OK, so it's unlikely to be a wild night at the Mellencamp concert for me and my mommy friends (those days are behind us), but it will be a kid-free, beer-drinking, baby-bearing-hips-swingin' girls night out (even if we'll only drink two beers, wear sensible clothes that cover us completely and rush home post-concert to our babies).
I love Mellencamp because he rocks, but also because his lyrics have real meaning and contain wise advice for a life well-lived.
In honor of tonight's concert, here are my top 15 favorite lines/verses from Mellencamp songs that speak to me:
1.) Would you teach your children to tell the truth / Would you take the high road if you could choose / Do you believe you're a victim of a great compromise / 'Cause I believe you could change your mind and change our lives
-- "Your Life is Now"
2.) "Racism lives in the U.S. today / Better get hip to what Martin Luther King had to say / I don't want my kids being brought up this way / Hatred to each other is not okay
-- "Peaceful World"
3.) You've got to stand for somethin' / Or you're gonna fall for anything / You've gotta stand right up for somethin' / Or you're gonna fall...for anything
-- "You've Gotta Stand for Something"
4.) So what am I living for? / They say the truth is not hard to find / It's right here in front of my eyes / If I could just open my heart sometimes / But there's too much to think about / Too many problems in my brain.
-- "Too Much to Think About"
5.) They like to make us feel little / They like to make us feel small / And keep us down / 'Til we feel no good at all / Then they tell us that we're stupid / That we got no sense at all / They'll take away the spark / Keep us in the dark / Make us feel we have no vision at all / They're so tough / They can stick it where the sun don't shine.
-- "They're so Tough"
6.) You see the people starvin' underneath the tree / And you wonder what happened to the golden rule
-- "The Face of the Nation"
7.) Tomorrow is a new day / Gonna make these dreams come true / I'm gonna believe in myself / I'll tell you what I'm gonna do / I'm gonna stop puttin' myself down / I'm gonna turn my life around / I'll be ridin' high / With my feet kicked up in the rumbleseat
-- "Rumbleseat"
8.) If you believe / Won't you please raise your hands / Let's hear your voices / Let us know where you stand / Don't shout from the shadows / Cause it won't mean a damn
-- "Now More than Ever"
9.) I do things my way and I pay a high price
-- "Minutes to Memories
10.) I'll try anything once but then do it to death / But I ain't ever satisfied / I expect the worst but I hope for the best / Oh, I ain't ever satisfied
-- "I Ain't Ever Satisfied"
11.) When paradise is no longer fit for you to live in / And your adolescent dreams are gone / Through the days you feel a little used up / And you don't know where your energy's gone wrong / It's just your soul feelin' a little downhearted / Somtimes life is too ridiculous to live
-- "Between a Laugh and a Tear"
12.) You see through everything and nothin' seems worthwhile / And hypocrite used to be such a big word to you / And it don't seem to mean anything to you now / Just try to live each and every precious moment / Don't be discouraged by the future, forget the past / That's old advise but it'll be good to you / I know there's a balance, see it when I swing past
-- "Between a Laugh and a Tear"
13.) They like to get you in a compromising position / They like to get you there and smile in your face / They think they're so cute when they got you in that condition / Well I think it's a total disgrace / I fight authority, Authority always wins / I been doing it since I was a young kid / I come out grinnin'
-- "Authority Song"
14.) Well, this earth is a graveyard, it will swallow our bones / It was here long before us, it will be here when we're gone / And it's a vain generation that looks for a sign / Don't you think we could make better use of our time / Yeah, the air could be cleaner and the water could be, too / But what we do to each other are the worst things that we do
-- "Another Sunny Day"
15.) If you're not part of the future then get out of the way
--"Peaceful World"

