Monday, August 4, 2025
Time: 5:14 PM
Song: In Spite of Ourselves
Artist: John Prine & Iris Dement
Mode of Consumption: Listening to MP3s on shuffle on the way home from work.
Link to song: https://open.spotify.com/track/2K2eLVi9HJ84T1dkifkQ9O?si=497c76b7df2543b2
I remember seeing a
video of a live performance of this song. Prine introduces it by explaining
that he had written the song for a movie he was starring in along with Billy
Bob Thornton.
He revealed that he
had to ask Thornton that he never really understood if he was writing a song
for a movie if it should mention the characters and/or the plot. I’ve always wondered
about that, too.
Prine even mentions
watching some movies and hearing a song and not understanding why it was used
or what the connection was.
Obviously, when
writing songs for a musical, the songs are part of moving the plot along or
developing characters, setting or mood, so they must connect with the story. But,
in a regular dramatic film, the music may only play in the background, or possibly
just role during the end credits.
The song that jumps
to mind for me that connects is Bruce Springsteen’s “Philadelphia” which does
relate to the movie “Philadelphia,” but can stand alone also in Springsteen’s
catalog. It touches on many of the same themes that have marked the Boss’s career.
So does this tune
for Prine. He admits it is loosely based on the characters. If he’d never revealed
its movie connection, it would have fit right along with his catalog anyways.
It’s another story from Prine with humor and heart.
Actually, great big
hearts dancing in his eyes.
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