John Cougar Mellencamp

[fox69]

"Teardrops Will Fall"
(originally by Dickey Doo And The Dont's)

"Teardrops Will Fall"
(originally by Dickey Doo And The Dont's)



I read your letter and tears filled my eyes
All of your promises fading, was nothing but lies
So I turned your photograph over, face to the wall
And when I dim the lights in my room tonight
Teardrops will fall

Teardrops will fall tonight
Tears I can't hide
Tears that I tried to keep
Deep down inside
Tears fall, a love that's gone
Beyond recall
And when I dim the lights in my room tonight
Teardrops will fall

I'm gonna pray tonight, baby
Hoping you will hear
Maybe you'll right the wrong, now
And dry each tear
I'll sit alone tonight hoping you will call
And when I dim the lights in my room tonight
Teardrops will fall

 

[fox69]

"Tears In Vain"

"Tears In Vain"



Snow falling on a cane break
Please stop howling at the moon
I got stones in my bed
Stones left there by you

Tears in vain I’m crying
Tears in vain over you
I guess I should know better than
To cry these tears in vain

I guess I could ask myself why now
As if there’s some answer known
I’ll just sit here by myself
As you meet your friend down the road

Tears in vain I’m crying
Tears in vain over you
I guess I should know better than
To cry these tears in vain

I might write you a poem
And put it up there on the wall
I’ll rewrite it ‘til you return to me
Sha la la la la la la

Tears in vain I’m crying
Tears in vain over you
I guess I should know better than
To cry these tears in vain

Tears in vain I’m crying
Tears in vain over you
I guess I should know better than
To cry these tears in vain
To cry these tears in vain

 

[fox69]

"Thank You"

"Thank You"



Let me say thank-you to those who love many
Let me say thank-you to those who still play fair
Hallelujah, the meek shall inherit
Let me say thank-you to all you people out there, out there
Let me say grace for those who don't feel they matter
May God look down on all the soldiers of this Earth
Trying to find peace in this world that house so many
Let me say grace for those who feel lost from birth, lost from birth
Let's give a smile for those who feel that they have nothing
Let me shake the hand of Johnny Doe out on the street
Let's give a wink for those girls who don't feel pretty
Let's find some water for those who need a drink, need a drink
And when I see so many broken and lonely
Soon to be entering Heaven's door
Let me count the ways
Let me count the blessings
That no man should feel lonely anymore
Let me say good luck to the people raising families
Let me say thank-you to the men who grow the bread
And here's to dreams of a bigger, brighter future
And that we all got someone to keep the stones from our bed
Let me say thank-you to those who love many
Let me say thank-you for those who still play fair
Hallelujah, the meek shall inherit
Let me say thank-you to all you folks out there
All you people out there

 

[fox69]

"The Americans"

"The Americans"



I like my heroes
To be honest and strong
I wear t-shirts
And blue jeans
I try to understand
All the cultures of this world
I'm an American from the Midwest

When I speak
I have a southern drawl
I mind my manners most of the time
When you come down here
Stop and stay hello
I'm an American from south of the Mason Dixon line

I'm an American, I'm an American
I respect you and your point of view
I'm an American, I'm an American
And I wish you good luck with whatever you do

I start my day
And I'm ready to work
I'm responsible
And I like to get things done
If you ever need some help
Come and look my way
'Cause I try to be here for everyone

I'm an American, I'm an American
I respect you and your point of view
I'm an American, I'm an American
And I wish you good luck with whatever you do

They call me the land of opportunity
With our agriculture
And beautiful movie stars
We can turn our dreams
Into a way of life
So be happy and be who you are

I'm an American, I'm an American
I respect you and your point of view
I'm an American, I'm an American
And I wish you good luck with whatever you do

 

[fox69]

"The Big Jack"

"The Big Jack"



I know you and you know me
We met many years ago
In the halls of some ivy covered university
Where we both used to go
Now we stand outside the Denmark hotel
With Japanese men in their business suits
It's midnight you're talking to some Frenchman
About who does what to you know who

You want the big jack
You want the sky to crack
You want something that's going to give you
The big jack
You want the big jack
Hell we all want that
You want something that's going to give you
The big jack

You say you want to go somewhere
Where your ideals were much more than luxuries
And just like some great old painting
You set there so smug
With your hands between your knees

You want the big jack
You want the sky to crack
You want something that's going to give you
The big jack
You want the big jack
Hell we all want that
You want something that's going to give you a
Heart attack

So go back down to that Mississippi town
Where you come from
Have a big time tonight
I can still see you in your father's coat
On the delta shore
That he once owned
I want to be your father's coat
I want you girl to marry me

I want the big jack
I want the sky to crack
I want something that's going to give me
The big jack
I want the big jack
Hell we all want that
I want something that's going to give me a
Heart attack
I want the big jack
Yeah we all want that
We want something that's going to give us the big jack
I want the big jack
I want the sky to crack
I want something that's going to give me the big jack

 

[fox69]

"The Brass Ring"

"The Brass Ring"



The saddest girl in the whole wide world
I met her on the Quarter
With no regards for vagrancy, no respect for civil order
How young are you, I asked her
How old are you, young lady?
I’m much older than you think, ‘cause I have seven babies

Where are those who keep these kids
While you’re out on the party?
I leave them where they are safe
At the church of 12th and Harding
The people there they know me well
They ask me very few questions
And if a child should pass before they wake, they’ll pray them into heaven

No love and no lover
A murder of crows did sing
We soon will discover
The coffin will wear our brass ring

So where’s the father of these kids?
Does he, does he help you ever?
I have no idea where he is
He don’t show his face, he knows better
Can I help you go tonight?
It would be my pleasure
And make sure that you arrive all right
Now we could leave together

She said, no, I don’t need your company
And I don’t want your pity
You’d be wise just to go away
And leave me here where I’m sitting
Is there nothing I can do for you?
Now it’s time to scatter
Why do you think there’s something wrong with me
There’s nothing really the matter?

No love and no lover
A murder of crows did sing
We soon will discover
A coffin will wear our brass ring

I find myself where life could go
I find myself each morning
All the duties of this world
Fell on my shoulders without warning
I make no plans, nor do I care
For the future called tomorrow
This world I’ve seen here's never fair
So just leave me here with my sorrows

No love and no lover
A murder of crows did sing
We soon will discover
The coffin will wear our brass ring

No love and no lover
A murder of crows did sing
We soon will discover
The coffin will wear our brass ring
Wear our brass ring

 

[fox69]

"The Breakout"

"The Breakout"



Why do I think there's nobody out there?
No one who wants me and no one who knows.
I wait in this place, no one can see me.
After all this time could I be so alone?
I walk through this old town and still feel lonely.
The wind plays sad songs high in the trees.
The sun never shines this deep in the forest.
Am I in the darkness or is the darkness in me?

I wanna break
I wanna break out
I wanna break
I wanna break out

I want to taste the tears of a lover
Warm as my blood, as wet as a kiss.
But it's only dark rain that falls in this old town.
Old as my memory and as cold as my lips.

I wanna break
I wanna break out
I don't wanna fake it
I want to break out
And when I feel lonely
And when I feel lonely
You fly me to the sun

Above this old town
From the top of the tower
I forget about living, I forget about pain.
At the edge of the platform,
At the edge of a heartbeat,
Above this old town I flew away.

I wanna break
I wanna break out
I don't wanna fake it
I want to break out
I wanna break
I wanna break out
I want to break
I want to break out

 

[fox69]

"The Company Of Cowards"

"The Company Of Cowards"


I’m in the company of cowards
I’m in the company store
Bullet holes through the window
We can’t keep this company up anymore

A bucket of beer, a bucket of fools
A bucket of dark and broken rules
There’s a lot more to this than I ever thought
A bucket of trouble that’s what we’ve bought

[Chorus:]
The man in the moon this afternoon
Told secrets on you
I believe to be true
I’m in the company of cowards
I’m in the company of me and you

I saw you with Mr. Struggle Must Go On
In a bar down in the Keys
He was old and slow and couldn’t throw a punch
And you looked so musical last night in the breeze
You were showering him with your tender protection
With no regard for me
I was dining alone on the bread of sorrow
While you were making fat the old man and the sea

[Chorus:]
The man in the moon this afternoon
Told secrets on you I believe to be true
I’m in the company of cowards
I’m in the company of me and you

The Bible speaks of Heaven and Hell
And many frightening things
Politicians say “One more war
And the bells of freedom will start to ring”
Those stories you told by the waggin’ of your chin
Time’s not so precious til it comes to an end
And silence is truth between me and you
With our demur well hidden, like two birds we flew

[Chorus:]
So cover your eyes old man in the moon
Unless you care to see what really is not true
You’re in the company of cowards
It’s hard telling what they will do
You’re in the company of cowards
You’re in the company of me and you

 

[fox69]

"The Courtesy Of Kings"

"The Courtesy Of Kings"



I knew this colorful woman once
She drank and had a roving eye
In the morning she was always mournful
She’d cry and apologize
But she’d always repeat herself
Find comfort with a stranger and sing
She never took much notice
In the courtesy of kings

She had pictures of Cuban artists
And paintings from Rotterdam
Promises that she made
She never could stay true to them
She said she loved me so deeply
Then she’d spit in my face and scream
And she never took much notice
In the courtesy of kings

She had the face of an angel
And a smile no one could deny
But the heart of a devil
Beat deep down in her inside
She spoke of judgment and forgiveness
Her other lovers didn’t mean a thing
She never took much notice
In the courtesy of kings

We parted in the middle of nowhere
I haven’t seen her since then
She always kept my mind busy
She made her lies sing like a hymn
Sometimes I wonder if I’d see her
If I would still recognize
Or just remember her as a dream
And respect her for the love she used to bring
And if I could show her
The courtesy of kings

 

[fox69]

"The End Of The World"
(originally by Skeeter Davis)

"The End Of The World"
(originally by Skeeter Davis)



Why does the sun go on shining
Why does the sea rush to shore
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'Cause you don't love me any more

Why do the birds go on singing
Why do the stars glow above
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when I lost your love

I wake up in the morning and I wonder
Why everything's the same as it was
I can't understand, no, I can't understand
How life goes on the way it does

Why does my heart go on beating
Why do these eyes of mine cry
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when you said goodbye

Why does my heart go on beating
Why do these eyes of mine cry
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when you said goodbye