John Mellencamp

[fox69]

"Take Home Pay"

"Take Home Pay"


You've been checking some girls heart
For some tenderness
But all you found this far
Her credit card eyes and some pretentiousness
Tell her you're gonna have to pass
If she don't like it she can kiss your ass
Cos all you wanted anyway
Was your take home pay

Take home pay, better spend it as fast as you can
Take home pay, buy yourself a lover beats beatin’ it by hand
You know what they say
Money can't buy happiness
But you 're feelin real good
When you’re real well dressed
And you're blowin them all away
Spending your take home pay!

 

[fox69]

"Take What You Want"

"Take What You Want"


Put your life on the table
Stick your money on the line
Create the situation there, one more time
Your name it means nothing
And the dreams that we live [?]

And now you don't care if she is, the girl from next door
She's never been known for nothing, but a motor street whore
You don't believe nothin' that you can't see
And you see me as nothing, to me, yeah-ah yeah

[Chorus:]
You can take what you want
Take what you want
Take what you want
But just don't take it away
You can stay if you want
Stay if you want
Stay if you want
But just don't stay all day
Cause you know it means nothing, to me

Don't see much sense in lying here with you
The sex is over now, what is there left to do
Conversation, conversation baby, I don't talk that much
And now I don't know when I'm gonna see you again
I'm leaving tomorrow and this will all start again
I hope you don't believe that you was a failure [?]
And you see it means nothin' to be a man

[Chorus 2x]

But you know it means nothing
Yeah you know it means nothing
Yeah you know it means nothing, to me

 

[fox69]

"Taxi Dancer"

"Taxi Dancer"


Oh yeah
Well she started out, just to be a dancer
Gonna make her livin' dancin'
In the Broadway shows
So she hitchhiked cross the country
From Pasaroba to the Big Red Apple
Where your dreams are made
Your debts must be paid on time

Well she wasn't used to livin' in the city
So she took a job cleanin' up as a maid
At the Grammercy Park Hotel
And all her auditions
They didn't turn out so pretty
So she took a job dancin'
At the bar down the street as well

[Chorus:]
I'll hold you close, Taxi Dancer
And I'll listen to how your outgrew your dreams
How they faded away
I'll hold you close, Taxi Dancer
We can pretend this floor is the Broadway stage

Well I don't know how long or how far
Her fortune did take her
But I heard she sits alone drunk
In a bar downtown on 42nd Street
And sometimes an old Butch
Will slip a quarter into the jukebox
And she'll stagger to the bar
And dance with that girl for free

[Chorus]

Oh the stage, baby

 

[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