The Weary Prayer of a Woman Who Feels Life Has Passed Her By, Given New Emotional Depth by Two Musical Icons.
Some songs are born masterpieces, and some are transformed by the hands—and voices—that adopt them. “Angel From Montgomery,” originally penned by the late, great John Prine, achieved this rare alchemy twice, first with Bonnie Raitt’s definitive 1974 recording, and then again in a profoundly moving 2022 live performance where Raitt was joined by her longtime friend and fellow troubadour, Jackson Browne. This particular version is not a studio single, but a high-stakes, deeply emotional performance captured at the 2022 Billboard Women In Music Awards, where Bonnie Raitt was honored with the Icon Award.
Key Information: The performance of “Angel From Montgomery” by Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne occurred on March 2, 2022, at the Billboard Women In Music Awards in Inglewood, California. This version was a powerful moment of cultural significance, dedicated by Raitt to the women of Ukraine, adding a layer of contemporary anguish to the timeless song. As a one-off awards show performance, this specific duo recording was not released as a commercial single and thus did not have a chart position upon release, but its emotional weight and viral circulation cemented its place as a classic revisiting of the John Prine masterpiece. Bonnie Raitt first recorded the song on her 1974 album, Streetlights, a version so iconic that it became indelibly linked to her career, making the song a centerpiece of both the folk and blues rock canons for decades.
The story of the song’s creation is a remarkable tale of empathy. John Prine wrote “Angel From Montgomery” for his 1971 debut album after a friend jokingly suggested he write another song about old people. Instead, Prine conjured a character: a middle-aged woman worn down by a life of unfulfilled domestic routine. Prine vividly described seeing “a woman standing over the dishwasher with soap in her hands and just walking away from it all.” The song’s brilliance lies in its ability to articulate the aching, quiet desperation of a life that hasn’t delivered on its promises.
When Bonnie Raitt discovered the song, she instantly recognized the profound truth in Prine’s lyrics. As she once noted, the idea that “this young man could inhabit the world of a middle-aged woman in a thankless marriage really resonated with me.” Her 1974 version took the song’s core melancholy and steeped it in the blues, her searing slide guitar giving the weary woman’s soul a voice of raw, wounded defiance.
The 2022 duet with Jackson Browne adds a new, dramatic chapter to this narrative. It is a moment of revered acknowledgment: Browne, a fellow traveler and rock poet laureate, presenting Raitt with the Icon Award. Their performance is stripped back, acoustic, and imbued with the deep, weathered wisdom only years of life and music can bestow. When Browne’s voice joins Raitt’s, it’s not merely a duet; it’s a conversation between two souls who have witnessed life’s long, hard roads. Their rendition carries the weight of their friendship, the memory of their departed comrade John Prine (who passed away in 2020), and the collective longing for relief from suffering, a sentiment Raitt underscored with her dedication to the women of Ukraine.
The enduring meaning of “Angel From Montgomery” is the universal, tragic realization that time has passed and dreams have been deferred. The weary plea, “Just give me one thing / I can hold on to,” is the song’s heartbreaking core. The “Angel From Montgomery” is not a heavenly messenger; it’s a desperate wish, a longing for a swift, merciful escape from the mundane prison of a life poorly chosen. The 2022 performance, delivered by two weathered voices of American music, acts as a cathartic lament—a stunning moment where nostalgia for the past meets the brutal realities of the present, forging a transcendent piece of musical drama.