John Garfield was a prolific actor acknowledged as a predecessor of such Method actors as Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and James Dean. John Prine mentioned him both in this song as well as “Picture Show”. However, Prine states that really, the song is not so much about John Garfield. What Kris Kristofferson said about the song is neat after hearing what John Prine said about it:
"What I was writing about was how late Sunday night going into Monday morning was always a weird period of time. Whether you were apprehensive about work or school, it was like the twilight zone. At first, the song was called "The Late Sunday, Early Monday Morning Blues." I finally decided to make it like the kind of movie that would be on TV at that hour, a John Garfield movie. It's not so much about him, the actor; I used this character to get into something else.
When Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge got together, they moved into this house on Franklin Avenue in Los Angeles. They had an acetate of the record, and when they played that song, the electricity went out in the house. The next day, they found out that John Garfield used to own the place. It's a good thing it wasn't a song about John Garfield, or he'd have been turning my lights out."
John Garfield was a prolific actor acknowledged as a predecessor of such Method actors as Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and James Dean. John Prine mentioned him both in this song as well as “Picture Show”. However, Prine states that really, the song is not so much about John Garfield. What Kris Kristofferson said about the song is neat after hearing what John Prine said about it:
"What I was writing about was how late Sunday night going into Monday morning was always a weird period of time. Whether you were apprehensive about work or school, it was like the twilight zone. At first, the song was called "The Late Sunday, Early Monday Morning Blues." I finally decided to make it like the kind of movie that would be on TV at that hour, a John Garfield movie. It's not so much about him, the actor; I used this character to get into something else.
When Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge got together, they moved into this house on Franklin Avenue in Los Angeles. They had an acetate of the record, and when they played that song, the electricity went out in the house. The next day, they found out that John Garfield used to own the place. It's a good thing it wasn't a song about John Garfield, or he'd have been turning my lights out."
~John Prine