One time on the streets of New Orleans I saw a street performer who had a dog who would retrieve donations from audience members. A person would hold out a bill while the performer played guitar and sang, and the dog took the cash in his mouth and dropped it in the guitar case.
Initially, we were attracted to the dog’s skills. But after awhile, I noticed that the talented street performer was only playing John Prine songs. I was impressed with his taste in music and willingness to play songs that most tourists may not recognize. I guess having a talented dog gives one a little artistic freedom.
“Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)”
One of my favorite John Prine songs is “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow).” It is a beautiful song about anger, frustration, and accepting what we cannot change. The song, which first appeared on Prine’s Bruised Orange (1978) album, provides a valuable lesson in its chorus.
For a heart stained in anger grows weak and grows bitter;
You become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there,
Wrapped up in a trap of your very own chain of sorrow.
The True Story Behind “Bruised Orange”
A tragic true story inspired the opening tale in “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow).”
Like a long ago Sunday when I walked through the alley,
On a cold winter’s morning to a church house,
Just to shovel some snow.
I heard sirens on the train track howl naked gettin’ nuder,
An altar boy’s been hit by a local commuter,
Just from walking with his back turned
To the train that was coming so slow.
The John Prine Shrine website quotes Prine explaining the inspiration for the opening lines of the song. One day he was driving to do his job shoveling snow at a church:
Turns out one of the altar boys on his way to the Catholic church was walking down the train tracks. God only knows where his mind was, but a local commuter train come from behind and they had to put him in bushel baskets – what was left. I saw a group of mothers standing near the accident, not knowing whose boys it was. When they finally identified the boy, the mother broke down, and the other mothers consoled her with a great sense of relief. This story is coupled with a shattered romance, juxtaposed with a loss of innocence: “My heart’s in the ice house/Come hill or come valley.” In the following video, he tells the story of the alter boy, followed by a video of him singing the song.
Why an “Orange”?
But why the “orange” in the title? The Prine Shrine website quotes from Clay Eals’ biography of Steve Goodman Facing the Music for an explanation. (p.511)
Prine explained that he used the word “orange” for the reason that “he liked the colors of autumn and Halloween, and he ate oranges ‘by the dozen’ as a child.” He added, “‘It just came up as somethin’ that’s really sweet and delicate and gettin’ bruised just by bein’ mishandled,’ he says. In short, the orange symbolized the human heart.”
And that is the Story Behind the Song.
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