Kacey Musgraves wrote "Burn One With John Prine" not long after moving to Nashville. Beyond advertising one of Musgraves' singer-songwriter heroes, the song previewed the shattering of taboos about religion, weed and other topics she would fearlessly tackle again, from the initial success of "Merry Go Round" through multi-Grammy winner Golden Hour and the more recent and ambitious star-crossed.
Videos by Wide Open Country
As we learned in the following footage from 2015's Cayamo: Journey Through Song cruise, Musgraves unsuccessfully tried living out the song's title at one of John Prine's famous Christmas parties. They eventually became friends and played the song together on the cruise, where many of Musgraves' fans heard the future "Slow Burn" line "My grandma cried when I pierced my nose" for the first time.
After Prine's death in April of 2020, Musgraves reflected back on the cruise.
"I couldn't have imagined a more full circle moment and I'll never ever forget it," she wrote on social media, as reported by PopMatters. "This hurts. My heart is aching for [Fiona Prine] and their sweet family."
Read More: The 15 Best Jason Isbell Songs, Ranked
"Cheers to the years of unbelievable songs you've given the world, John," Musgraves wrote in a separate post. "They were incredible when you wrote them and they will be incredible forever. Your influence couldn't be more widespread and everlasting. Burning one with you or not - you've fulfilled my bucket list a million times over...(but I'm not gonna lie I'm still holdin' out.) XO."
"Burn One With John Prine" Lyrics
Get a little drunk, get a little loud
Stupid me and my rebel mouth
Ain't all wrong but I ain't alright
Don't see the world in black and white
My grandma cried when I pierced my nose
I never liked doing what I was told
Don't judge me and I won't judge you
'Cause I ain't walkin' in your shoes
'Cause I ain't one to knock religion
Though it's always knockin' me
Always runnin' with the wrong crowd
Right where I want to be
And I ain't good at being careful
I just say what's on my mind
Like my idea of heaven
Is to burn one with John Prine
And maybe he would sit awhile
And render me an illegal smile
And I bet that he would understand
Just how I feel and who I am
'Cause I ain't one to knock religion
Though it's always knockin' me
Always runnin' with the wrong crowd
Right where I want to be
And I ain't good at being careful
I just say what's on my mind
Like my idea of heaven
Is to burn one with John Prine
And I play my life like truth or dare
I'm not all here but I'm all there, yeah
And all the colors people paint me
Don't they know they'll never change me, yeah
'Cause I ain't one to knock religion
Though it's always knockin' me
Always runnin' with the wrong crowd
Right where I want to be
And I ain't good at being careful
I just say what's on my mind
Like my idea of heaven
Is to burn one with John Prine
Yeah, my idea of heaven
Is to burn one with John Prine
This article was originally published in 2020.
