Happy birthday John.... 12 years ago you gave me some of the best advice I ever got ... I was two weeks into town and it was Christmas Eve ... Billy had invited me over to your place because I had nowhere to go for Christmas ... The entire Prine family opened their hearts and home ... I was so humbled ... We had stayed up really late sipping on Jameson and playing snooker with Fergie and Billy after Christmas dinner ... I had gotten thirsty after everyone went to bed and my head was spinning in the Irish whiskey ... So I got up to get a glass of water ... My backpack was next to the glass table in the breakfast nook ... So being the guy I am ... I pulled out a notebook and started writing you a thank you note ... I was still thirsty so I started rummaging through the kitchen cabinets when I heard ... UhhhUmmm ... I turned around and there you were in your robe at about 3:30 AM on Christmas morning ... And Santa had not arrived yet wink wink ;) for the boys ... Here I was .. A holiday stranger caught red-handed rummaging through your kitchen cabinets ... Was I trying to find something to sell on eBay ... Or ... another crazy fan ... LOL ... Then you saw the note I had started ... You ask what I was doing and I responded that I was just trying to find a glass so I could get a drink ... I meant water ... You smiled and directed me to the rocks glasses next to the liquor cabinet ... Ask if I liked it neat ... To which I replied ... I do ... We cracked the seal on a bottle of Jameson ... Poured two ... And you said ... so Billy tells me you want to be a songwriter ... I answered ... I do John more than anything else in the world ... The first thing you asked me was ... can I do anything else? ... I can .. Im a degreed Manufacturing engineer ... You said ... good go do that ... I was stunned ... You must have read the bewilderment on my face ... Because what you said next ... changed my life ... Nashville is a Mecca for the song ... The best songwriters in the world move here ... and if you think youre going to impress anybody ... youre not ... But if you want to succeed here ... Get a job doing what you know how to do ... Build a life here ... And the music pendulum will swing ... Like the music pendulum does ... And eventually you will be able to make a life ... out of Music Then you swallowed the last of your Jameson smiled and said ... Now I have to go put presents under the tree John ... I want you to know ... I took that advice to heart ... I Started a job at Dell computer company near the airport in January ... And ended up hiring all the guys I was making music with in this town back then because we could work weekends and write during the week ... Flash forward 10 years ... All of us ended up in publishing deals ... Two of the guys ended up at Warner Bros. Records ... And my first cut ... singled ... 3 years ago ... And I have been making my life out of Music ever since ... I am so grateful you were born on this day ... Not only for the music that you have made ... that I have enjoyed my entire life ... But for the advice you gave me on that Christmas morning ... When I was two weeks green in this town ... That changed mine ... Happy Birthday John :) Love Blue
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 20:02:25 +0000
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