John Mellencamp Life, Death, Love & Freedom All songs written by John Mellencamp Belmont Mall Publishing (ASCAP). All rights administered by EMI April Music, Inc. Longest Days 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 raising up Cain But nothing lasts forever Your best efforts don’t always pay Sometimes you get sick And 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 But deep down in your soul You know you, 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 My Sweet Love Sweet Love standing at my gate Oh my sweet love Sure would feel good to feel good again Oh my sweet love You say that you need me You’ll always believe me Oh my sweet love That our love is forever We’ll always be together Oh my sweet love You say you’ll always come through There’s nothing that you won’t do Oh my sweet love But I’ve heard it all before I can’t beg you anymore Oh my sweet love You’re the woman who knows exactly what she’s doing You’re the girl who ate the apple off the tree When you’re good you’re just crazy, when you’re bad you’re too much You say you never can hurt me You’ll never desert me Oh my sweet love That your words are always true I can depend on you Oh my sweet love When you get in the wind And all the storms begin Oh my sweet love When you’re sad and dismantled All your senses rattled Oh my sweet love You’re the woman who knows exactly what she’s doing You’re the girl who ate the apple off the tree When you’re good it’s just crazy, when you’re bad it’s too much Sweet love standing at my gate Oh my sweet love It sure would feel good to feel good again Oh my sweet love If I Die Sudden If I die sudden Please don’t tell anyone There ain’t nobody that needs to know That I’m gone Just put me in a pine box Six feet underground Don’t be calling no minister I don’t need one around Well my grandma she told me She’d be waiting at the gate She said that the fix was in And that she’s already prayed And the rest of my family Will be waiting there for me too They’d already taken care of my sins And there’s was nothing for me to do So If I die sudden Please don’t tell anyone There ain’t nobody that needs to know That I’m gone Just put me in a pine box Six feet underground Don’t be calling no minister I don’t need one around I don’t need no preacher around I got a little bit of money Some papers you might want to see I got a house down in Georgia But let’s keep this brief I’m not afraid of dying This life’s been right to me I got a whole bunch more than I deserve And now I will be free Yeah now I will be free So If I die sudden Don’t tell anyone There ain’t nobody that needs to know That I’m gone Just put me in a pine box Six feet underground And don’t be calling no minister I don’t need one around I don’t need no preacher around Troubled Land Well there’s a pain in my side But I keep traveling on Bring peace to this troubled land It’s dark out here I can’t read those signs Bring peace to the troubled land Hurricane on the horizon Judgment getting closer all the time I can’t find tomorrow Bring peace to this troubled land Well there’s two men a walking Down the same dirty road Bring peace to this troubled land They stand shoulder to shoulder Carrying the same heavy load Bring peace to this troubled land One man’s eyes are full of sorrow The other man’s belly full of unbearable pain They keep getting closer Bring peace to this troubled land I’ve got many screaming children Ten million rows to hoe Bring peace to this troubled land Deader than an hammer But I can’t let go Bring peace to this troubled land The eyes of heaven are upon you But so is the soul from down below They‘ll cut off your fingers To bring peace to this troubled land Well you can stand up and holler You can lay down and die Bring peace to this troubled land We can turn up our collars And never even try To bring peace to this troubled land Beware of those who want to harm you And drag you down to a lower game Just know the truth is coming To bring peace to this troubled land I got a pain in my side But I keep traveling on Young Without Lovers Better take a look At my circle Better take a look around Tell all my friends Better take a look At the colors of the people Young without lovers Old without friends Better say a prayer For the poor and unhealthy Better sing a song For those who don’t care Let the people have the right To be different Young without lovers Old without friends Life is an abstraction And it tries to fool us all And it’s working so far it seems Brother against brother This world is such a mess Behind the drawn curtains So our thoughts can not be seen Better shake the hand Of the hated Better hear the words That don’t seem clear Better take a look around At what we’re doing Young without lovers Old without friends Better take a look At my circle Better take a look around Tell all of my friends Let the people have the right To be different Young without lovers Old without friends Young without lovers Old without friends Young without lovers Old without friends John Cockers I don’t accommodate nobody I just take care of myself Gotta house down on a dusty road I don’t need nobody else I gotta wife and some kids I don’t know where they’re at I know many many people But I ain’t got no friends Well I used to have some values Now they just make me laugh I used to think things would work out fine But they never did do that All these bosses and the rules It’s hard for me to fit in Must be ten million people But I ain’t got no friends Well I’m a little isolated I live most days in my head And when I go to sleep at night I got no sheets on my bed I’m a little hard headed I can’t wait for this to end I see people coming and going But I ain’t a got no friends Well I look out of my window Into the darkness of night My head gets to spinning So I shut out the light I don’t care if I see tomorrow If I had a reason I’d pretend I know one thing for certain I ain’t a got no friends Well one of these days my anger Get the best of my soul In one desperate moment I’m gonna dig me a hole I’m gonna lie down in it And let be what will be When the morning sun rises There’ll be no one to mourn for me When the morning sun rises There’ll be no one to mourn for me I don’t accommodate nobody I just take care of myself Gotta little house on a dusty road And I don’t need nobody else I gotta wife and some kids I don’t know where they’re at I know many many people But I ain’t got no friends Don’t Need This Body This getting older Ain’t for cowards This getting older Is a lot to go through Ain’t a gonna need this body Much longer Ain’t a gonna need this body Much more Well I can’t see much Like I used to And I can’t run like the wind I don't sleep more Than just a few hours I can’t remember where I’ve been Ain't a gonna need this body much longer Ain't a gonna need this body much more I put in a ten million hours Washed up and worn out for sure Well all my friends are Sick or dying And I’m here all by myself All I got left Is a head full of memories And a thought of my upcoming death Ain't a gonna need this body much longer Ain't a gonna need this body much more I put in a ten million hours Washed up and worn out for sure Well I know one thing I’ll die easy And I know my life Is not in vain Because I loved And I fought with many And the people they loved me just the same Ain't a gonna need this body much longer Ain't a gonna need this body much more I put in a ten million hours Washed up and worn out Washed up and worn out for sure This getting older Well it ain’t for cowards This getting older Is a lot to go through A Ride Back Home Hey Jesus can you give me a ride back home I’ve been out here in this world too long on my own I won’t bother you no more If you can just get me in the door Hey Jesus can you give me a ride back home When I started out I was so young and so strong I just let it roll off my back when things went wrong Now it’s starting to get to me All of this inhumanity Hey Jesus can you give me a ride back home You wouldn’t know it by looking at me now But I was showing some promise once upon a time But it’s gone now And it ain’t coming back My time’s come and gone It’s as simple as that Hey Jesus this world is just too troublesome for me I try to fight off all these devils but I’m just too weak When I’m out here walking all alone I feel like taking my life but I won’t Too big a coward, can you give me a ride back home Hey Jesus can you give me a ride back home Hey Jesus can you give me a ride back home Without A Shot Put your guns out on the table Throw your bullets on the floor This weary old house can’t take it anymore From the ovens in the kitchen To the chains out in the dirt Rope hanging in the bedroom That’s some of our dirty work The distant sleeping shadows That lie out in the yard The wind that distorts the meanings Of who we really are Saluting of ourselves As we pass by our mirrors This show of phony adulation Just masquerades all our fears So we open up our eyes at midnight See the setting of the sun Foundation is crumbling The inner structure’s gone Used up by corruption And the passage of time We hope we’ve got some fight left Cause our children Our children are dying So we think that forgiveness Is a God given right And equality for all Is just a waste of our time With our nickel plated Jesus Chained around are necks Handing out verses of scripture Like we wrote it down ourselves Respect that we once had Went up the water spout Tried to keep it secret But the secret was found out Got to thinking high and mighty Like everything was a lock Some now say this house Can be taken without a shot So the hole gets dug deeper With every wedding bell And we sell each other down the road Until there’s nothing left to sell And slowly but surely We disappear without a trace We point our fingers at each other And say what the hell happened to this place Without a shot Without a shot Without a shot Jena An all white jury hides the executioner's face See how we are, me and you? Everyone here needs to know their place Let's keep this blackbird hidden in the flue Oh oh oh Jena Oh oh oh Jena Oh oh oh Jena Take your nooses down So what becomes of boys that cannot think straight Particularly those with paper bag skin Yes sir, no sir, we'll wipe that smile right off your face We've got our rules here and you must fit in Oh oh oh Jena Oh oh oh Jena Oh oh oh Jena Take your nooses down Some day some way sanity will prevail But who knows when that day might come A shot in the dark, well it just might find its way To the hearts of those that hold the keys to kingdom come Oh oh oh Jena Oh oh oh Jena Oh oh oh Jena Take those nooses down Oh oh hey Jena Oh oh Jena Oh oh Jena Take your nooses down Take those nooses all down Mean I’m not following your frame of mind Complaining about this life all the time Surely something good here as the world spins by Could you please stop being so mean This will never work out that’s what you say It’s the end of the world again yesterday When I see you coming at me I’m gonna walk away You need to stop being so mean Your outlook is haunting us all Like the ghost of our love down at the dark end of the hall If you can’t say nothing good then don’t say nothing at all And you need to stop being so mean Your road seems so narrow to me You’re a big boat up the river blowing off steam My head is spinning from your company Could you please stop being so mean I’m not following your frame of mind Complaining about this life all the time Surely something good here as the world spins by Could you please just stop being so mean The County Fair Well the County Fair left quite a mess In the county yard Kids with eyes as big as dollars Rode all the rides Strip artists and con artists Put on quite a show And made some money Then left town Where they went I don’t know Hey all you suckers I heard a fat woman say Come on in for fifty cents You can stay in here all day So I took a chance I went inside Wasn’t much there to see So I asked her for my money back And she just smiled at me Saw Princess Tonyika taken off all her clothes Rode some rides and played some games Saw the Wild Man from Barneo There was a black man playing the blues Talked to some friends I hadn’t seen in a while Through a football through a hoop Well I saw them loading up their trucks Taking down the rides Folding up all the tents There’s a full moon in the sky Some were laughing some were cussing As they worked Saw one of them making love To a local girl I was minding my own business It was quarter after two When a fella walked up and said Hey man I remember you And then he shoved me And pulled out his knife Stuck me three times in the chest And I died that night For the like of me I can’t remember Who he was And why he’d put a knife in me In the dusty parking lot Everybody said What a shame it was But he knew better than staying out Past twelve o’clock Some people put no value On a human life And there are places we all go That just ain’t safe at night If somebody would do this to me They just might do it to you So be careful where you go And what you say or do Well the County Fair left quite a mess In the county yard For The Children I wish I could give you an answer As to when life really begins I wish I could tell you where we went When our days here come to an end Wish I could see the future The same way I see the past Wish I could draw a conclusion Why nothing here seems to last I can’t even make a guess Or an uneducated thought All I can do here is my best And be thankful for what we’ve got Why do so many suffer Oppressed to the end of time Why does freedom move so slowly Unable to speak its mind Some say it’s a circle Others think we live on the wing Why are promises broken And some think life don’t mean a thing I can’t even make a guess Or an uneducated thought All I can do here is my best And be thankful for what we’ve got I hope you can be a child of life With big dreams for everyone And know that dying’s as natural as birth And our troubles here they don’t last long I have worried about many things Most of which did not come to pass Hope you find someone to give you love And that your love will last I can’t even make a guess Or an uneducated thought All I can do here is my best And be thankful for what we’ve got We’ve got... A Brand New Song In the sweet belly of the moment When you realize you’ve changed And everything you’re after Has gone down the drain You’re nothing more than just a drifter As you walk down your road Not exactly the picture You thought you’d be sending home All these places mean nothing It’s the people we count on Here without a purpose Gone without a song Yesterday seemed so sudden Today seems to have no end So you button up the buttons Say goodbye to what has been Those black and white pictures That file through your veins That’s the trouble with the future It always stays the same And your pride’s been shaken And those people you count on Here without a purpose And gone without a song Without a song In the uncertainty of a new day Opportunity may howl You hear the voice in a new way In the past you didn’t know how You’re old enough to know the difference Between and enemy and a friend With the eyes of knowledge upon you You’re able to stand up again Life is always in motion And there’s new people to count on Here you may find a purpose And sing a brand new song Life is always in motion New people to count on Here we find a purpose To sing a brand new song Brand new song Sing a brand new song