Angel From Mongomery

Angel From Montgomery
©John Prine

I am an old woman named after my mother
My old man is another child that's grown old
If dreams were lightning thunder was desire
This old house would have burnt down a long time ago

Chorus:
Make me an angel that flies from Montgom'ry
Make me a poster of an old rodeo
Just give me one thing that I can hold on to
To believe in this living is just a hard way to go

When I was a young girl well, I had me a cowboy
He weren't much to look at, just free rambling man
But that was a long time and no matter how I try
The years just flow by like a broken down dam.

Make me an angel that flies from Montgom'ry
Make me a poster of an old rodeo
Just give me one thing that I can hold on to
To believe in this living is such a hard way to go.

There's flies in the kitchen I can hear 'em there buzzing
And I ain't done nothing since I woke up today.
How the hell can a person go to work in the morning
And come home in the evening and have nothing to say.

Make me an Angel that flies from Montgom'ry
Make me a poster of an old rodeo.
Just give me one thing that I can hold on to
To believe in this living is just a hard way to go.

There are some songs that speak to me. This is one of them.

I heard it today on "This American Life," a music interview program on NPR radio. I drove around for quite a while, listening to John Prine. I remember going to see him, and Steve Goodman and Claudia Schmidt when we lived in Chicago. When SSS and I lived out in the country, I sang it a lot. That was about when he started having "nothing to say."

I had forgotten about it over the years, but today, I was driving in the car, singing it as loudly as I could with tears running down my face.

Have I mentioned that I'm sick of being sad?