John Prine

[fox69]

"Glory Of True Love"

"Glory Of True Love"



Oh, the glory of true love
Is a wild and precious thing
It don't grow on old magnolias
Or only blossom in the spring
No, the glory of true love
Is it will last your whole life through
Never will go out of fashion
Always will look good on you

You can climb the highest mountain
Touch the moon and stars above
But Old Faithful's just a fountain
Compared to the glory of true love

Long before I met you darlin'
Lord, I thought I had it all
I could have my lunch in London
And my dinner in St. Paul
I got some friends in Albuquerque
Where the governor calls me "Gov"
You can give 'em all to Goodwill
For the glory of true love

Glory glory glory glory
You can't never get enough
Time alone will tell the story
Of the glory of true love

Glory glory glory glory
You can't never get enough
Time alone will tell the story
Of the glory of true love

 

[fox69]

"Grandpa Was A Carpenter"

"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]

 

[fox69]

"Great Rain"

"Great Rain"



Great rain great rain
I thought I heard you call my name
Great rain great rain
I thought I heard you call my name
I was standing in the station
Waving down an unmarked train

There's a fire at the junction
Why do you do the things you do
There's a fire at the junction
Why do you do the things you do
I was praying for mercy
And all he ever sent me was you

Jimmy bought the liquor
I bought the cups and ice
Jimmy bought the liquor
I bought the cups and ice
I tell you funny stories
Why can't you treat me nice

Great rain great rain
I thought I heard you call my name
Great rain great rain
I thought I heard you calling my name
I was standing by the river
Talking to a young Mark Twain.

 

[fox69]

"Great Society Conflict Veteran's Blues"
(early "Sam Stone")

"Great Society Conflict Veteran's Blues"
(early "Sam Stone")



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.

[Chorus:]
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 hundred dollar 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 peoples' clothes...

[Chorus]

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.

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"He Forgot That It Was Sunday"

"He Forgot That It Was Sunday"



The motel lights were blinkin'
On my chartreuse four door Lincoln
On the dock the fish were stinkin'
I simply didn't have a care

And the old men sit 'round the cracker barrels
The children hum their Christmas carols
The train tracks all run parallel
But they'll all meet up one day

On a dusty pew in a vestibule
Sits the Devil playing pocket pool
He's waiting for the next poor fool
Who forgot that it was Sunday

We used to tell each other lies
With our orange plastic button eyes
In a former life on a motel chair
I was Charlie Parker's teddy bear

Yeah, me and Bird we'd stay up late
I used to watch him contemplate
While his horn would sit by the window and
Wait till it was time for him to blow it

On a dusty pew in a vestibule
Sits the Devil playing pocket pool
He's waiting for the next poor fool
Who forgot that it was Sunday

The only song I ever knew
Was "Moonlight Bay on the Avenue"
These are the tales from the Devil's chin
Charlie I could've been a contender

And the old men sit round the cracker barrels
The children hum their Christmas carols
The train tracks all run parallel
But they'll all meet up one day

On a dusty pew in a vestibule
Sits the Devil playing pocket pool
He's waiting for the next poor fool
Who forgot that it was Sunday
Who forgot that it was Sunday.

 

[fox69]

"He Was In Heaven Before He Died"

"He Was In Heaven Before He Died"


There's a rainbow of babies
Draped over the graveyard
Where all the dead sailors
Wait for their brides
And the cold bitter snow
Has strangled each grassblade
Where the salt from their tears
Washed out with the tide

[Chorus:]
And I smiled on the Wabash
The last time I passed it
Yes I gave her a wink
From the passenger side
And my foot fell asleep
As I swallowed my candy
Knowing he was in heaven
Before he died

Now the harbor's on fire
With the dreams and desires
Of a thousand young poets
Who failed 'cause they tried
For a rhyme without reason
Floats down to the bottom
Where the scavengers eat 'em
And wash in with the tide

[Chorus]

The sun can play tricks
With your eyes on the highway
The moon can lay sideways
Till the ocean stands still
But a person can't tell
His best friend he loves him
Till time has stopped breathing
You're alone on the hill

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Hello In There"

"Hello In There"


We had an apartment in the city,
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,
And I still don't know what for, don't matter anymore.

[Chorus:]
Ya' know that old trees just grow stronger,
And old rivers grow wilder ev'ry 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 back door 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 asks "What's new?"
"Nothing, what's with you? Nothing much to do."

[Chorus]

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."

 

[fox69]

"How Lucky"

"How Lucky"



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
Hey, How lucky can one man get.

I bronzed my shoes and hung from a rearview mirror
Bronzed admiration in the blind spot of regret
There was all these things that I don't think I remember
Hey, 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
Hey, How lucky can one man get.

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
Hey, How lucky can one man get.
Hey, How lucky can one man get.
Hey, How lucky can
One...
Man...
Get.

 

[fox69]

"Humidity Built The Snowman"

"Humidity Built The Snowman"



Does he still think about her
Why there was never really any doubt
Every time he lights a candle
Or blows a candle out
The scientific nature of the ordinary man
Is to go on out and do the best you can

I don't think that you know
That I think you don't know
That old barometer goes crazy baby
Every time it starts to snow
You won't find me walking
Round your part of town
Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down

This world is full of people
They never seem to fall
Somebody said they seen you
You hadn't changed at all
The fundamental story
Of the contemporary man
Is to walk away and someday understand

I don't think that you know
That I think you don't know
That old barometer goes crazy baby
Every time it starts to snow
You won't find me walking
Round your part of town
Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down

The scientific nature of the ordinary man
Is to go on out and do the best you can

I don't think that you know
That I think you don't know
That old barometer goes crazy baby
Every time it starts to snow
You won't find me walking
Round your part of town
Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down

Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down
Brought him down

 

[fox69]

"I Forgot To Remember To Forget"

"I Forgot To Remember To Forget"



I forgot to remember to forget her, I can't seem to get her off my mind.
I thought I'd never miss her,
But I've found out somehow I think about her almost all the time.

Well the day she went away I made myself a promise
That I'd soon forget we'd ever met.
But something sure is wrong,'cos I'm so blue and lonely:
I forgot to remember to forget.

Well the day she went away I made myself a promise
That I'd soon forget we'd ever met.
But something sure is wrong'cos I'm so blue and lonely:
I forgot to remember to forget.