Emmylou Harris (covering John Prine) – Hello In There
When John Prine was 22, he used to help a buddy with a newspaper route. He delivered papers room-to-room at an old folks home where residents rarely had visitors.
When John delivered the papers, residents treated him as if he were a long-lost relative.
John heard their stories. John felt their loneliness. And John wrote a song inspired by that.
That song was released on his first album, “John Prine,” that was released 50 years ago this weekend.
And that song appears on a new tribute album, “Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows” that was released last week. That album features 12 Prine songs, covered by Sturgill Simpson, Amanda Shires, Jason Isbell, Iris Dement, John Paul White, Bonnie Raitt, Valerie June, Margo Price, Tyler Childers, Nathaniel Rateliff, Brandi Carlile, and Emmylou Harris.
The song Emmylou Harris covers — that’s the song inspired by the lonely old folks, and that version is…
Today’s Song
Title: Hello In There
Artist: Emmylou Harris (covering John Prine)
Album: Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/scKPIbdD7WA
Lyrics
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
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 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 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”
Here are the Playlists:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3xYKtYparrdJRYAjBj9kjx?si=eb6c3ebc30484204
Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/ware-house-concerts-song-of-the-day/pl.u-Ggz26cZlAVLj
