John Prine Soundtracks COVID-19 Victims Tribute at 2020 Democratic National Convention [Watch]
The stirring words of one of music's greatest storytellers were showcased at the 2020 Democratic National Convention on Monday (Aug. 17). The late John Prine’s song “I Remember Everything” was the backdrop for a tribute to the victims of the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.
In the black-and-white memoriam video shown at the DNC, pictures of those who have died of COVID-19 appear onscreen, next to a list of the many roles they each played in life: musician, PR executive, beauty queen and more. The video also shows a tally of the death count that's grown with each passing month:
"I've been down this road before, I remember every tree / Every single blade of grass holds a special place for me," Prine sings. "And I remember every town, every hotel room / Every song I ever sang on a guitar out of tune.”
“I Remember Everything” is the last song Prine recorded before his death in April from coronavirus complications. The folk music legend was hospitalized in late March with coronavirus symptoms, and succumbed to the disease on April 7. Prine's wife Fiona also was diagnosed with COVID-19 in March, but recovered from the disease.
“I am in uncharted territory,” Fiona Prine admitted in an interview with CBS This Morning back in June. "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," she added. "I have the resilience muscle, which is a little exhausted right now, but I'm going to be okay. John left me a lot."
"I Remember Everything" earned John Prine the top spot on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart — his first-ever Billboard No. 1 — after its debut. The song is part of a batch of new, unreleased music that Fiona Prine revealed he was working on before his death; more never-before-heard tracks will be released in the future, she says.
13 John Prine Lyrics That Prove He Wrote Like No One Else: