Russ on Reading: John Prine: Poet from Paradise

Russ on Reading: John Prine: Poet from Paradise

John Prine: Poet from Paradise

This blog dedicated to literacy education and teaching may seem like a strange place to be discussing the contributions of a singer-songwriter like John Prine. But Prine, who died on April 7 of Corvid 19 complications, was a true American poet in the grand tradition of Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, and Carl Sandburg. No less an eminence than Bob Dylan recognized him for his "pure Proustian existentialism." Whatever, the man could write a song lyric like few others could and those lyrics deserve both celebration and study for their wit, beauty, and keen insight into the human condition..

The first song of John's that I was aware of was "Sam Stone" from his first album on Atlantic in 1971. This was an anti-war song, but as was typical of much of John's work, his observations were rooted in the personal.

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, CONTINUE READING: Russ on Reading: John Prine: Poet from Paradise