Pink Houses

John “Cougar” Mellencamp was born October 7, 1951 in the small town on Seymour, Indiana. This rebellious, stubborn, misfit would struggle for many years of his life trying to find himself and his purpose in life. Growing up, his passion was music; it was music that would later become his salvation and main outlet of expression.

Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and Bob Seger have all influenced Mellencamp. His early songwriting idols were Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. He and Dylan became friends and for a while in the early Nineties, Dylan would call to read him lyrics to his new songs, looking for feedback. The friendship failed however due to Mellencamp’s intense feelings of unworthiness compared to Dylan. Mellencamp himself has influenced a number of sing-songwriters, most significantly Pete Droge, and Jakob Dylan. His music has been described as a mix between rock and folk. This mélange, mixed with his simple, down-home messages, created a style known as heartland rock. In a 2004 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Mellencamp elaborated on what inspires his own songs; "I try not to write songs about myself -- I'm just not that interesting. For me, songwriting is when you can make somebody say, 'Hey, that guy's eavesdropping on my phone calls.' But you can't do that if you get too specific -- everything has to be vague."

Mellencamp has accomplished his goal by painting portraits of hardworking Americans working to archive something bigger than themselves. This goal is most evident in one of his best known songs, Pink Houses. During a recent appearance on ‘Good Morning, America’, Mellencamp discussed the timely lyrics of this song and their relevance to our world today. He said, "The American Dream has kind of been hidden lately. So I think that it's time for hard-working people to be able to earn a decent wage and realize their dreams. That's what this country was founded on. I believe in the First Amendment, and I believe in hard-working people." Following the release of Scarecrow, Mellencamp became an outspoken advocate of the American farmer, organizing Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. He also became known for his anti-corporate stance, refusing to accept tour sponsorship offers from beer and tobacco companies.

In the recent Presidential election, Mellencamp asked the McCain Campaign to remove his songs from their event playlists. Mellencamp's publicist, Bob Merlis, noted to the Associated Press that "if (McCain is) such a true conservative, why (is he) playing songs that have a very populist pro-labor message written by a guy who would find no argument if you characterized him as left of center?" It is no secret that Mellencamp is an ardent Democrat and radical liberal. He utilizes music to communicate his both political and social views to others who subsequently identify with his lyrics. By doing so, he also challenges the current standards and moral regiment we as a society formulate. In this sense he is some what dangerous because he is not afraid to stand out by shedding light on the less glamorous side of America.


There's a black man, with a black cat, livin' in a black neighborhood
He's got an interstate runnin' through his front yard
You know he thinks he's got it so good
And there's a woman in the kitchen cleanin' up the evenin' slop
And he looks at her and says, "Hey darlin', I can remember when
you could stop a clock."

Ah but ain't that America for you and me
Ain't that America somethin' to see baby
Ain't that America home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses for you and me
oh yeah for you and me

Well there's a young man in a t-shirt
Listenin' to a rockin' rollin' station
He's got ah greasy hair, greasy smile
He says, "Lord this must be my destination."
'Cause they told me when I was younger
Said, "Boy you're gonna be president."
But just like everything else those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went

Ah but ain't that America for you and me
Ain't that America somethin' to see baby
Ain't that America home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses for you and me
Ah yeah baby for you and me

Well there's people and more people
What do they know know know
Go to work in some high rise
And vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico
Ooh yeah
And there's winners and there's losers
But they ain't no big deal
'Cause the simple man baby pays for the thrills, the bills,
the pills that kill

Ah but ain't that America for you and me
Ain't that America somethin' to see baby
Ain't that America home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses for you and me, Ooooh

Ooh yeah

Ain't that America for you and me
Ain't that America hey somethin' to see baby
Ain't that America oh home of the free
Ooh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Little pink houses babe for you and me

Ooh yeah, ooh yeah