John Prine’s Son Tommy Releases Debut Single “Ships in the Harbor”

It must be the morning again / The sun through the window felt good on my skin / But it must be leaving soon as it should sings Tommy Prine on his contemplative debut single “Ships in the Harbor.”

Videos by American Songwriter

For the 26-year-old son of the late John Prine, “Ships in the Harbor” is not Tommy’s first run at songwriting. Writing since he was 17, Tommy remembers once showing an early song he had written, “Something Like an Angel,” to his father. 

“He was like, ‘holy shit, this is really good,” said Prine, “‘You should write more.’”

Mostly keeping his songs to himself over the years, while sharing some of his music on his YouTube channel, Prine felt more drawn to songwriting following his father’s death in 2020 at 73. “It was the healthiest and most intense way for me to process all those emotions [of grief],” shared Prine. “I just fell head over heels for the idea of being a songwriter and a singer.”

Tommy, the youngest of John’s two sons and wife Fiona Whelan Prine, is siblings with Jody Prine, son of Fiona, whom John adopted and now runs the late Prine’s Oh Boy Records.

Played out simply on acoustic guitar, “Ships in the Harbor” explores the changing dynamic of life after loss and fleeting moments—It must be morning again. / The sun through the window/ Felt good on my skin. / So it must be leaving soon / As it should—and was a song Prine wrote around his birthday in 2021. 

“I had a thought that we as humans can only feel as deeply as we do and love people and fear things and all the other intense emotions is because everything we experience is finite, including our own lives,” wrote Prine in the video description. “So, I wrote this song about these little powerful moments and reflections in the human experience to try and capture the beauty in mortality.”

Following up “Ships in the Harbor,” Prine is scheduled to release his next single “Turning Stones” on Oct. 14, along with his debut album in 2023. Prine is currently on his first tour, which continues on through Nov. 19.

Photo: Neilson Hubbard

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