it.

[ Laughter ] You know how that goes, too.

Some people just can't get unattached from those things when they get them, you know?

But we went around and went to the Lincoln Memorial and... went over where Kennedy's buried and we went to the Vietnam Veterans memorial there, the big black wall they got.

We looked up some friends whose names were on the wall, and if you never been there or seen anything about it it, you look them up like in a phone book and you go on over to the section of wall where your friend's name is or your relative or whatever.

It's a real shiny black marble wall.

You stand there looking at your friend's name, you see your reflection in the wall, so it's sort of a fitting memorial I think.

If you ever get a chance to go see it, I suggest you do.

This is "Sam Stone."

[ Cheers and applause ] Sam Stone came home to his wife and family After serving in the conflict overseas And the time that he served had shattered all his nerves And left a little shrapnel in his knee But the morphine eased the pain And the grass grew round his brain And gave him all the confidence he lacked With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back There's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes Jesus Christ died for nothin', I suppose Little pitchers have big ears Don't stop to count the years Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios Mmm Sam Stone's welcome home didn't last too long He went to work when he'd spent his last dime And Sammy took to stealing when he got that empty feeling For a $100 habit without overtime And the gold rolled through his veins Like a thousand railroad trains And eased his mind in the hours that he chose While the kids ran around wearin' other people's clothes There's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes Jesus Christ died for nothin', I suppose Little pitchers have big ears Don't stop to count the years Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios Mmm Sam Stone was alone when he popped his last balloon Climbing walls while sitting in a chair Well, he played his last request While the room smelled just like death With an overdose hovering in the air But life had lost its fun And there was nothing to be done But trade his house that he bought on the G.I.

Bill For a flag-draped casket on a local heroes' hill There's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes Jesus Christ died for nothin', I suppose Little pitchers have big ears Don't stop to count the years Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios Mmm Mm, mmm [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

Here's your big chance to sing on TV here if you know the words to this song.

If you don't know the words to this song, then just, if the camera comes by, just act like -- start moving your mouth.

We'll fill in later on, you know?

Or just make up your own words.

That's what I had to do.

[ Laughter ] When I woke up this morning, things were looking bad Seem like total silence was the only friend I had Bowl of oatmeal tried to stare me down and won And it was 12:00 before I realized That I was having no fun Ah, but fortunately I have the key to escape reality And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile It don't cost very much, but it lasts a long while Won't you please tell the man I didn't kill anyone No, I'm just trying to have me some fun Take it!

That's right -- You just passed up the place where you were supposed to sing.

[ Laughter ] We're gonna bring it around again.

If this guy can remember the words here.

Last time I checked my bankroll, it was getting thin Sometimes it seems like the bottom Is the only place I've been I chased a rainbow down a one-way street, dead end And all my friends turned out to be insurance salesmen Ah, but fortunately I have the key to escape reality And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile It don't cost very much, but it lasts a long while Won't you please tell the man I didn't kill anyone No, I'm just trying to have me some fun [ Laughter ] Well, I sat down in my closet with all my overalls Trying to get away from all the ears inside my walls I dreamed the police heard everything I thought What then?

Well, I went to court and the judge's name was Hoffman Ah, but fortunately I have the key to escape reality And you may - See me tonight with an illegal smile It don't cost very much, but it lasts a long while Won't you please tell the man I didn't kill anyone No, I'm just trying to have me some fun - Well done, son of a gun Hot dog bun Attila the Hun My sister... -A nun!

- Is a nun [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

This is "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 Then the coal company came With the world's largest shovel And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land Then they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man 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 Play it again, Phil.

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 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 Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you, and God bless you.

Appreciate it.

[ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

I got the idea for this song when somebody was talking to me at a party once a couple of years back.

I don't know how we got around to this conversation, but somebody started telling me that there was all these missing years in the life of Jesus.

He was missing from the time he was 12 until he was 30.

[ Laughter ] And I said, "You mean like nobody knew where he was?"

And he said, "Nobody."

[ Laughter ] So that kind of, like, stuck in the back of my mind, you know?

I thought, "Nobody?

One of the most influential and controversial figures in the history of mankind, nobody knows where he was for 18 years."

[ Laughter ] I snuck away on a fishing trip once with his waitress.

[ Laughter ] For a couple of days, and by the time we got back to Nashville, everybody knew where we were.

[ Laughter ] Jesus, the Missing Years.

It was raining, it was cold West Bethlehem was no place for a 12-year-old [ Laughter ] So he packed his bag and he headed out To find out what the world's about He went to France and went to Spain He found love and he found pain He found stores, so he started to shop He had no money, so he got in trouble with a cop Kid's in trouble with the cops from Israel Didn't have no home So he cut his hair and he 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 Charlie 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 round here they do 'Cause we all reside down the block inside 23 Skidoo Wine was flowing, so were beers So Jesus found his missing years He went to a dance and said, "This don't move me" So he hiked up his pants and he went to a movie On his 13 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, uh, 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... So he took a pill with a bag of peanuts and 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 an old George Jones Charlie 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 round here they do 'Cause we all reside down the block inside of 23 Skidoo The years went by like sweet little days With babies crying pork chops and Beaujolais When he woke up, he was 17 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 [ Laughter ] So he grew his hair long and he threw away his comb Headed back to Jerusalem to find Mom and Dad and home But when he got there, the cupboard was bare Except for an old black man with a fishing rod He said, "What you gonna be when you grow up?"

Jesus said, "God" [ Laughter ] 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 Charlie 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 round here they do 'Cause we all reside down the block inside at 23 Skidoo We all reside down the block inside at 23 Skidoo Thank you.

[ Cheers and applause ] Everything is cool Everything's okay Why, just before last Christmas My baby went away Across the sea to an island While the bridges brightly burn So far away from my land The valley of the unconcerned I was walking down the road, man Just looking at my shoes When God sent me an angel Just to chase away my blues I saw a 100,000 blackbirds Just flying through the sky And they seemed to form a teardrop From a black-haired angel's eye And that tear fell all around me And it washed my sins away Now everything is cool Everything's okay [ Harmonica playing ] Everything is cool Everything's okay Why, just before last Christmas My baby went away And I find it real surprising For myself to hear me say That everything is cool Everything's okay Everything is cool Everything's okay Why, it was just before last Christmas My baby went away [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

[ Cheers and applause ] A young man from a small town With a very large imagination Lay alone in his room with his radio on Looking for another station When the static from the mouthpiece Gave way to the sound below James Dean went out to Hollywood And put his picture in a Picture Show James Dean went out to Hollywood And put his picture in a Picture Show And it's, oh, Daddy, get off of your knees Mama, why'd you have to go?

Your darling Jim is out a limb I put my picture in a Picture Show Whoa, ho Put my picture in a Picture Show Hamburgers, cheeseburgers Wilbur and Orville Wright John Garfield in the afternoon Montgomery Clift at night When the static from the mouthpiece Gave way to the sound below James Dean went out to Hollywood And put his picture in a Picture Show And it's, oh, Daddy, get off of your knees Mama, why'd you have to go?

Your darling Jim is out a limb I put my picture in a Picture Show Whoa, ho Put my picture in a Picture Show A Mocca man in a wigwam sitting on a Reservation With a big black hole in the belly of his soul Waiting on an explanation While the white man sits on his fat can And takes pictures of the Navajo And every time he clicks his Kodak pics He steals a little bit of soul Every time he clicks his Kodak pics He steals a little bit of soul And it's, oh, Daddy, get off of your knees Mama, why'd you have to go?

Your darling Jim is out a limb I put my picture in a Picture Show Whoa, hoo Put my picture in a Picture Show Ah, ha Put my picture in a Picture Show Here we go A young man from a small town With a very large imagination [ Cheers and applause ] -One of the great treasures I know.

Won't you welcome John Prine?

[ Cheers and applause ] I am an old woman named after my mother My old man is another child that's grown old If dreams were thunder, lightning was desire This old house would have burnt down a long time ago 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 living is just a hard way to go [ Cheers and applause ] - When I was a young girl, well, I had me a cowboy He weren't much to look at, just a free rambling man But that was a long time, and no matter how I try The years just flow 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 living is just a hard way to go There's flies in the kitchen I can hear 'em, they're buzzing And I ain't done nothing since I woke up today - How the hell can a person go to work in the morning And 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 living is just a hard way to go To believe in this living Is just a Hard way To Go [ Cheers and applause ] -John Prine!

[ Cheers and applause ] -This song here is called "Summer's End."

[ Cheers and applause ] Summer's end's around the bend just flyin' The swimmin' suits are on the line just dryin' I'll meet you there for our conversation I hope I didn't ruin your whole vacation Well, you never know how far from home you're feelin' Until you watch the shadows cross the ceilin' Well, I don't know, but I can see it snowin' In your car, the windows are wide open Come on home Come on home No, you don't have to Be alone Just come on home Valentines break hearts and minds at random That ol' Easter egg ain't got a leg to stand on Well, I can see that you can't win for tryin' And New Year's Eve is bound to leave you cryin' Just come on home Come on home No, you don't have to Be alone Just come on home The moon and stars hang out in bars just talkin' I still love that picture of us walkin' Just like that old house we thought was haunted Summer's end came faster than we wanted Come on home Come on home No, you don't have to Be alone Just come on Thank you.

[ Cheers and applause ] When I get to heaven, I'm gonna shake God's hand.

I'm gonna 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?

Then 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 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 forgive a few choice critics, those syph'litic parasitics.

[ Laughter ] Buy 'em a pint of Smithwick's 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 ] [ Kazoos playing ] [ Cheers and applause ] Yeah, when I get to heaven, I'm gonna take this wristwatch off my arm.

What are you gonna do with time after you've bought the farm?

And then I'm gonna look up my mom and dad and good, old brother Doug.

Why, I bet him and cousin Jackie are still cuttin' up a rug.

And I wanna see all my mama's sisters, 'cause that's where all the love starts.

Miss 'em all like crazy, bless their little hearts.

And I always will remember these words that my daddy said.

He said, "Buddy, when you're dead, you're a dead pecker-head."

[ Laughter ] I hope to prove him wrong -- that is, when I get to heaven.

'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 [ Scatting ] [ Cheers and applause ] "When I Get to Heaven."

[ Cheers and applause ] -The influence you've had, you can't deny -- the influence you've had on a lot of people has been pretty enormous.

-It took me awhile to swallow that one, but it's -- it's -- I don't mind it so much 'cause they're -- the people that we're talking about, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Margo Price... -Kacey Musgraves will be here tomorrow to tape a show with us.

-Really?

No kidding.

Kacey's one of my favorites.

I love her.

All these people that -- They're very talented, so... them saying that I had any influence on their writing, it's a real compliment to me, you know, because they are so talented.

I've been kind of waiting, and I'm sure there are other people like singer-songwriters -- I've been waiting for stuff to get kicked up a notch and I really feel like it has been in the last six, seven years, you know, that there's some really great stuff out there.

I was writing, but really slow.

I had about four or five things I liked.

And they booked me a suite at the Omni in Nashville and I just started writing songs.

I came out a week later and had enough songs for the record.

When I came out of the studio with the 10 songs produced by Dave Cobb, then I started to see how they fit together and some of the songs were about...

I don't really think the songs were about mortality when I was writing them.

But now that I look back at them, some of them seem that way, - Woke up this morning, put on my slippers Walked in the kitchen and died And, oh, what a feeling When my soul went through the ceiling And on up into heaven I did ride When I got there, they did say "John, it happened this-a way You slipped upon the floor and hit your head And all the angels say just before you passed away These were the very last words that you said "Please don't bury me down in the cold, cold ground I'd druther have 'em cut me up, pass me all around Throw my brain in a hurricane, and the blind can have my eyes And the deaf can take both of my ears If they don't mind the size"