John Prine's Final Song Underscores DNC Tribute to Those Lost to Coronavirus
John Prine's music is living on and helping to remember those lost to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in a new tribute video.
On Monday, the opening night of the all-virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention included a video segment that remembered those who died due to the coronavirus. The in memoriam clip featured the last-recorded song from Prine, who died in April from coronavirus complications.
Titled "I Remember Everything," the song underscored the emotional video, which was also shared by the late country legend's Twitter account.
"I've been down this road before, I remember every tree/ Every single blade of grass, holds a special place for me/ And I remember every town, every hotel room/ Every song I ever sang on a guitar out of tune," he croons in the song.
Prine, the country-folk singer and songwriter behind classics such as “Angel from Montgomery,” died on Tuesday, April 7, at age 73, as a result of complications from COVID-19 at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
Prine was hospitalized with a “sudden onset” of coronavirus symptoms on March 26 and intubated on March 28, his family wrote in a statement posted to Instagram on March 29.
“This is hard news for us to share,” his family wrote at the time. “But so many of you have loved and supported John over the years, we wanted to let you know, and give you the chance to send on more of that love and support now,” the statement continued. “And know that we love you, and John loves you.”
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In recent years, Prine survived cancer twice. In 1998, he had surgery and radiation to fight squamous cell cancer that was found on his neck, and underwent a year of speech therapy before he could perform again, with a more gravelly voice.
“I think it improved my voice, if anything,” he told NPR. “I always had a hard time listening to my singing before my surgery.”
His wife of 23 years, Fiona Whelan Prine, was also diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier in March and had been keeping fans updated about Prine’s condition while he was in the hospital. In June, Fiona spoke with CBS This Morning, sharing that it’s been difficult carrying on without her husband, though she's confident she's "going to be okay."
“I am in uncharted territory,” she said at the time. "Sometimes a friend will call and ask me how I am and I'll say, 'I was hoping you would tell me.' But I know too, I'll be okay. I have a resilience. I have the resilience muscle, which is a little exhausted right now, but I'm going to be okay. John left me a lot."
According to data compiled by The New York Times, there have been over 5,455,100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 170,400 deaths in the U.S., as of Tuesday morning.
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