Released: July 15, 2008
Songwriter: John Mellencamp
Producer: T Bone Burnett
It seems like once upon a time ago
I was where I was supposed to be
My vision was true, and my heart was too
There was no end to what I could dream
I walked like a hero into the setting sun
Everyone called out my name
Death to me was just a mystery
I was too busy raisin' up Cain
But nothing lasts forever
Your best efforts don’t always pay
Sometimes you get sick
And you don’t get better
That’s when life is short
Even in its longest days
So you pretend not to notice
That everything has changed
The way that you look
And the friends you once had
So you keep on acting the same
Deep down in your soul
You know you got no flame
And who knows then which way to go?
Life is short even in its longest days
All I got here
Is a rear view mirror
Reflections of where I’ve been
So you tell yourself, "I’ll be back up on top some day"
But you know there’s nothing waiting up there for you anyway
Nothing lasts forever
And your best efforts don’t always pay
Sometimes you get sick
And you don’t get better
That’s when life is short
Even in its longest days
Life is short
Even in its longest days
I was where I was supposed to be
My vision was true, and my heart was too
There was no end to what I could dream
I walked like a hero into the setting sun
Everyone called out my name
Death to me was just a mystery
I was too busy raisin' up Cain
But nothing lasts forever
Your best efforts don’t always pay
Sometimes you get sick
And you don’t get better
That’s when life is short
Even in its longest days
So you pretend not to notice
That everything has changed
The way that you look
And the friends you once had
So you keep on acting the same
Deep down in your soul
You know you got no flame
And who knows then which way to go?
Life is short even in its longest days
All I got here
Is a rear view mirror
Reflections of where I’ve been
So you tell yourself, "I’ll be back up on top some day"
But you know there’s nothing waiting up there for you anyway
Nothing lasts forever
And your best efforts don’t always pay
Sometimes you get sick
And you don’t get better
That’s when life is short
Even in its longest days
Life is short
Even in its longest days
more tracks from the album
On the Rural Route 7609
- The Real Life
- Your Life Is Now
- Don’t Need This Body
- Sweet Evening Breeze
- The Full Catastrophe
- My Aeroplane
- Troubled Land
- Someday the Rains Will Fall
- Theo and Weird Henry
- Women Seem
- Between a Laugh and a Tear
- If I Die Sudden
- Peaceful World
- To Washington
- Colored Lights
- The World Don’t Bother Me None
- Jack and Diane (Writing Demo)
- Jenny at 16
- Rain on the Scarecrow
- Jim Crow
- Big Daddy of Them All
- What If I Came Knocking
- Longest Days
- Sugar Marie
- Mr. Bellows
- Deep Blue Heart
- Love and Happiness
- Someday
- Forgiveness
- To M.G. (Wherever She May Be)
- For the Children
- Freedom’s Road
- Our Country (Alternative Version)
- Jim Crow
- Thank You
- Ghost Towns Along the Highway
- Jackie Brown
- Cherry Bomb
- Jack & Diane
- L.U.V.
- County Fair
- When Jesus Left Birmingham
- Country Gentleman
- Rural Route
- Void in My Heart
- Just Like You
- Rodeo Clown
- A Ride Back Home
- Authority Song
- Grandma’s Theme
- Death Letter
- Young Without Lovers
- Pink Houses
From the albums
- Life, Death, Love and Freedom (2008)
- On the Rural Route 7609 (2010)
- Plain Spoken: From the Chicago Theatre (2018)
John Mellencamp popular songs
- Jack & Diane
- Pink Houses
- Hurts So Good
- Small Town
- Check It Out
- Authority Song
- Rain on the Scarecrow
- I Need a Lover
- Cherry Bomb
- For the Children
- Farewell Angelina
- R. Gang
- To M.G. (Wherever She May Be)
- Worn Out Nervous Condition
- Yours Forever
- No One Cares About Me
- Forgiveness
- L.U.V.
- This May Not Be the End of the World
- County Fair
- Goodnight
- Young Without Lovers
- Another Sunny Day 12/25
- Serious Business