#John mellencamp albums full#
The album ends with a sonic gut-punch - the cinematic “A Life Full of Rain,” in which Mellencamp sings: “Here in a room where no one cares/I’m not wanted here/I got no place to go/I’ve found all is empty/In a life full of rain." After all, one of his hits a lifetime ago goes "Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.” It's a bleak assessment from a songwriter who has never pulled his punches. “So the bottom line is that we go through this life that we don’t really know anybody, do we?” “We only show what we want people to see, and we really never get to know anybody because not only are we doing that, everybody’s playing that game,” he says. They act as metaphors for the way we are. Mellencamp notes that they have swords behind their backs and calls them the most dangerous cards in the deck. Both the jack of spades and jack of hearts are facing sideways and are nicknamed one-eyed jacks since only one eye is visible. The album and title song are named after playing cards. This is an incredibly powerful body of work.” Monte Lipman, founder and CEO of Republic Records, considers it one of Mellencamp's best albums: "His undeniable gift of storytelling and poetic narratives has never been more prolific. “I know that sounds like hocus pocus, but it’s true.
You know what I mean? When I was a kid, I wasn’t open. Sometimes he is stunned by what comes out: “To be real honest with you, some of these lyrics are so much smarter than me.” Lyrics come first generally and he jots them down with paper and pen. I just let the song go where it wants to go and say what it wants to say.” "When I was younger, I used to try to control my songs," he says. Other songs include “Driving in the Rain,” a euphemism his grandfather used to warn a young Mellencamp when he was living dangerously, “Sweet Honey Brown,” a song about a life wasted by heroin and “Chasing Rainbows,” which is advice to recognize your blessings. You’re watching the news - I don’t care which side of the rope you swing on - you’re hearing lies,” he says. “You’re watching television, you’re watching false advertising. Mellencamp was inspired to write the song after finding out that the average person hears several hundred lies a day - and tells about 150 of their own. “Don’t think that happened by accident,” he says with a raspy laugh. It is Mellencamp’s 25th album - even he loses count, calling it is 27th at one point - and it's filled with world-weary truths, like the opening song “I Always Lie to Strangers.” It’s important to be sung because, ultimately, your takeaway from that song is you need to squeeze every bit of happiness and life out of every day and not waste days.” “Not many people would sing a song starting with that line.
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