John Prine Died April 7 From Covid-19 Complications

Following up on March 29's John Prine "Paradise".

....When I die let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I am

And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away

Rolling Stone has a dozen stories

And from Nashville via USA Today:

John Prine wrote the perfect farewell song with 'When I Get To Heaven'

When I heard that John Prine had died, I had the same impulse that his countless admirers around the world had.

I needed to hear the man sing.

But I didn't turn to his flawless 1971 debut album. I went in the other direction — to 2018, and the final track on the last album he released.

It's called "When I Get to Heaven," and on it, he lays out his plans for the afterlife.

When I get to heaven, I'm gonna shake God's hand

Thank him for more blessings than one man can stand

Then I'm gonna get a guitar and start a rock and roll band

Check into a swell hotel, ain't the afterlife grand?

What follows is one of those all-time great Prine choruses — a refrain you can sing along with after you've heard it once.

He's "gonna get a cocktail, vodka and ginger ale." (That was his drink of choice. He called it a "Handsome Johnny.")

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