Trying to cope with despair? Take solace in the compassion and empathy of Bill Withers and John Prine

One came back with a hole in his arm where all the money goes; the other came back with no arm at all. Such were the soldiers John Prine and Bill Withers wrote into existence nearly 50 years ago to illustrate the horrific toll of the Vietnam War — Prine in “Sam Stone,” about a drug-addicted veteran with “a hundred-dollar habit,” and Withers in “I Can’t Write Left-Handed,” in which the wounded narrator asks his buddy to take down a letter to his mother. But as frequently as not these two were using their voices to tell somebody else’s: “I am an old woman,” Prine sang at age 25 to open one of his signature tunes, “Angel from Montgomery.” Indeed, few have written about old people with more sensitivity than he and Withers in songs like the former’s “Hello in There” and the latter’s “Grandma’s Hands,” both of which illuminate the burdens of figures too often invisible to society. Music Bill Withers’ 10 greatest songs There’s much more to Bill Withers’ catalog than his immortal hits “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me.” Here, a deeper dive into his short but brilliant career. Consider that “John Prine” was produced by Arif Marden and Withers’ “Just As I Am” featured playing by Stephen Stills and Jim Keltner, and it makes even less sense to think of the two as representing different traditions.