Todd Snider – Handsome John
For many, many years John Prine would end most of his concerts with “Paradise.”
Daddy won’t you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I’m sorry my son, but you’re too late in asking
Mister Peabody’s coal train has hauled it away
But on his last tour, Prine would end concerts with “Lake Marie.” After an extended jam, he’d put down his guitar and do a little dance.
As his backing band brought home the song, Prine would shimmy and spin and shuffle his way to the front of the stage and then to the side until he’d exit stage right.
At his concert at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Friday, Todd Snider told a story about witnessing this for the first time.
Snider was standing backstage. As Prine exited and shimmied past, he turned to Snider with a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye and said, “Betcha didn’t see that comin’!”
Another Prine story that Snider told the other night: One time Prine was with some pals and someone asked, “If you could give yourself a nickname, what would it be?”
Prine smiled and said, “Call me ‘Handsome John.'”
This man who wrote the song, “They Oughta Name a Drink After You,” later named his favorite cocktail, “The Handsome Johnny.”
Google it. You’ll find various references to the drink — including stories of artists who poured themselves a Handsome Johnny (vodka and ginger ale) to toast John Prine after he passed away last year.
So…if you’re the drinkin’ kind, pour yourself a Handsome Johnny, raise your glass to the heavens, and listen to today’s song. It comes from Snider’s latest album. It’s his tribute to the singing mailman from Maywood, Illinois.
Enjoy…
Today’s Song
Title: Handsome John
Artist: Todd Snider
Album: First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder (2021)
YouTube Link:
youtu.be/F5cibFut-cs
Lyrics
I didn’t know him as well as I tell everyone I did
Hell he was nearly fifty and I was only a kid
But even way back in those missing years when he was still just catching on
There was nobody better than Handsome John
Oh boy
Look no further for your real McCoy
Here comes the singing mailman from Maywood, Illinois
Oh boy
The next time I saw him he walked off to paradise
In a way that I would say that I still take for advice
For with a plain spoken word and a simple melody
You can see this world with dignity
Oh boy
Look no further for your real McCoy
Here comes the singing mailman from Maywood, Illinois
Oh boy
The last time I saw him he danced off to lake Marie
When I realized I was crying out in tears of victory
For with a few still missing and a new one coming on
There was still nobody better than Handsome John
Oh boy
Look no further for your real McCoy
Here comes the singing mailman from Maywood, Illinois
Oh boy
Oh boy
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
