John Prine’s Last Recorded Song “I Remember Everything”
The gaping hole left in our hearts where a living John Prine once dwelled will not heal easily or anytime soon. But one of the saving graces of losing one of your musical heroes is that you will always have their music to remember them fondly by, and console you when the weight becomes too heavy.
John Prine passed away due to COVID-19 on April 7th at the age of 73, leaving behind an incredible legacy of songs that will outlast all of our lifetimes in the influence they inspire, and the ears they entertain. But we haven’t quite heard the last of the ol’ singing mailman just yet.
Ahead of a recent virtual tribute called Picture Show: A Tribute Celebrating John Prine (available through Sunday, June 14th) where many performers and famous friends of John Prine reflected on his life and passing, his widow Fiona Whelan Prine revealed that John been working on a new record right before he died.
John Prine fans can expect new songs from the songwriter in the future, but last things first, the very final song John Prine ever recorded called “I Remember Everything” has been released via Prine’s label Oh By Records, along with video of Prine performing and recording the song.
Written with longtime collaborator Pat McLaughlin and produced by Dave Cobb, whether it was meant to be just an acoustic performance originally or more was to be added later on in the process, the way it turned out works as the perfect epitaph to a historic career.
The delicate sweetness, and poetic weight that accompanied John Prine songs for over 50 years is all evident in “I Remember Everything,” and what a way to punctuate how the most important thing in life is our memories right as Prine’s story was coming to a close. John Prine left us with more wisdom and warm memories than most, and “I Remember Everything” adds to that legacy.
June 13, 2020 @ 10:42 am
Whenever I hear posthumous recordings are coming out I always think they will be unfinished bland filler. Of course John Prine leaves us with another heartfelt beautiful song.
June 13, 2020 @ 11:25 am
Indeed he does!
June 13, 2020 @ 11:28 am
On Instagram his wife Fiona said she sees ‘I Remember Everything’ as being a post script to ‘Summers End’.
June 13, 2020 @ 11:33 am
Trigger, does that mean there is gonna be a new John Prine album?
June 13, 2020 @ 12:27 pm
Not sure if they will release the songs individually or in album form. Not exactly sure how many of them there are. I’m sure we’ll hear something about this soon. They might be still trying to figure all that out.
June 13, 2020 @ 11:37 am
I love this song. I’d be embarrassed to say how many times I’ve played it in the last two days. It’s so simple melodically and lyrically, you could memorize it in five minutes. I think about the sturdy courage of a line like, “Got no future in my happiness,” and how it’s tucked away in a short song which manages to include swimming pools of butterflies, roses that miss the dew, a little tenderness (sometimes the best that he could do), every motel room, out of tune guitars, and every single blade of grass. I could imagine young guitar players practicing on this song and growing over time into the lyrics.
By the way, I thought A Picture Show was wonderfully well produced, a melancholy pleasure from beginning to end.
June 13, 2020 @ 11:54 am
It was a year ago to the day give or take that John played here with Tyler Childers. An absolutely amazing show. I remember pissing and moaning because it was cold out that night how trivial was that compared to a year later?……What I wouldn’t give now to relive it one more time……sniff sniff. I’ve learned in the last few weeks don’t take things for granted. Good tune, I hope there’s an album.
June 13, 2020 @ 2:55 pm
Loved John Prine and his music. I can’t believe he is gone. Miss his music!!!
June 13, 2020 @ 4:58 pm
Just go ahead and award SCM’s Song of the Year award. Powerful…
June 13, 2020 @ 5:52 pm
Very Beautiful
June 13, 2020 @ 6:44 pm
There was nobody Like the singing mailman
June 14, 2020 @ 4:35 am
There is a lot of great music in the Picture Show tribute that should be released as an album. Sturgill Simson’s brilliant guitar picking and vocals on “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness”, Jason Isbell’s “Hello”, and Bonnie Raitt’s heartbreaking rendition of “Angel From Montgomery are just a few of the standouts.
June 14, 2020 @ 11:04 am
I hate to make this glorious post controversial again, but I waited the normal amount of “comment high time” …
12 comments on (at this moment) John Prine’s new song after he passed away from COVID-19 … 12
I’m so sick of the USA.
84 Comments – Highwomen Admit Mickey Guyton Left Out of Video Shoot
147 Comments – On Lady Antebellum Changing Their Name to “Lady A”
Get your fucking priorities straight.
– A concerned European.
June 14, 2020 @ 4:00 pm
Sweetheart,
I think you have enough to worry about on your own continent.
Most of us are not “so sick of the USA”
Mrs. Prine,
Sincerely hope you are doing well.
June 14, 2020 @ 6:27 pm
Hardly seems like the place to voice your displeasure with the USA.
Get YOUR FUCKING priorities straight.
June 14, 2020 @ 12:40 pm
Thanks again John Prine
June 14, 2020 @ 4:46 pm
Great song!, Was lucky to meet him twice about twenty years ago along with his brother, Such a nice humble man, this song is a real winner as are all of his songs.
June 15, 2020 @ 7:03 pm
Been struggling with John’s pickin’ style……when I heard this, I was determined to learn it…as it was…..well, you heard it! Amazingly, the pickin’ just kicked in. I have done two of his songs for 30 years or so, but I have learned SO many of John’s songs in the last 3 months stuck on top of this mountain. What a loss……could have had a WHOLE lot more of his wonderful songs……but, I am determined to keep singing them and letting those folks who don’t know him………….what they have missed! THANKS for all JOHN!
June 15, 2020 @ 7:06 pm
Hmmm, already filled this out once…….you might have a site glitch…but here goes again.
June 16, 2020 @ 10:35 am
A true master, what else can you say.