Um, those aren't the same.....

my $data = <<"EOF";
I really like
jellybeans
of all colors
and flavors
pink lemonaide
blue raspberry
and orange marmalade
are great
EOF

print "First try:\n";
print "> $data\n";

print "Second try:\n";
$data =~ s/^/> /mg;
print "$data\n";
[download]

Output

First try:
> I really like
jellybeans
of all colors
and flavors
pink lemonaide
blue raspberry
and orange marmalade
are great

Second try:
> I really like
> jellybeans
> of all colors
> and flavors
> pink lemonaide
> blue raspberry
> and orange marmalade
> are great
[download]

-Blake