John Mellencamp

Released: July 1, 1983

Songwriter: John Mellencamp

Producer: Don Gehman John Mellencamp

[Verse 1]
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 that he's got it so good

[Verse 2]
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."

[Chorus]
Oh, 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
Ey!

[Verse 3]
Well, there's a young man in a t-shirt
Listen' to a rock 'n' roll station
He's got greasy hair, greasy smile
He says, "Lord, this must be my destination"

[Verse 4]
Cause they told me when I was younger
Sayin', "boy, you're gonna be president"
But just like everything else, those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went

[Chorus]
Oh, 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, baby, for you and me

[Verse 5]
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

[Verse 6]
And there's winners, and there's losers
But they ain't no big deal
Cause the simple man baby pays the thrills
The bills, the pills that kill

[Chorus]
Oh, 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
Ooh
Ooh yeah

[Chorus]
Ain't that America
For you and me?
Ain't that America
Hey, well somethin' to see baby?
Ain't that America
Oh, well the home of the free
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Little pink houses, baby, for you and me

[Outro]
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah

John J Mellencamp, also known as John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, painter, and actor. He is known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock, which emphasize with the working class.

John Mellencamp has released 22 studio albums, with a career that began in 1976 and still goes on today.

His most recent release was 2014’s Plain Spoken

more tracks from the album

The Concert for New York City

From the albums

Uh-Huh (1983)
The Best That I Could Do (1978-1988) (1997)
The Concert for New York City (2001)
Words & Music: John Mellencamp’s Greatest Hits (2004)
On the Rural Route 7609 (2010)
Performs Trouble No More Live at Town Hall (2014)
Plain Spoken: From the Chicago Theatre (2018)

John Mellencamp popular songs

Pink HousesJohn Mellencamp

John Mellencamp

The Concert for New York City