I was wandering around the net, and ran across a blast from the past:
And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile
It don’t cost very much, but it lasts a long while
Won’t you please tell the man I didn’t kill anyone
No I’m just tryin’ to have me some fun.
That’s from the chorus of “Illegal Smile” by John Prine (iTunes link)
I immediately downloaded the song on iTunes and it gave me a huge legal smile. Go ahead. Spend the 99¢. (I particularly like the line: Bowl of oatmeal tried to stare me down… and won)
Prine got his start performing in the Chicago folk clubs in the 1960’s and came out with “Illegal Smile” around 1971. His songs range through folk-blues-bluegrass-country.
[By the way, for a powerful, but much less upbeat song of Prine’s, listen to “Sam Stone” (There’s a hole in Daddy’s arm, where all the money goes). It’s a song we should probably be heeding now, given all the Iraq war casualties who will be facing a difficult transition to life back in the states.]
What are your song recommendations? (I’d like to put together a list.)