Released in 2003, “Prison Grove” is Zevon’s stark depiction of an inmate in a jail constructed of iron and rock, with no heat, in the coldest winter.
Lyrics:
An icy wind burns and scars
Rushes in like a fallen star
Through the narrow space
Between these bars
Looking down on Prison Grove
Dug in, hunkered down
Hours race without a sound
Gonna carry me to where I’m bound
Looking down on Prison Grove
Iron will hard as rock
Hold me up for the fateful knock
When they walk me down in a mortal lock
Out on Prison Grove
Shine on all these broken lives
Shine on
Shine the light on me
Oohh oohh
Oohh oohh
Oohh oohh
Oohh oohh
Oohh oohh
Oohh oohh
Knick Knack Paddy Wack
They say you’ll hear your own bones crack
When they bend you back to bible black
Then you’ll find your love
Some folks have to die too hard
Some folks have to cry too hard
Take one last look at the prison yard
Goodbye Prison Grove
Shine on all these broken lives
Shine on
Shine the light on me
Hey!
Come on!
Oohh oohh
Come on!
Oohh oohh
Oohh oohh
Oohh oohh
Come on!
Oohh oohh
Hey!
Oohh oohh
Come on!
Oohh oohh
Hey!
Oohh oohh
Oohh oohh
Oohh oohh
Oohh
……
Adding weight to the track, it was recorded while Zevon was fending off terminal lung cancer, giving the song an air of a death sentence Zevon knows he can’t escape. Bruce Springsteen, T-Bone Burnett and others provide background vocals.
The song was also included on Exclusive Tracks From Uncut’s Top 15 Albums Of 2003, a Various Artists compilation CD issued exclusively with UK Uncut magazine in Jan 2004.
The Wind is the twelfth and final studio album by American singer/songwriter Warren Zevon. The album was released on August 26, 2003, by Artemis Records. Zevon began recording the album shortly after he was diagnosed with inoperable pleural mesothelioma(a cancer of the lining of the lung), and it was released just two weeks before his death on September 7, 2003. The album was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. “Disorder in the House”, performed by Zevon and Bruce Springsteen, won Best Rock Vocal Performance (Group or Duo). Songs from the album were nominated for an additional three Grammys.
Warren Zevon
| Birth name | Warren William Zevon Stephen Lyme |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Sandy Zevon |
| Born | January 24, 1947 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Died | September 7, 2003 (aged 56) Los Angeles, United States |
| Genres | Rock, country rock, folk rock,hard rock, blues rock |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica |
| Years active | 1965–2003 |
| Labels | White Whale, Imperial,Asylum, Virgin,Giant/Reprise/Warner Bros.,Artemis, Koch Entertainment |
| Associated acts | CBS Orchestra, Billy Bob Thornton, Jackson Browne,David Lindley, Waddy Wachtel, Bruce Springsteen,Dwight Yoakam, Hindu Love Gods, Linda Ronstadt, The Everly Brothers, Don Everly,Phil Everly, Richie Hayward,Jack Casady, Chick Corea,Jerry Garcia, David Gilmour,Neil Young, Don Henley,George Clinton, Timothy B. Schmit, Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty, The Eagles, R.E.M.,Manfred Mann, The Turtles,lyme and cybelle, Jorge Calderón, Stevie Nicks, Rock Bottom Remainders, David Marks, Widespread Panic |
| Website | warrenzevon.com |
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