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Picture Show - John Prine



     
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Picture Show Lyrics


A young man from a small town
With a very large imagination
Lay alone in his room with his radio on
Looking for another station
When the static from the mouthpiece
Gave way to the sound belowJames Dean went out to Hollywood
And put his picture in a Picture Show
James Dean went out to Hollywood
And put his picture in a Picture ShowAnd It's, oh, daddy get off of your knees
Mama, why'd you have to go
Your darling Jim is out on a limb
I put my picture in a Picture Show
Whoa, ho, put my picture in a Picture ShowHamburgers, cheeseburgers
Wilbur and Orville Wright
John Garfield in the afternoon
Montgomery Clift at nightWhen the static hit the mouthpiece
Gave way to the sound below
James Dean went out to Hollywood

And put his picture in a Picture ShowAnd It's, oh, daddy get off of your knees
Mama why'd you have to go
Your darling Jim is out on a limb
I put my picture in a Picture Show
Whoa, ho, put my picture in a Picture ShowA Mocca man in a Wigwam sitting on a reservation
With a big black hole in the belly of his soul
Waiting on an explanation
While the white man sits on his fat can
And takes pictures of the NavajoEvery time he clicks his Kodak pics
He steals a little bit of soul
Every time he clicks his Kodak pics
He steals a little bit of soulAnd It's, oh, daddy get off of your knees
Mama, why'd you have to go
Your darling Jim is out on a limb
I put my picture in a Picture Show
Whoa, ho, put my picture in a Picture Show
Ya, ha, put my picture in a Picture Show
Here we goA young man from a small town
With a very large imagination

Enjoy the lyrics !!!
John Prine (born October 10, 1946 in Maywood, Illinois) is an american country/folk singer-songwriter who has achieved widespread critical (and some commercial) success since the early 1970s.

The son of William Prine and Verna Hamm, his grandfather had played guitar with Merle Travis and he started playing guitar himself at 14 years old. He was a postman for 5 years and spent a couple of years in the army before starting his musical career in the Chicago area. He emerged in 1971 with a highly acclaimed debut album titled John Prine. He and friend Steve Goodman (another folk singer-songwriter) had been minor stars in the Chicago folk scene before being "discovered" by Kris Kristofferson. The album John Prine included his signature songs "Illegal Smile", "Sam Stone", and the environmentalist newgrass standard "Paradise". The album also included "Hello In There", a song about aging that was later covered by Joan Baez, Bette Midler, and Eddi Reader, and "Angel From Montgomery", a song now also associated with Bonnie Raitt, who occasionally brings Prine on-stage with her for live performances of the song. The album received many positive reviews, and some hailed Prine as "the next Dylan". Bob Dylan himself appeared unannounced at one of Prine's first New York City club appearances, anonymously backing him on harmonica.

Later albums include Sweet Revenge (1973, containing such Prine fan favorites as "Dear Abby", "Grandpa was a Carpenter", and "Christmas In Prison"), and Common Sense (1975, with "Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard").

In 1991 Prine released the Grammy Award-winning The Missing Years, his first collaboration with producer and bassist Howie Epstein. The title song records Prine's humorous take on what Jesus did in the unrecorded years between his childhood and his ministry. In 1995 Prine released Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings, another collaboration with Epstein. In 1997 Prine followed with In Spite of Ourselves, which was unusual for Prine in that it contained only one original song; the rest were covers of classic country songs. All were collaborations with Prine's favorite female country vocalists, including Lucinda Williams and Iris DeMent.

In early 1998 Prine was diagnosed with throat cancer, but survived after an operation to remove the tumor and this has added gravel to his voice. In 2003 he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for songwriting by the UK's BBC Radio 2 and that same year was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The following year saw his classic "Sam Stone" covered by Laura Cantrell for the Future Soundtrack for America compilation.

In 2005, Prine released his first all-new album since In Spite of Ourselves. This new album, Fair and Square, tends toward a more laid-back, acoustic approach than, for example, Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings. The album contains songs such as "Safety Joe", about a man who has never taken any risks in his life, and also "Some Humans Ain't Human", Prine's protest piece on the album, which talks about the ugly side of human nature and includes a quick shot at President George W. Bush. Fair and Square won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

The 2005 Americana Music Awards marked another significant achievement for Prine. At the September 9th ceremony, Prine was honored with the Artist of the Year award, which was accepted in his name by awards host and long-time friend Billy Bob Thornton.

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John Prine