"Armadillos & Big White Pillows" — the song I wrote the night John Prine died

If you're a John Prine fan (and who isn't?), it was a kick to the gut… The indispensable man, the Songwriter's Songwriter, universally loved, had left this Big Ol' Goofy World - SPLAT! - no goodbye… Bugs on windshields have bigger send-offs. Emotional, teary, I didn't know what to do, how to express myself, so, guitar in hand, I began writing — things John taught me, things that would make him laugh… The result, along with "Godspeed, Old Friend" (unrecorded), was "Armadillos & Big White Pillows"… Wish he was to hear it. Maybe in Heaven, he can.

~ GH

“Armadillos and Big White Pillows”

*Armadillos and big white pillows,
and creaky farmhouse doors
Cattle auctions and midnight boxing,
and bonfire, beachfront schmoors

**Summer lightnin’ and children frightened,
and dogs wagging their tails
I learned from tryin’, can’t whistle while smilin’,
can’t whistle while cryin’, either way

My old dog, Scruff, he rolls in stuff
Enough is enough, he never bathes
I feed him bacon — is this love we’re makin,
as the years just fade away?

**Repeat

A bridge to nowhere is a bridge to somewhere
We all need a place to go
Down by the sea in a coffee cup, there lives an octopus —
must be kind of rough

I don’t know, I can’t say
If you’re going to make a stand, shoot for lemonade
Then there’s music, listen with your heart
Even on a high note, if you cut a…

*Armadillos and big white pillows ,
and creaky farmhouse doors
Cattle auctions and midnight boxing,
and bonfire, beachfront schmoors

**Summer lightnin’ and children frightened
And dogs wagging their tails
I learned from tryin’, can’t whistle while smilin’,
can’t whistle while cryin’, either way…
Can’t whistle while cryin’, either way

Armadillos and big white pillows, they just fade away