Angel from Montgomery

I felt great sadness when I heard that the songwriter and singer John Prine died earlier this week from Covid-19. Hearing one of his songs on the radio took me back to the 1970s when I was young and first heard his music. One of the songs, an unhappy and powerful one, that I loved hearing him sing was Angel from Montgomery. I was just learning printmaking and made a woodcut in 1972 (under a previous name) arising from some of the lyrics.

“I am an old woman named after my mother

My old man is another child that’s grown old

If dreams were lightning

And thunder were desire

This old house would have burned down a long time ago.

****

Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery

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.”

The last two lines above are a great reflection of how I feel at times during this pandemic and the crisis it has brought on.

Good health to you all, dear readers!