Showing posts with label John Cougar Mellencamp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Cougar Mellencamp. Show all posts

Friday, October 13, 2006

Of Jaque, and of Diane (John Cougar Mellencamp)


Language: Portuguese

Just so you know: this is the first picture that comes up when you do an AOL picture search for "Jack and Diane." They look like nice folks. He might want to consider shaving, though. Amish beards are so 1998.

-Jessi

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A little song on Jaque and Diane.
The heartland grew two small Americans, who were above it:
Jaque, who's gone to be a backseat debutante; and
Diane, the star of Jaque's football car.

Sucking in freezing chili dogs is tasty;
Diane sits that down in Jaque's lap.
Jaque's words have her on hands and knees;
Diane left us outside. (Hey! The functions
of the tree are: to be shady, and to dribble behind.)
Bobby has those brooks outside, that
leave me to make what I please,
and Jaque says,

Go in the life of the oh-yeah;
later, that emotion of livin' is long gone.
The life of the oh-yeah goes in;
later, that livin' emotion is with them, on a long walk.

Jaque sits down backwards, stops, risks his thoughts for a moment, reflects:
his head and his dean made James better. Well, more of that --
that . . . Diane. You know, we ought to be the whole function of the
city! Diane says, "Baby, you aren't lacking nothing, you
word of Jaque."

You go in the life of the oh-yeah;
later, that emotion of life is long gone.
Oh yeah, it goes in;
later, that emotion of life is long gone.

I'm left balancing,
left rolling.
The leather strap of the Bible left me
low, came on to
my soul. Hold the exceptions
for much time as you can, so the sixteen
changes that come in return soon. The real
in them make the women and men.

A little song on Jaque and Diane:
two small Americans who can make more, better.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Pink Houses (John Cougar Mellencamp)


Language: German

My mother was fond of referring to the Malvina Reynolds song "Little Boxes," which expresses much the same sentiment. It's possible that she just enjoyed saying "ticky-tacky." Mom's like that.

But every generation gets the anti-suburbia song it deserves, and I guess this is mine. It's okay, I guess. Do all John Cougar Mellencamp songs make reference at some point to young people with lots of potential realizing they're never going to have what they always assumed they were going to have, or is it just the ones I know, or just the ones that got popular, or what? 'Cause, frankly, that shit's getting kind of tired. Or hits too close to home. Something.

-Jessi

picture of public housing in Ixtapaluca, Mexico City via Future Feeder.

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He lives within a black neighbourhood, which gives a black man a black cat.
He has an intergovernmental enterprise by its front yard;
well, so, he has that.
And up there in the evening slop is the kitchen-cleaning woman.
He can regard her himself, and says,
"I think you could stop on a favorite clock," as he reminds his master.

Chorus:
However, that's America for you and me; oh,
that baby isn't to be seen. America is not something:
America isn't that free house.
Small pink houses for you and me.

A young man is there in a t-shirt role,
hearing a swinging station:
he must have smudgy hair, and a smudgy smile
He says, "Lord, it's my destination place."
Because they explained to me, when I was younger,
"Boy, you will be president."
But like everything, straight or otherwise,
those old dreams came straight, moved, and went crazy.

Chorus

Wells are people there, and more people
know knowing, which they
go, in any high ascent. To work is to know.
Down in the gulf, there are Mexican holidays,
(ooh, yeah),
and winners. And there are losers,
but they're no large agreement, not
for the baby, because the simple man calculates, thrills, and pays for
those killing pills.

Chorus