| "Hello in There" | |
|---|---|
| Song by John Prine | |
| from the album John Prine | |
| Released | July 1971 |
| Recorded | American Recording Studios, Memphis, Tennessee |
| Genre | Folk |
| Length | 4:29 |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Songwriter | John Prine |
| Producer | Arif Mardin |
"Hello in There" is a song written by American singer-songwriter John Prine. [1] The song deals with themes of isolation as a result of growing old.
Prine wrote the song when he was 22, stating: "I delivered to a Baptist old people’s home where we’d have to go room-to-room... and some of the patients would kind of pretend that you were a grandchild or nephew that had come to visit, instead of the guy delivering papers. That always stuck in my head." [2] Prine also went on to state that some of the names of the characters in the song come from real-life sources, such as Rudy being the name of a neighbor's dog.
Bette Midler included it in her first studio album The Divine Miss M in 1972. David Allan Coe's 1983 album is titled Hello in There and features a cover of the title song. In 2020, Jason Isbell covered the song for the Alzheimer's Association's Music Moments compilation: according to Isbell, John Prine is one of his favorite songwriters. [3]
After John Prine's death from COVID-19 in 2020, Prine's family established the Hello in There Foundation. While also honoring Prine himself, the foundation aims to support marginalized groups and persons. [4]
