Released: August 6, 1996

Songwriter: Tom Petty

Producer: Rick Rubin Tom Petty Mike W. Campbell

[Verse 1]
We grew up fast
And no one seemed to notice
We grew up fast
And we grew up alone
Mom and Dad
Were never what we wanted
We grew up fast
And we grew up alone
We grew up alone

[Chorus]
Well, you know who I am
So don't treat me like I'm someone else
Well, you know what I am
So don't treat me like I'm someone else
You never act like that with no one else

[Verse 2]
We grew up last
When lies were just a fact of life
Grew up mad
Cause we never had a home
We faced the past
And forgave the revolution
We grew up smashed
And we grew up alone
We grew up alone

[Bridge]
Hey, my brother
I got no fight with you, I just can't lie down
Hey, my brother
I got no fight with you, I just can't lie down
No, I just can't lie down, I just can't lie down

[Chorus]
Well, you know who I am
So don't treat me like I'm someone else
Well, you know what I am
So don't act like I'm something else

[Chorus]
Well, you know who I am
So don't treat me like I'm someone else
You know where I am
So don't act like I'm somewhere else
You never talk like that to no one else
You never scream like that for no one else
You never suck like that for no one else
Oh!

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – an L.A.-based gang of sharp-dressed garage-rock refugees from Gainsville, Florida – released their debut LP in November 1976, featuring two tracks which are now part of their long list of hits, “Breakdown” and “American Girl.”

Since that first LP in ‘76, the band’s style has epitomized and largely defined the American “heartland rock” movement – a vintage-guitar twang, hard lyric truth, and searing vocal attitude.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been nominated for 17 Grammy awards and sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making them one of the world’s best-selling bands of all-time.