Hello In There (song)

"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.

"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(s)	John Prine
Producer(s)	Arif Mardin

Background

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.

Other versions

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 tribute to John Prine.^{[citation needed]} 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]

The Hello in There Foundation

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]