The songwriter John Prine enshrined as a poet: “He’s one of the few”
Of all the wordsmiths and lyricists that have come and gone throughout the years, few have been as well-loved by their peers as John Prine. A real ‘musicians musician’, Prine never amassed a great deal of commercial success; he did not play to packed out arenas, and he never betrayed his principles for monetary gain.
Despite this, or perhaps because of it, Prine was much beloved by fellow musicians, a notable example being Bob Dylan. Dylan supported Prine tirelessly and even cited the Illinois-born folk singer as one of his favourite songwriters of all time. High praise indeed from somebody who has been awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature.
Beginning his career in the open-mic folk scene of Chicago in the 1960s, Prine attested that he was originally inspired to perform in response to “You think you can do better?”, a comment made by a disgruntled performer who had been criticised by Prine.
Quickly, the singer-songwriter was being offered gigs and received praise from the likes of Kris Kristofferson. He began to record and release albums in the early 1970s and continued until 2018. Tragically, the world lost John Prine in 2020, but he left behind a legacy of fantastic songwriting and an incredible discography.
So beloved by both fans and his fellow musicians alike, Prine’s words and opinions hold a lot of weight. Once the likes of Bob Dylan let the world know how much they like you, you have a kind of inherent authority over musical opinions. Hence, being hailed as “a poet” by one of the most well-regarded songwriters of the 20th century is a form of praise that would be coveted by anyone.
Speaking to Toronto Sun back in 2012, Prine allocated that moniker to the incredible Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. He said: “He’s one of the few people I think is a poet. And he’s always been committed to doing his best”.
It appears as though the respect was mutual between the two: “I met Leonard years ago in Hollywood at a bar down the street from the Troubadour,” Prine continued, “I’d always liked him and he let me know right there and then he was aware of my music”.
John ended his 2012 Canadian tour by participating in a tribute concert to Cohen, who was to receive the Glenn Gould Prize for enriching the human condition through his art. Even towards the end of his life, Cohen remained as incredible as ever; according to Prine, “I went to see his show and could not believe it,” he said, “I never would have thought I would sit through three hours of Leonard Cohen and not even want to go get popcorn because I didn’t want to miss a moment”.
