It's a Big Old Goofy World notes
"It turns out "goofy" is one of my favorite adjectives. If I think something is funny, or if I feel exasperated, I go, "That's really goofy, I don't get it." I had a guitar player who worked for me for two years, and he was the one who pointed out how many times a day I used the word "goofy." I had no idea. You need other people to tell you these things. So this was an idea I had in my back pocket. I'd ask people if they had any saying that I'd never heard of before, something the family used or something. And people would come up with some real gems. They'd think for half an hour and then whack! They'd jump up like they had the answer to a quiz. I was over in Ireland once, sitting around with four or five friends, and mentioned I was working on this song, that I was looking for similes and explained what a simile was. They all look at me and then go on with their conversation. Half an hour later, one of the girls stands up and goes, "Happy as Larry!" Huh? "It's a phrase - 'He's as happy as Larry,'" I never found out who Larry was, but he must have been a pretty happy guy." ~John Prine