John Prine -- Illegal Smile [REACTION/RATING]

Almost nobody could pull off what John did whenever he sang a song. He leaves me speechless as much as any artist ever has.
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#JohnPrine #IllegalSmile #RockN2Country

[@ianshortall3356]

He was one of the greatest songwriters of his generation!!!!

[@RockN2Country]

@Ian Shortall Amen all the way around!!

[@ChrisB-xm3mg]

No question. And I love how he can do something really funny and then turn around and stick the knife in with something like Sam Stone. I always said he was a funnier version of Dylan.

[@stanatkins]

I really like "Sam Stone"!

[@shannon3699]

just a song about getting high. RIP John Prine 💗

[@Bozoette]

I've seen John Prine many times - this was definitely the sing-along song for smoking reefer.

[@BilbusWilbury]

Time for another John Prine song is a timeless statement.

[@jimmydavis1012]

Pretty sure he was talking about getting high and escaping have a good one Don

[@dangabbert3944]

Yes, that is exactly what he’s talking about. It was obvious from the first time I listened to it( when it was first released). I didn’t think it could be interpreted any other way.

[@Taranaki66]

@@dangabbert3944 You are wrong. www.songfacts.com/facts/john-prine/illegal-smile

[@billherman7294]

That's the way I understood it

[@procopiusaugustus6231]

“And all my friends turned out to be insurance salesmen” gets me every time.

[@hlawrencepowell]

Prine said it has nothing to do with drugs. In fact the thought that it did upset him.

[@edwarddickson7731]

Back in the day, smoking weed was illegal. And it made you smile.

[@scottandal]

Never go wrong with Prine. We lost a great one when he passed!☹️

[@joshiahayash]

Best dope song

[@warrenburlingame1172]

This is a new one for me. Haven't heard this before. John is another reason to hate covid

[@jnagarya519]

Judge Hoffman was the judge at the "Chicago 8" trial.

[@dobrobob]

Gotta love John Prine.... great reaction...... Don’t matter what the world throws at you, soon as your feet hit the floor in the morning put a smile on your face and tell the world to bring it on..... hard to beat man that won’t quit.... there’s always someone out there worse off

[@Taranaki66]

In case you were wondering about the lyric - and the judge's name was Hoffman. It is referring to Judge Julius Hoffman who presided over the Chicago Seven trial from Sep 1969 to Feb 1970. Prine's first album (on which Illegal Smile was the first song) came out in 1971. The Chicago Seven trial was huge news nationally and even bigger in Chicago.

[@RockN2Country]

@George Pawlus You are totally hired to head the research department!! Thanks for the info, BTW. :-)

[@davidemswiler4351]

Funny you mentioned the smile trick...I was just telling a stocker at the commissary that was having a bad day about that last week. Ol' Charles Darwin figured that one out for us. :-) On the flip side of that, I remember a study not too long ago that showed folks that forced smiles too much were prone to depression and suicide. Apparently those in professions that require non-stop smiling (service jobs etc.) either "burnt-out" the neurological triggers or perhaps they just grew a conscious cynicism to fake emotion? Humans are complicated!! Thanks for the shoot-out and of course I always listen to the end (that's usually the best part!) :-)

[@RockN2Country]

@David Emswiler We are indeed complicated. I was recently listening to a seminar on neuropsychology (or neuroscience, I have a few such seminars) and it was fascinating how they devised studies to gauge people's mindsets in given situations. Nothing that you're unfamiliar with, of course, but there are different types of fake smiles, depending on context. Anyway, I love that you went with "shoot-out"--that put a real smile on my face. Ha!!

[@davidemswiler4351]

@@RockN2Country Well, shoot! Guess I'll leave it as is :-)

[@RockN2Country]

@David Emswiler OTOH it is a great name for a country reaction channel: Shoot-outs and Shout-outs.

[@davidemswiler4351]

@@RockN2Country Amazing channel name...age certainly hasn't dulled your wit! :-)

[@alfrediceman9506]

Julius Hofman was the judge at the Chicago 8 trail (the 1968 Democratic convention riots)... this is one of the most famous "Ganja' tunes of the early 70s... back then it didn't cost too much but now, well a lot more... It lead to Kacey Musgraves doing her song "Burn One with John Prine" years later

[@Taranaki66]

Prine agrees with your interpretation of the song. Most people think it is referring to an illegal substance, what we used to call pot. I think it is both. Which demonstrates the brilliance of John Prine. I was lucky to be in college in Chicago in the 1970s. I got to see a lot of Prine and Steve Goodman and sometimes the two of them together. If you are going to do another Prine song, do Souvenirs in performance with Goodman.

[@dougieyou]

Funny , I always assumed it was about pot but now you and Don have shed some light on it it makes more sense, but that's John's brilliance,the more you pay attention to his lyrics the more you can see things differently. I really miss him but fortunately I have all his recordings to listen to.... I love the man.

[@RockN2Country]

@George Pawlus Thanks for the insight and the potential corroboration of my take on it. And if John agreed with something I said, who am I to argue? ;-)

[@Taranaki66]

@@RockN2Country There is a video where he says it (although with a twinkle in his eye). I will try to find it and send it to you.

[@Taranaki66]

And I found it - www.songfacts.com/facts/john-prine/illegal-smile

[@Taranaki66]

Next Prine song - Souvenirs with Steve Goodman. It brings a tear to my eye. kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4C3k5ppbpJ8a7M

[@thomasfranjesevic2339]

"I Ain't Hurtin' Nobody" by John Prine are some of the greatest lyrics I've ever heard! There's roosters layin' chickens, and chickens layin' eggs. Farm machinery eatin' people's arms and legs. How do you come up with words like that?

[@debrabeck9630]

Great song! Most people who heard this when it came out took illegal smile to mean he was smoking pot. He denied it, so you can make of that what you will. However, the reference to Judge Hoffman is a subtle political reference to the Chicago Seven. Seven men were charged with crossing state lines to incite a riot during the 1968 Democratic Convention. Judge Hoffman showed his utter contempt for the defendants and their lawyers throughout the trial. John would have known not to expect a fair trial in Hoffman’s court. (In later live concerts, John sometimes changed “Hoffman” to “whatever happened to him.”)

[@donnalouxxooxx]

John Prine is my all time favorite song writer. Good to see you; I've been SUPER busy. People are travelling again so I've got dogs up to my eyeballs. Of course I love these kinds of problems! I love all the unpredictable musical changes in this song. And the ending... what? Only JP could get away with that ending!

[@RockN2Country]

@donnalou stevens Glad to hear things are moving along in Doggie Land and in life generally!! Keep winning those contests. :-)

[@lindalowney1404]

This song is the very first one of his that I ever heard. I was driving across the prairies at 4 in the morning. Luckily the dj announced his name. When John came to town I went to his concert alone because nobody I knew had ever heard of him. I saw him several times after that over the years, bought some of his records and turned my friends on to him, never went to his concerts alone again.

[@stanatkins]

I would have happily gone with you.

[@karenmartin7978]

I learned about this song when it was used as the theme for the short lived 1974 TV comedy The Texas Wheelers. (Mark Hamil was on the show before Star Wars made him famous.) I thought the song was written as a TV theme song, and so I still associate with the show. You Tube has the shows theme song, if you want to here it in that context. The video also has the show's closing theme, which is a short piece of another John Prime song.

[@susunque2245]

HoW..IRoNiC!!!.. LovE this SonG in addition to aLL his songs..since I discovered John Prine!!! The irony?🤔..I just happened to be 100👍when I hit "LIKE" 👆😊😁☺️💯❤👏👏👏

[@RowdyRuth]

Our marijuana anthem! RIP John Prine…

[@ianhesford]

It's kind of endearing that the reference to maryjane was missed in this review but I actually appreciate the broader more cerebral interpretation of "illegal" as meaning a smile being put up as a front to hide any internal struggles you may be going through. This interpretation seems equally valid and adds a whole new dimension to the song for me.

[@jnagarya519]

"Illegal smile" = POT.

[@dougieyou]

Great reaction, I know how you feel,he has left me speechless for over 50 years. I consider him a gift that keeps on giving and one of my life's blessing. You should try reacting to the brilliant "Late John Garfield Blues" or "Billy the Bum"..the lyrics are out of this world. Then again arn't all of his songs out of this world????

[@dangabbert3944]

Great song. The judge Hoffman was the controversial judge at the famous trial of the Chicago 7. As another commenter mentioned, this song is about weed.

[@Taranaki66]

Not about weed. www.songfacts.com/facts/john-prine/illegal-smile

[@dangabbert3944]

@@Taranaki66 , thanks for the clarification. Everybody I know I related to it that way, though.

[@joycemcfee1829]

In that first picture, before he had a mustache, he reminds me of Patrick Swaze. Why do I get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes whenever I hear John Prine? I really didn't follow him when he was alive. Merle has the same effect on me. I always thought the illegal smile came from some illegal substance. George proved me wrong.

[@CanadianPunker62]

with the lines "i have the key to escape reality" and "don't cost very much, but last a long while" this song is about drugs. LSD. drugs are illegal, so "Illegal Smile". Great song, great reaction! Cheers!

[@MrZomBie775]

This song is definitely about drugs. Especially with the line "i dreamt the police heard everything I thought." And "trying to get away from all the ears inside the walls".

[@CanadianPunker62]

@@MrZomBie775 Yes indeed, which is what makes me think LSD.. also "I went to court and the judges name was Hofmann" The guy who first developed LSD was Albert Hofmann

[@ronniefromOR]

Todd snider does a great version of this.. RIP John. Love you

[@spress7254]

Interesting reaction, respect. I do beieve this song was about smoking weed though.

[@spress7254]

Ha, I always thought it was a weed song. Guess your view was much closer then my view .

[@dansigurdson]

morning Don when life gets hard pull on your boots, strap on your guns, mount up and ride like the devil is close behind be safe HAKAD

[@TinCupPrager]

Great song choice!

[@RockN2Country]

@Ethan Prager Glad you enjoyed it, and good to see you around the channel!

[@davidhunter801]

The official video for Summer's End will hit you hard, especially if you're a father.

[@gilevin100]

Illegal smile?....come on...it's a joint away

[@thefleasofathousandcamels6498]

His smile is illegal because he's stoned.

[@jamesdemarco7161]

He was just smokin' some weed.

[@PapaFixit]

I'm " F.I.N.E."...... Effed up Insecure Neurotic Emotional.... Big smile.

[@luke_skinner]

“The judges name was Hoffman”, Hoffman was the judge for the Chicago 7 trial, and was extremely biased and corrupt.

[@Russel-lp1js]

Tribute song to John Prine by songwriter Dennis Callahan

[@ronniefromOR]

Casey Musgrave. Burn one with John prine

[@bradywalton1357]

REACT TO LONDON HOMESICK BLUES BY JERRY JEFF WALKER AND GARY P NUNN

[@Veronica-dk8xd]

Am I the only one who thinks the song is about recreational activities?

[@RockN2Country]

@Veronica Definitely not the only one--some think it's about weed or whatever else was available at the time it was written.

[@Taranaki66]

Most people do but Don has it right. www.songfacts.com/facts/john-prine/illegal-smile

[@mikewindisch9021]

He's talking about smoking pot!!

[@shooter3083]

Weed. "Illegal smile".

[@MrGWoodle]

Time to do some] BJ Thomas: "Raindrops Falling On My Head". "Hooked on a Feeling" so many to choose from deep catalog. RIP

[@f.murphy8340]

Dude...he is getting stoned... which was of course illegal at that point.

[@annjohnson994]

He's talking about weed.

[@tomsmith9479]

Its about drugs

[@janna2245]

You seriously dont get this?

[@jbellinger99]

This is a marijuana song whether or not Jonn denied it. It is a pot-smoker's anthem, like it or not. It was the seventies, he was broke. It is obvious.

[@daisysoup158]

I think he was smoking weed.

[@lindakirk4348]

I think he is smoking pot

[@johnkasbohm7839]

Um, you realize this song is about marijuana....

[@RockN2Country]

@john kasbohm Of course, but John was so good with lyrics that there were commonly double or triple entendres, and doing a reaction to the first time hearing a song of his takes the mind lots of places.

[@michaelmcdonald3195]

Not only was John the best.His back up musicians were excellent,who else would use a hurdy gurdy in a song(He forgot that it was Sunday)😮

[@crackedcorn3612]

THAT ILLEGAL SMILE WAS MARIJUANA

[@crackedcorn3612]

MAYBE YOUVE NEVER HAD THE POT GRINS//TRY IT SOMETIME AND YOULL KNOW