In our Books Issue (on stands Thursday and online right now), we gush over the national treasure we call John Prine.
His new book — Beyond Words, out now via Oh Boy Records — is a songbook that’ll break your heart, and our review of it is filled with stories about how Prine, who also announced a new album set for release in the spring, is perhaps one of the nicest people on planet Earth.
His tourmate Amanda Shires — who’ll presumably join Prine onstage a few times when they both play Ruth Eckerd Hall on December 15 — can concur.
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Books Issue 2017: John Prine’s Beyond Words journeys beyond the songs, lets fans into his heart
“Any time I get to talk to John Prine about writing and every time that I get the privilege and honor to share the stage or some dinner with him I feel like the luckiest person in the world,” she told CL in an email. Shire’s latest album — My Piece of Land, released last year — is the 35-year-old’s strongest collection of songwriting to date, but she’s also hoping that Prine’s magic will be in the air at the show.
“I also not so secretly hope that just a little of his wit and turn of phrase might rub off on me.”
She says Prine means the world to her and that his ability to paint real characters brings out the beauty in a world that can be sad from time to time.
“He shows us where we’re hurt and makes us feel like we’re okay and we’re in it together,” she said. “He likes to say that his music is sad. Maybe that’s true, but you never leave one of his shows feeling sad. What you do get from a John Prine show is a good spiritual cleansing and a chance to be with people that feel the way you might feel. His songs are community. He is family.”
She will poo-poo Prine on one thing though.
“I don’t dare mention that he his a really terrible whistler. Awful. Piss poor, even. Good thing he didn’t get into the whistling business,” she joked.
Read Shire’s full statement and get more information on the show below. Call your local bookstore to see if it is carrying Prine’s book.
John Prine means the world to me. Where would we be without his songs? He has a way with imagery and painting real characters that we all know.
He brings out the beauty in this often sad world, shows us where we’re hurt and makes us feel like we’re okay and we’re in it together. He likes to say that his music is sad. Maybe that’s true, but you never leave one of his shows feeling sad. What you do get from a John Prine show is a good spiritual cleansing and a chance to be with people that feel the way you might feel. His songs are community.
He is family.
Because he is family to me and because both my family and his have become closer, I don’t dare mention that he his a really terrible whistler. Awful. Piss poor, even. Good thing he didn’t get into the whistling business.
I’d like to add that any time I get to talk to John Prine about writing and every time that I get the privilege and honor to share the stage or some dinner with him I feel like the luckiest person in the world. I also not so secretly hope that just a little of his wit and turn of phrase might rub off on me. His encouragement may not ever send me into the stratosphere that he occupies musically and with words, but he sure keeps me from wanting to ever give up.
I value the fact that he thinks what I do is real and worthy. So with that, I can say that I will keep being me and I will keep studying his process and I’ll keep studying his dance moves. —Amanda Shires
This article appears in Dec 7-14, 2017.
