Pink Houses

[sachem_head]

The lyrics of "Pink Houses" by John Mellencamp (listen to the song on Mellencamp's Last.fm page) are a social commentary, packed carefully into the confines of a three-minute pop song. As a songwriter, Mellencamp has kept it simple throughout his career. His songs are not quite as inventive or fine-crafted as a Bob Dylan or a Bruce Springsteen, but

Comments

What you said early on....

[redbaydreamer]

About the man in the first verse finding happiness where he was resonated with me because I have seen Michael J. Fox on a few shows recently. He is talking about his new book and a special he will be having on ABC. What seems to make him tick and keep him going is that he has decided to be happy (or content) with his lot in life. Yes, he has parkinson's but he seems to be making a good life for himself not so much inspite of the disease but with the disease. I kind of think that is how the old guy is in the first verse. He is not just making the best of a difficult situation, he is making the best of the situation he finds himself in and maybe the guy in the second verse is too. After this little discussion I see this more as a "we may be from the midwest but we are happy about it" thumb their nose at the people who live on the coasts (and that could include Chicago on the north coast and Miami on the south coast) who don't really know us or see us or think we are important. There are some songs that you like because of the catchy (ness) of it in spite of the words and there are some that the words are most important. Sometimes we can't understand exactly what is being said and we make up our own words even if it is just in our head. I love that you were singing a song like that to A as you were out walking.