Before John Cougar Mellencamp (he kept the “Cougar” through the ’80s) recorded Scarecrow, he ordered his band to learn dozens of ’60s classics. Going through the process brought a certain color to the album. Scarecrow spawned hit singles, but more importantly, it held up as a cohesive collection of songs. After touring to promote the record, the band took a break before reconvening at the Belmont Mall Studio in Indiana to record their next album. During the break, Mellencamp gave the band another directive: each member was to learn a new traditional instrument. The result was a new sound on The Lonesome Jubilee. Let’s look at the meaning of “Cherry Bomb” by John Mellencamp.
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Well, I lived on the outskirts of town
In an eight-room farmhouse, baby
When my brothers and friends were around
There was always somethin’ doin’
Had me a couple of real nice girlfriends
Stopped by to see me every once in a while
When I think back about those days
All I can do is sit and smile
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Traditional Folk and Country Instruments
The Lonesome Jubilee introduced a new direction for Mellencamp. When the band reconvened, guitarist Larry Crane started playing pedal and lap steel, guitarist Mike Wanchic began playing dulcimer and Dobro, bassist Toby Myers took up the banjo, keyboardist John Cascella played accordion and penny whistle, and drummer Kenny Aronoff learned the hammered dulcimer. Fiddler Lisa Germano and background singers Pat Peterson and Crystal Taliefero were added to the fold to create an organic new sound behind Mellencamp.
That’s when a sport was a sport
And groovin’ was groovin’
And dancin’ meant everything
We were young, and we were improvin’
Laughin’ laughin’ with our friends
Holding hands meant somethin’ baby
Outside the club “Cherry Bomb”
Our hearts were really pumpin’
Say yeah, yeah, yeah
Say yeah, yeah, yeah
You Can Get Away With It in a Church Basement
Mellencamp told MTV in 1987, “What 16-year-old kid wouldn’t want to go to the club Cherry Bomb? Just the name of it, the explosion of your hormones going crazy at that period in your life. It’s a fictitious place, but back then, a lot of social functions took place in the basements of churches all across America. Young men and women rubbing up against each other passionately, which was totally acceptable in the basement of that church because they were dancing, but try that behavior in 1966 on the streets, and they’d probably put you in jail.”
The winter days, they last forever
And the weekends went by so quick
Went ridin’ around this little country town
We were goin’ nuts, girl, out in the sticks
One night me, with my big mouth
A couple guys had to put me in my place
When I see those guys these days
We just laugh and say, do you remember when
[RELATED: The Meaning Behind “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” by John Mellencamp]
The Song Has Five Lead Singers
Wanchic, Myers, Peterson, and Taliefero contributed lead vocals. Mellencamp told GQ magazine in 2022 what inspired the move, “I can answer that really simply for you: Sly and the Family Stone. He had all those hit records when I was in junior high, and I love the fact that all the sudden there’s a female voice, then a male voice.”
The Autoharp
When Mellencamp was writing the song, he worked up the earliest demo on an autoharp. As other rockers were leaning into new technology, Mellencamp was stripping it away. As the song was developed, guitarist Crane actually played the folk instrument on the final recording. Crane told The New York Times in 1987, “With John’s music, you work on the emotional essentials. He always insists on an authentic band sound when he’s recording, which has become unusual in this time of endless studio gadgetry. He’s also not willing to sacrifice that band feel for the sake of an idea, or vice versa, so he makes it our responsibility to keep up.”
Seventeen has turned thirty-five
I’m surprised that we’re still livin’
If we’ve done any wrong
I hope that we’re forgiven
Got a few kids of my own
And some days, I still don’t know what to do
I hope that they’re not laughin’ too loud
When they hear me talkin’
Like this to you
Because He Wants To
The music video featured an interracial couple dancing in front of a jukebox. Mellencamp spent years in an interracial band and felt it was important to make a statement about music’s effect on people and the benefits of different kinds of music coming together. As Mellencamp told MTV, “I don’t go out of my way to make interracial videos. I do it because I want to do it. I don’t think that’s going out of my way to do it. Race has been a problem in this country from the beginning, and I don’t like it.” The song hit the top 10, and the video was played in heavy rotation. Mellencamp received hate mail from people who weren’t so open-minded about different races co-mingling.
Everyone looks back at their younger years with different perspectives, and Mellencamp certainly hits on a universal theme with this one. Wistfully remembering how he spent his time “out in the sticks” and when dancing was the most important thing, he hopes his kids aren’t laughing too loud, but we all know they are. And he does, too.
Photo by Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images
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