3 of the Best Opening Lines From John Mellencamp Americana Songs

The truth-telling, pull-no-punches singer from the heartland known as John Mellencamp has been writing and releasing music about the brittleness of life and the strength of everyday people for the past several decades. And you don’t enjoy a career like that without composing a few lyrics with real triumph and significance.

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Here below, we wanted to explore three such examples. A trio of tracks from Mellencamp that boast ear-catching language. Specifically, we wanted to take a look at the opening lines of three of his songs. Indeed, these are three of the best opening lines from John Mellencamp Americana songs.

[RELATED: John Mellencamp Showcases His Voice and More on New LP ‘Strictly A One-Eyed Jack’]

“Jack & Diane” from American Fool (1982)

A song that tells a story of a couple in love. And as soon as Mellencamp begins to sing over his acoustic guitar, we are hooked. We know these two. We grew up with these two. They are American and they are from the place Mellencamp knows well: the true America, in many ways. The heartland. Indeed, to open this familiar story, the gravelly voiced Mellencamp begins,

Little ditty about Jack and Diane
Two American kids growin’ up in the heartland
Jackie gonna be a football star
Diane’s debutante backseat of Jackie’s car

“Small Town” from Scarecrow (1985)

Another acoustic rocker similar to “Jack & Diane,” this song also bears similarity to a few of Mellencamp’s peers, from Bruce Springsteen to Tom Petty and Steve Earle. Rock, storytelling, and percussive acoustic guitar combined with big, heartland vocals. It was the sound of a section of America and that’s what this song is about, in fact. On it, Mellencamp opens,

Well, I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Probably die in a small town
Oh, those small communities

“Wasted Days” from Strictly a One-Eyed Jack (2022)

Speaking of Springsteen, he and Mellencamp collaborated together for this song from the latter’s terrific 2022 LP Strictly a One-Eyed Jack. The LP was a standout of lyricism and feel and this song with these two legends was a treat amongst treats. It’s about the passing of time, of days gone and not used in the ways they perhaps should have been. Indeed, on it, Mellencamp begins,

How many summers still remain?
How many days are lost in vain?
Who’s counting out these last remaining years?
How many minutes do we have here?

Photo by Sue Dorfman/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock