Actually...I got to investigating it a bit and found this quote from John himself from the liner notes of the album.
"As a child, a neighborhood kid who was always in trouble chose me for a friend. His brothers pushed him around a lot, and his mother generally ignored him. Years later as a teenager, still always in trouble, he ended up in Juvenile Court and the prosecutor decided to tell the court and my friend, that his father was his father, but his mother was his oldest sister. No wonder he was always in trouble". ~John Prine
Actually...I got to investigating it a bit and found this quote from John himself from the liner notes of the album.
"As a child, a neighborhood kid who was always in trouble chose me for a friend. His brothers pushed him around a lot, and his mother generally ignored him. Years later as a teenager, still always in trouble, he ended up in Juvenile Court and the prosecutor decided to tell the court and my friend, that his father was his father, but his mother was his oldest sister. No wonder he was always in trouble". ~John Prine