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Little ditty about Jack and Diane
Two American kids growin' up in the heartland
Jacky's gonna be a football star
Diane debutante backseat of Jacky's car
Suckin' on a chili dog outside the Tastee Freeze
Diane's sittin' on Jacky's lap
He's got his hand between her knees
Jacky say "Hey Diane lets run off
Behind a shady tree"
Dribble off those Bobby Brooks slacks
Let me do what I please.
And Jacky say
Oh yeah life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone
Oh yeah say life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone, they walk on
Jacky sits back reflects his thoughts for the moment
Scratches his head and does his best James Dean.
Well you know Diane, we oughtta run of the city
Diane says "Baby, you ain't missing' no-thing"
Jacky say a
Oh yeah life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone
Oh yeah say life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone,
Gonna let it rock
Let it roll
Let the Bible belt come down
And save my soul
Hold on to sixteen as long as you can
Changes come around real soon
Make us women and men
Oh yeah life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone
Oh yeah say life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone,
Little ditty about Jack and Diane
Two American kids doing the best they can
Two American kids growin' up in the heartland
Jacky's gonna be a football star
Diane debutante backseat of Jacky's car
Suckin' on a chili dog outside the Tastee Freeze
Diane's sittin' on Jacky's lap
He's got his hand between her knees
Jacky say "Hey Diane lets run off
Behind a shady tree"
Dribble off those Bobby Brooks slacks
Let me do what I please.
And Jacky say
Oh yeah life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone
Oh yeah say life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone, they walk on
Jacky sits back reflects his thoughts for the moment
Scratches his head and does his best James Dean.
Well you know Diane, we oughtta run of the city
Diane says "Baby, you ain't missing' no-thing"
Jacky say a
Oh yeah life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone
Oh yeah say life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone,
Gonna let it rock
Let it roll
Let the Bible belt come down
And save my soul
Hold on to sixteen as long as you can
Changes come around real soon
Make us women and men
Oh yeah life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone
Oh yeah say life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone,
Little ditty about Jack and Diane
Two American kids doing the best they can
Lyrics submitted by Boonechic_21
Track duration: 04:16
"Jack & Diane" as written by John Mellencamp
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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For a minute there, Diane was thinking about the sweet little family, but Jack has a sober realization of working at the gas station the rest of his life to manage to scrape by; moreover,
both of them will be forever shamed in the community for conceiving out of wedlock.
They are both children. They are not mature enough to become a family, but are physically mature enough to conceive. Life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone. Their baby is dead and now they go on (almost certainly separate ways) with the lingering guilt and shame.
Then I found out recently, to my surprise, that originally he *was* going to write a song about an interracial couple,* but* after watching the movie "Splendor in the grass" (one of my all-time favorites) one night, he decided to base it off the couple from the movie. The boy and girl in the movie are named Bud and Deanie. It's basically a story about young love and growing up.
The lyrics "growin up in the heartland" are in reference to the movie being set in Kansas. "Jacky's gonna be a football star" refers to how Bud was the school's football star/ all-around jock and for awhile that seemed to be his main identity.... that *and* being deanie's high school sweetheart. " Jacky say 'Hey Diane lets run off, Behind a shady tree' Dribble off those Bobby Brooks, Let me do what I please" refers to how Bud in the beginning was always trying to get in Deanie's pants. 'Bobby Brooks' was a line of women's clothing in the 50s, 60s, 70s, that first popularized the generic 'teen' clothing brand. Characterized by a hint of sexiness and separating the young girl's style completely from her mother's (because anything associated with your parents in the 1950s started to be perceived as old and 'uncool' thanks to "rebel without a cause", unfortunately the same could not be said for cigarette smoking.) The movie "Splendor in the Grass" was filmed in 1960 and you can see in the movie that some of Deanie's clothes look like they might've been actually modern clothing from the 60s, like Bobbie Brooks, with some alterations used to pass off as late 20's early 30's. Or, it could've just been Mellencamp's way of paying homage to one of his old girlfriend's in the late 60s or 70s who possibly wore Bobbie Brooks. I'm pretty sure the Tastee Freeze reference was to Mellencamp's own teen years because there wasn't any tastee freezes in 1920s Kansas.
"Let the Bible Belt come down, And Save My soul" refers to the religious elements included in the film. In fact, the writer of the story/screenplay played a Protestant Reverend in the movie. Religion became part of an omen or foreshadowing in the story when the Reverend says in his sermon, "Lay not up treasures for yourself on earth. Where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves do break through and steal. But lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through and steal. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
"Jacky sits back reflects his thoughts for the moment, Scratches his head and does his best james dean.
Well you know diane, we oughtta run of the city, Diane says 'Baby, you aint missin' no-thing'" -definite reference to Natalie Wood who plays Deanie. She was in the movie "Rebel without a cause" starring James Dean. The part about the running off to the city I believe is in reference to how Bud ends up going to the city, where everything ends up turning dark and melancholy, which is why the lyrics express "you aint missin' no-thing."
the repeated verse "Oh yeah life goes on, Long after the thrill of livin is gone. Oh yeay say life goes on, Long after the thrill of livin is gone, they walk on" is a sort of modified version of the main theme of the movie "Splendor in the grass" expressed through a line from a Wordsworth's poem 'Ode, Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood,'
"Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower
We will grieve not, but rather find
Strength in what remains behind."
the "hold on to 16 as long as you can" gives a sort warning to young couples who will likely succumb to the same fate as the couple in the story.
"Hold on to 16 as long as you can
Changes come around real soon
Make us women and men"
he is saying enjoy life while your living it cuz once u get to 16 your just about a man/women
The way I interpret this song, is like most people but a little twist.
I think that it goes in stages, with the beginning being about them at their youngest, perhaps they are dating at this time. Hands between her knees, they are prolly sexually active. Then going behind the shady tree, further shows that they are.
Then it moves into a stage where it's time for them to move on, and perhaps they are still together and it's time to move into the city to be able to live. Work, make money, etc...but Diana says your not missing anything. Or perhaps it's meant exactly like it's said "Aint missing nothing" which is a double negative, means your missing everything. I don't think it was intended that way, but it's there.
Then he says to hold on to 16, as long as you can, and for most people they would agree with that. But why would you want to be 16 again, you have been that age before, why go back, you had your turn =P
Then at the end. Perhaps the best part of the song. Two American kids doing the best they can.
Living