1
There's a black man with a black cat
Livin' in a black neighborhood
He's got an interstate runnin' through his front yard
You know he thinks he's got it so good
And there's a woman in the kitchen
Cleaning up evening slop
And he looks at her and says, "Hey darlin'
I can remember when you could stop a clock"
Oh, but ain't that America for you and me?
Ain't that America somethin' to see, baby?
Ain't that America home of the free, yeah?
Little pink houses for you and me
Oh, yeah, for you and me
Eh
Well, there's a young man in a t-shirt
Listenin' to a rock 'n' roll station
He's got a greasy hair, greasy smile
He says, "Lord, this must be my destination"
'Cause they told me, when I was younger
Sayin' "Boy, you're gon' be president"
But just like everything else, those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went
Oh, but ain't that America for you and me?
Ain't that America somethin' to see, baby?
Ain't that America home of the free, yeah?
Little pink houses for you and me
Oh, baby, baby, for you and me
Well, there's people and more people
What do they know, know, know
Go to work in some high rise
And vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico
Ooh, yeah
And there's winners, and there's losers
But they ain't no big deal
'Cause the simple man, baby, pays the thrills
The bills, the pills that kill
Oh, but ain't that America for you and me?
Ain't that America somethin' to see, baby?
Ain't that America, home of the free, yeah?
Little pink houses for you and me
Ooh
Ooh yeah
Ain't that America for you and me?
Ain't that America
Hey, well, somethin' to see, baby?
Ain't that America
Oh, well, the home of the free
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Little pink houses, baby, for you and me
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah
Livin' in a black neighborhood
He's got an interstate runnin' through his front yard
You know he thinks he's got it so good
And there's a woman in the kitchen
Cleaning up evening slop
And he looks at her and says, "Hey darlin'
I can remember when you could stop a clock"
Oh, but ain't that America for you and me?
Ain't that America somethin' to see, baby?
Ain't that America home of the free, yeah?
Little pink houses for you and me
Oh, yeah, for you and me
Eh
Well, there's a young man in a t-shirt
Listenin' to a rock 'n' roll station
He's got a greasy hair, greasy smile
He says, "Lord, this must be my destination"
'Cause they told me, when I was younger
Sayin' "Boy, you're gon' be president"
But just like everything else, those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went
Oh, but ain't that America for you and me?
Ain't that America somethin' to see, baby?
Ain't that America home of the free, yeah?
Little pink houses for you and me
Oh, baby, baby, for you and me
Well, there's people and more people
What do they know, know, know
Go to work in some high rise
And vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico
Ooh, yeah
And there's winners, and there's losers
But they ain't no big deal
'Cause the simple man, baby, pays the thrills
The bills, the pills that kill
Oh, but ain't that America for you and me?
Ain't that America somethin' to see, baby?
Ain't that America, home of the free, yeah?
Little pink houses for you and me
Ooh
Ooh yeah
Ain't that America for you and me?
Ain't that America
Hey, well, somethin' to see, baby?
Ain't that America
Oh, well, the home of the free
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Little pink houses, baby, for you and me
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah
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As we celebrate Independence Day, I think America has to be reexamined and reevaluated. The ideas that our founders espoused are now old-fashioned. What was one was the truth-it's no anything but! America is full of hypocrisy and lies. Even with Obama in Office, America will Never Be a more perfect union! John Mellencamp understands this fact better than anyone in Rock. To Paraphrase his Midwest Guitar Friend Madonna, Nobody's Perfect. In angry heartland classic rocker Pink Houses, Mellencamp angrily writes about inequality-how the American people don't have it so good after all. The Indiana Hoosier Kitty Cat is angry and enraged!-Meow!-Mellencamp rages "Ain't That America for You and Me!"-as if things will never change! What's most shocking is the hopelessness on the sad rocker. The truth hurts. As his Meowing Cat voice gets angrier and sadder, Johnny Rebel just cries in Sad and Enraged Indiana Tears. The Pink House then is a stoic symbol that hard times are gonna be with us always-but we Americans just have to keep going to make America better. There is still hope. Mellencamp knows it. I know it. We all know it! Ain't that America for you and me! Happy Fourth!