SLS: Now That I’m Getting Older

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As is usual for the first Sunday, Jim’s invitation for Song Lyric Sunday is to play a song written or performed by someone who was born in this month: that’s October, if you hadn’t noticed the change. His post Crisp Autumn Weather tells more, and its good to see the right name for the season. Looking through the list of October babies I was really spoiled for choice, as there are many of my favourites that I could have played. I might have gone with Jackson Browne (born 9 October 1948) but as I featured him last Sunday I thought that might be overkill. So instead I’m going with another longtime favourite.

My chosen one is John Mellencamp, who was born on 7 October 1951, which means that he turns 75 on Wednesday. I hope he likes my little birthday gift! There are so many great songs of his that I could play you, but I’ve managed to keep my selection down to three of them. I’m starting – where else? – with his first big hit, which made #1 in the US, on the Cashbox chart, #2 on Billboard:

That was, of course, Hurts So Good, and before I forget here are genius.com with the lyrics.

The song was written by John and George Green, his childhood friend and occasional songwriting partner. It was first conceived, John claims, when he had uttered the phrase “hurt so good.” He repeated the line to George, and they apparently finished the song very quickly. As well as those US chart placings this track reached #3 in Canada, and #5 in both Australia and South Africa. It didn’t make the UK charts: he had to wait for the follow up, Jack & Diane, before he began to make it here. Both tracks were on American Fool, his fifth album, which was released in April 1982 and peaked at #1 in both the US and Canada, and managed #37 in the UK. Hurt So Good was the lead single, synchronised with the album release. In case you were wondering, much of that video was filmed in Medora, Indiana, a small town located about 20 miles southwest of Seymour, Indiana, where John was born and raised. And that looks like a helluva school reunion!

For my other two songs I’m going for a bit of a deep dive into his back catalogue. This next one is (kind of) the title track of his tenth album, released in 1989, and as no video was made for it at the time I’m afraid it’s an audio-only clip:

And here are the lyrics, from genius.com.

Big Daddy was released in May 1989, and got to #1 in Australia, #3 in Canada, #7 in the US and #25 in the UK. Big Daddy of Them All was the opening track on the album, and like all bar one of its tracks was written by John. The song is the account of a parental authority figure whose selfish womanising ways have led to his downfall, and it is autobiographical, about John himself. The “Big Daddy” name was derived from a character in the old Tennessee Williams play Cat On a Hot Tin Roof – one of his favourite plays/movies. Four tracks from the album were released as singles but this wasn’t one of them, which probably explains the lack of a video for it.

My closing song for today moves us much later into John’s career. This is from Freedom’s Road, his nineteenth album, which was released in January 2007:

That was The Americans and here are its lyrics, from genius.com.

The album peaked at #5 in the US, #3 in the US Rock chart, and #145 in Australia. It was an album very much in the country rock genre, and it is no coincidence that the country band Little Big Town provided backing vocals for eight of its eleven tracks. This one was released as a single: it didn’t make the main US chart but did reach #55 on the US Country rankings. John is well known for his liberal political views, which he writes into many of his songs. This is a case in point: you don’t really think that he believes that many Americans are like the guy described in this song, do you? I couldn’t find it now, but I recall seeing him interviewed on one of the chat shows when he said that this song is ironic, but that many people identified with it as being like them. A bit like Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA, really, and several others of John’s – Pink Houses comes to mind. He intended for Freedom’s Road to have a 1960s rock sound while still remaining contemporary, and he feels that goal was achieved: “We wanted to make sure that it had the same feeling of some of the great songs from the ’60s but also had the message of today and had the backbeat of today. I think we came up with a pretty timeless sounding album,” is what he told his online radio station in late 2006, when promoting the record. I have to say that I agree with him.

That’s me done for today. Three great songs from one of my favourites, and I hope you enjoyed them too. As always I give my thanks to Jim for doing such a sterling job with SLS: he has given up a couple of other things that he has been running but is keeping up with SLS. I’m really glad that he is, as I’d be lost without it!

I hope this finds you happy and healthy. See you again for some Tuesday Tunes? Hope so 👍

41 thoughts on “SLS: Now That I’m Getting Older”

  1. Clive, many thanks. Good selections. When you get beneath his more popular songs about young lovers and teen angst, he has a depth in his songwriting that is meaningful. I think this also is in evidence in his involvement with Farm Aid. Keith

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  2. I always liked Mellencamp. Ain’t Even Done With The Night remains my favorite of him…but that is not saying much. I like about everything he has done. I got see him once and it was a great show.

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  3. John Cougar (Mellencamp) is one of the performers my wife and I both love. Her favorite song has always been “It Hurts So Good.” I definitely like that one and many others. He has such a range of good music. One that I suspect you aren’t as big a fan of is “What If I Came Knocking.” You know I’m a sucker for those rock songs.

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    • I’m glad you both like him too. I’ve enjoyed just about everything he has done, including the one you shared: Human Wheels is one of my favourites of his albums.

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  4. Good choice! I like most all his songs. The first one I hear a lot still on the radio, the second I’d not heard, but it was good, and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the last one at some point. I like that one, too. 🙂

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  12. Cougar-Mellencamp is part of that “heartland America” gang that also includes Springsteen and Seger. I love Bruce, not real big on the other two. Re the lyrics in “The Americans,” it’s my belief that irony and satire can be difficult because they have to be “just right,” and not every writer can hit that elusive target. Also, many listeners/readers struggle with even the most obvious irony and satire. I think even Randy Newman, one of the kings of satirical songwriting, got into trouble with thick-headed listeners!

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  13. Nice selections, Clive as I always Liked John Melencamp no matter what name he used.  The phrase “hurts so good” has nothing to do with sadomasochism, as it is used as a metaphor for the bittersweet, addictive nature of a turbulent romance where the emotional heartache and longing feel strangely compelling or hard to quit.  Mellencamp said ‘Big Daddy’ was a critique of his own poor behavior.  During the late 1980s, amidst a crumbling second marriage and peak rock stardom, he recognized he could be bossy, dismissive, and hostile.  His song ‘The Americans’ makes me feel proud to be an American, but everything changed here once Trump took office.

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    • His real surname is Mellencamp. He started out as Johnny Cougar, then went through John Cougar Mellencamp before settling on using his proper name. I’d have guessed he wasn’t your thing, but am grateful for you sharing this 👍

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  16. Interesting choice as we of course enter Spring. I love how we get such different perspectives on the other side of the world.
    John Mellencamp has never been an absolute favourite. I like his hits, but have never dived much deeper.
    I always find your dives into music interesting. It opens up music I’d often never focused on before.

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