The Inspiration Behind My Tribute Song to John Prine and Warren Zevon

Every now and then, a song taps you on the shoulder and more or less demands to be written. A couple of years back this happened with my song Senior Senor, written for my/our departed friend Blair Allchurch.

That’s what happened with John & Warren — a tribute to John Prine and Warren Zevon, two songwriters who’ve loomed large in my listening life, even though, especially in Zevon's case their own lives were cut far too short (Zevon was only 53 when he departed for the great gig in the sky in 2003).

A yearly tribute show to coincide with Prine's untimely passing to Covid in 2020 had me sitting around with the guitar thinking it would be great to hear from both of them still, every now and then via the odd release with their unique take on living a daily life.

At first glance, they couldn’t have been more different.

John Prine in later years

John Prine — a mailman from Maywood, Illinois, who wrote like he’d been eavesdropping on the human race for centuries. A folk singer with both a poet’s sensitivity and comic timing (insert any Bob Dylan references here). He built a steady following throughout the seventies and was championed by the likes of Kris Kristopherson and Bonnie Raitt. A cult hero to many of his peers.

Warren Zevon mid Eighties

Warren Zevon — the wild man from the L.A. scene , often piano-pounding with classical flourishes but equally adept at guitar, razor-sharp, darkly funny, and just as likely to reference French literature , sentimental hygiene, and listing things to do in "Denver When You're Dead".

But to me, they were kindred spirits.

Both of them had an eye for life’s small details — the cracks, the flaws, the ordinary moments that suddenly became luminous (or hilarious) in the right hands.

Both of them could move a listener to laughter and tears — sometimes in the same line.

And both of them had what I think of as missing years — those stretches in their careers when the spotlight faded, there were never any big hits anyway (apart from Zevon with what was regarded as a novelty hit "Werewolves of London") , and they were left to do what true songwriters do: keep writing anyway.

Different Roads, Same Destination

Prine’s career had its own odd shape. Early acclaim gave way to long stretches in the wilderness. The major labels lost interest. But he never lost his touch. When The Missing Years came out in 1991 — after a gap of five years —he was surrounded by his peers that had serious star power , among them om Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Bonnie Raitt.

Zevon’s story was wilder, messier. He was a cult hero, a songwriter’s songwriter ( Linda Ronstadt covered many of his songs in the seventies ), known as much for his personal chaos as his lyrical brilliance. But he kept writing songs that no one else could have written. Excitable Boy might’ve been the hit album, but some of his finest work came in the quieter moments, when no one much was listening (The Envoy, Mr Bad Example). And when people started listening again after the release of Sentimental Hygiene in 1986 (utilising the talents of REM amongst others) he would then shoot himself in the foot career wise with the experimental prog influenced Transverse City.

That’s what drew me to write John & Warren. Not just to celebrate their best-known work, but to acknowledge the lean years, the missing years, the cracks in the road.

Not In The Hall of Fame (Yet)

One of the lines in the song goes:

John & Warren aren’t in the Hall of Fame / Should be renamed the Roomful of Shame

At the time of writing this, neither of them have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This is just truly bizarre.

Why Write This Song?

Simple really.

Because there’s something about two very different songwriters — from different scenes, with different sounds — who both understood that life is messy and funny and tragic, often all at once.

And because songs keep people alive, in their own strange way.

This one’s for John & Warren.

John & Warren

Music & Lyrics by Blair Morgan c 2025

V1

John & Warren once roamed this place,

With an eye for the detail of the human race,

May as well as been from out of space,

Now John & Warren are gone .

V2

John & Warren aren’t in the hall of fame,

Should be renamed the room of shame,

For not recognising their very names,

Now John & Warren are gone.

Chorus

Both Excitable Boys with Missing Years

Could move a listener to laughter & tears

Well maybe at the same time , maybe not

Nothing better than a twisted plot

John & Warren

Warren & John

Chorus

Both Excitable Boys with Missing Years

Could move a listener to laughter & tears

Well maybe at the same time , maybe not

Nothing better than a twisted plot

John & Warren

Warren & John

V3

John & Warren they had this knack,

Without being paraded in a Cadillac,

Of looking through all of life’s cracks,

Now John & Warren are gone

John & Warren

Warren & John

They are both gone

#johnandwarren #johnprine #warrenzevon #themissingyears #excitableboy