A classic from the Prairie and Old St. Paul

California Bound

Many fans have asked when Garrison would return to perform in California, a state known for its thrilling theme parks, quality cuisine and wine, sunny beaches, and vast National Parks. Soon, maybe we’ll be able to add quality storytelling to the list after Garrison Keillor TONIGHT visits four California towns. We sure hope you will join us!

One man, one microphone. There are sung sonnets, limericks and musical jokes, and the thread that runs through it is the beauty of growing old. Despite the inconvenience, old age brings the contentment of LESS IS MORE. Your mistakes and big ambitions are behind you, nothing left to prove, and small things give you great pleasure because that’s what’s left.

There is the News from Lake Wobegon, a town booming with new entrepreneurs, makers of artisanal firewood and gourmet meatloaf, breeders of composting worms, and dogs trained to do childcare. But some things endure, such as the formation of the Living Flag on Main Street, citizens in tight formation wearing red, white or blue caps, and Mr. Keillor among them, standing close to old neighbors, Myrtle Krebsbach (“Truckstop”) and Julie Christensen (“Bruno, The Fishing Dog”) and Clint Bunsen. And an a cappella sing-along with the audience singing from memory an odd medley of patriotic songs, pop standards, hymns, and ending with the national anthem.

September 28th at 8 p.m. at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento

September 29th at 8 p.m. at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Cerritos

September 30th at 8 p.m. at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano

October 1st at 7:30 p.m. at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido

Listen to the show: September 23, 2006

It’s the night of nights, the height of heights on Exchange and Wabasha in downtown St. Paul, as we revisit the season opener for the 33rd broadcast season. Featuring bluegrass blowtorches Old Crow Medicine Show, sultry songbird Prudence Johnson, and the big guns John Niemann and Andy Stein are sitting in with the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band. Actress Erica Rhodes joins the Royal Academy of Radio Acting (Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Tom Keith).

Highlights include Garrison crooning his joy about returning home to Minnesota with “City of St Paul” (a duet with Prudence), Pat Donohue’s “Mountain Air,” Butch Thompson on “Minnesota Street Rag,” some fine picking from Old Crow Medicine Show on “Let It Alone” and ‘“Bobcat Tracks,” plus Ruth Harrison, Guy Noir, the Cowboys, Rhubarb, and the latest News. Listen to the show.

Old Crow Medicine Show

With a little luck and a whole lot of talent, Old Crow Medicine Show went from playing their slash-and-burn brand of old-time music on the streets of Boone, North Carolina, to bringing down the house at the Grand Ole Opry. Now based in Nashville, these Grammy winners and Grand Ole Opry inductees are bringing audiences to their feet coast to coast and then some.

The band for this broadcast: Critter Fuqua, Kevin Hayes, Morgan Jahnig, Gill Landry, Chance McCoy, Ketch Secor, and Cory Younts.

Check out Old Crow Medicine Show’s Tour Schedule

Butch Thompson

For 12 years of his five-decade career, Butch Thompson was the house pianist on A Prairie Home Companion, dating back to the show’s second broadcast in July 1974. As a soloist, he earned a worldwide reputation as a master of ragtime, stride and classic jazz piano. Described by Jazz Journal International as “the premier player in traditional jazz today,” Thompson also performed with his well-known trio, his eight-piece New Orleans Jazz Originals, and with symphony orchestras, including the Hartford Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Cairo (Egypt) Symphony. 

Visit our Tribute Page for Butch

Prudence Johnson

Prudence Johnson’s long career in music has taken her from honky-tonks to Carnegie Hall, from the theater stage to the Silver Screen (Robert Redford’s A River Runs Through It), from the Midwest to the Middle East. Her dozen-plus album releases include Little Dreamer, a collection of international lullabies, Moon Country, which features the music of Hoagy Carmichael, and ’S Gershwin, a collaboration with pianist Dan Chouinard.

Erica Rhodes

Erica Rhodes was just 10 years old for her first A Prairie Home Companion appearance. A lot has happened since: She starred in the 2008 indie horror film Plague Town, which was shown in festivals and theaters nationwide, and she had roles in Go West, Javatown, and Blindsided —and also guest starred on Modern Family and New Girl. She’s funny too: audiences coast to coast have flocked to her stand-up comedy gigs.

Read our guest interview 

Here are the lyrics to “Corrina, Corrina” from this week’s classic show. Images from the show plus other bonus extras will be posted throughout the full week on our Garrison Keillor Facebook page.

Corrina, Corrina, where you been so long?
Corrina, Corrina, afraid I raised you wrong.
I am your papa, so tell me where you've gone.

Corrina, Corrina, where’d you get those shoes?
It looks like a boy’s pair, so tell me whose.
What’s that on your shoulder? I hope it’s not tattoos.

We had Corrina when I was forty-three.
And now I'm sixty and feeling elderly.
Corrina, Corrina, you'll be the death of me.

Corrina, Corrina, why you always wear black?
Why sixteen earrings and green hair in back?
Are you my daughter or a maniac?

I remember when you were small,
In your long braids and your overalls.
You said, Daddy, I love you best of all.

I love you, Corrina, I love you so.
My darling daughter, I hate to see you go.
Please don’t tell me what I don’t want to know.

Corrina, Corrina, school has not gone well.
You flunked math and you cannot spell.
What you’re good at is just raising hell.

Corrina, Corrina, please help me
Find a nursing home where I can be
Given Zoloft for my serenity.

A Prairie Home Companion Cinecast Poster - SIGNED

On October 10, 2010, A Prairie Home Companion was beamed into movie theaters across the country. The show was performed LIVE from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, MN, with musical guests Joe Ely, Sara Watkins, Old Crow Medicine Show and Andra Suchy in addition to our sound-effects cast and house band. Garrison, cast, and guests signed posters on that evening. These are the same posters that promoted the show in each theater and in the lobby of the Fitz. We are making 50 available now. Measures 11” by 18”.  Posters will be rolled and shipped in a poster tube.

Click to purchase

Good Poems for Hard Times

Poetry can be medicinal. A good poem can console the world-weary, raise flagging spirits, and inspire those in need of a dose of wisdom or truth. Selected by Garrison Keillor, this eclectic anthology (nominated for a prestigious Quill Book Award) includes works from Raymond Carver, Emily Dickinson, Billy Collins, Robert Frost, and many more.

Don’t worry; these poems are not about suffering. Instead, they remind us of the grace of ordinary life. Sometimes that’s all we need to feel better.

Get the book

And don’t forget, you can always listen to The Writer’s Almanac daily on our Facebook page for the show (like or follow).