![]() ![]() A country that runs on the efforts of the working class, and yet makes sure the “American Dream” is just out of their reach, ain’t that something to see, Mellencamp asks. ![]() Ain’t that America / Something to see, baby / Ain’t that America / Home of the free, yeah / Little pink houses / For you and me.Īin’t that America, the singer taunts. Oh, but ain’t that America / For you and me, the artist sneers. With his lyrics, Mellencamp delivers a jab at his country, attempting to give an uninhibited look at what it means to survive in America. The chorus-long-misinterpreted as a rallying cry for America, equivalent to chants of USA! USA!-plays. The song continues, 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. The man is presumably living below the poverty line, but he is happy with what he has. Opening with the image that inspired it all, “Pink Houses” depicts 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 that he’s got it so good. It was another way for me to sneak something in.” The Lyrics But it’s really an anti-American song,” Mellencamp continued of “Pink Houses.” “The American dream had pretty much proven itself as not working anymore. “This one has been misconstrued over the years because of the chorus-it sounds very rah-rah. “Pink Houses,” especially, holds a mirror to the distorted vision of the “American Dream.” Sometimes misinterpreted as patriotic with their anthemic sounds and American imagery, his songs are more often critiques of American life rather than celebrations of it. So I went with that positive route when I wrote this song.” I thought, ‘Wow, is this what life can lead to? Watching the fuckin’ cars go by on the interstate?’ Then I imagined he wasn’t isolated, but he was happy. “He was sitting on his front lawn in front of a pink house in one of those shitty, cheap lawn chairs. “I was driving through Indianapolis on Interstate 65 and I saw a black man holding either a cat or a dog,” the musician told Rolling Stone of the song. I know it.The 1983 song was born from a passing glance. The Pink House then is a stoic symbol that hard times are gonna be with us always-but we Americans just have to keep going to make America better. As his Meowing Cat voice gets angrier and sadder, Johnny Rebel just cries in Sad and Enraged Indiana Tears. The Indiana Hoosier Kitty Cat is angry and enraged!-Meow!-Mellencamp rages "Ain't That America for You and Me!"-as if things will never change! What's most shocking is the hopelessness on the sad rocker. ![]() In angry heartland classic rocker Pink Houses, Mellencamp angrily writes about inequality-how the American people don't have it so good after all. ![]() To Paraphrase his Midwest Guitar Friend Madonna, Nobody's Perfect. Even with Obama in Office, America will Never Be a more perfect union! John Mellencamp understands this fact better than anyone in Rock. What was one was the truth-it's no anything but! America is full of hypocrisy and lies. The ideas that our founders espoused are now old-fashioned. My InterpretationAs we celebrate Independence Day, I think America has to be reexamined and reevaluated. Little pink houses babe for you and me, ooo yeah ooo yeah Little pink houses for you and me, ooo, ooo yeahĪin't that America, hey we're something to see babyĪin't that America, oh the home of the free, 'Cause the simple man baby pays the thrills, Little pink houses, for you and me, oh baby for you and me He says: "Lord, this must be my destination"īut just like everything else, those old crazy dreams Little pink houses for you and me, oh for you and me Oh but ain't that America, for you and meĪin't that America, we're something to see babyĪin't that America, home of the free, yeah "Hey darling, I can remember when you could stop a clock" He's got an interstate running' through his front yardĪnd there's a woman in the kitchen cleaning' up evening slop ![]()
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