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John Mellencamp - The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 Album Lyrics



John Mellencamp - The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 Lyrics






I Need A Lover

I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl that knows the meaning of a
Hey hit the highway

Well I've been walkin' the streets up and down
Racing through the human jungles at night
I'm so confused, my mind is indifferent
Hey I'm so weak, won't somebody shut off that light

Electricity runs through the video
And I watch it from this hole I call home
All the stony's are dancin' to the radio
And I got the world calling me up here
Tonight on the phone

I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl to thrill me and then go away
I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl that knows the meaning of a
Hey hit the highway

Well I'm not wiped out by this poolroom life I'm living
I'm gonna quit this job, go to school, or head back home
And I'm not askin' to be loved or be forgiven
I just can't face shakin' in this bedroom
One more night alone

I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl that knows the meaning of a
Hey hit the highway

I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl to thrill me and then go away
I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl that knows the meaning of a
Hey hit the highway

You bet cha
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: JOHN MELLENCAMP
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






Aint Even Done With The Night

Well our hearts beat like thunder
I don't know why they don't explode
You got your hands in my back pockets
And Sam Cooke's singin' on the radio
You say that I'm the boy who can make it all come true
Well I'm tellin' ya that I don't know if I know what to do

You say that's all right, hold tight
Well I don't even know if I'm doin' this right
Well all right, hold tight
We can stay out all day or we can run around all night
Well all night, all night
Well it's time to go home
And I ain't even done with the night

Well I don't know no good come-ons
And I don't know no cool lines
I feel the heat of your frustration
I know it's burnin you up deep down inside
You say that I'm the boy who can make it all come true
Well I'm tellin ya that I don't know if I know what to do

You say that's all right, hold tight
Well I don't even know if I'm doin' this right
Well all right, hold tight
We can stay out all day or we can run around all night
Well all night, all night
Well it's time to go home
And I ain't even done with the night
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: JOHN MELLENCAMP
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






Hurts So Good

(John Mellencamp and G.M. Green)

When I was a young boy
Said put away those young boy ways
Now that I'm gettin' older
So much older
I love all those young boy days
With a girl like you
With a girl like you
Lord knows there are things we can do, baby
Just me and you
Come on and make it hurt

Hurt so good
Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don't feel like it should
You make it hurt so good

Don't have to be so exiting
Just tryin' to give myself
A little bit of fun, yeah
You always look so invitin'
You ain't as green as you are young
Hey baby, its you
Come on, girl, now, its you
Sink your teeth right through my bones, baby
Let's see what we can do
Come on and make it hurt

Hurt so good
Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don't feel like it should
You make it hurt so good

I ain't talkin' no big deals
I ain't made no plans myself
I ain't talkin' no high heels
Maybe we could walk around
All day long
Walk around
All day long

Hurt so good
Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don't feel like it should
You make it hurt so good

Hurt so good
Come on baby, now
Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don't feel like it should
You make it hurt so good

Hey, hey


[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: GEORGE GREEN, JOHN MELLENCAMP
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






Jack And Diane

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

Suckin' on chili dogs outside the tastee freeze
Diane's sittin' on Jackie's lap
He's got his hand between her knees
Jackie say, hey, Diane
Let's run off behind a shady trees
Dribble off those Bobby Brooks
Let me do what I please
Say a

Oh yeah, life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone
Say a
Oh yeah, life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone
They walk on

Jackie sits back
Reflects his thoughts for the moment
Scratches his head
And does his best James Dean
Well you know, Diane
We oughta run off to the city
Diane says, baby
You ain't missin' nuth-in
Jackie, say-a

Oh yeah, life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone
Oh yeah, I say, life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone

Gonna let it rock
Let it roll
Let the Bible Belt come
And save my soul
Hold on to sixteen as long as you can
Changes come around real soon
Make us women and men

Oh yeah, life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone
Oh yeah, I say, life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin' is gone

Little ditty about Jack and Diane
Two American kids done the best they can
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: JOHN MELLENCAMP
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






Crumblin Down

Some people ain't no damn good
You can't trust 'em
You can't love em
No good deed goes unpunished
And I don't mind being their whipping boy
I've had that pleasure
For years and years
No, no I never was a sinner
Tell me what else can I do
Second best is what you get
'Til you learn to bend the rules
Time respects no person
And when you lift up must fall
They're waiting outside
To claim my crumblin' walls

Saw my picture in the paper
Read the news around my face
And now some people
Don't want to treat me the same

When the walls
Come tumblin' down
When the walls
Come crumblin', crumblin'
When the walls
Come tumblin', tumblin'
Down
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Some people say I'm obnoxious and lazy
That I'm uneducated
And my opinipn means nothin'
But I know I'm a real good dancer
Don't need to look over my shoulder
To see what I'm after
Everybody's got their problems
Ain't no new news here
I'm the same old trouble
You've been having for years
Don't confuse the problem
With the issue, girl
It's perfectly clear
Just a human desire
To have you come near
Want to put my arms around you
Feel your breath in my ear
You can bend me
You can break me
But you better stand clear

When the walls
Come tumblin' down
When the walls
Come crumblin', crumblin'
When the walls
Come tumblin', tumblin'
Crumblin', tumblin'
Down

When the walls
Come (tumblin' down)
When the walls
Come (rumblin', rumblin')
When the walls
(When the walls)
Come tumblin', tumblin'
Down

Want to put my arms around you
Feel your breath in my ear
You can bend me
You can break me
But you better stand clear

When the walls
Come tumblin' down
When the walls
Come crumblin', crumblin'
When the walls
Come tumblin', tumblin'
Crumblin', tumblin'

When the walls
(When the walls)
Come tumblin' down
When the walls
(When the walls)
Come crumblin', crumblin'
When the walls
Come tumblin', tumblin'
Crumblin', tumblin'

When the walls
(When the walls)
Come tumblin' down
When the walls
Come crumblin', crumblin'
When the walls
Come tumblin', tumblin'
Crumblin', tumblin'
Down
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: GEORGE GREEN, GEORGE MICHAEL GREEN, JOHN MELLENCAMP
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






Pink Houses

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 that he's got it so good
And there's a woman in the kitchen
Cleanin' up the evenin' 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
Something to see, baby
Ain't that America
Home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses
For you and me
Oooh, yeah
For you and me

Well, there's a young man in a t-shirt
Listenin' to a rockin' rollin' station
He's got greasy hair, greasy smile
He says, Lord this must be my destination
'Cause they told me when I was younger
Said boy, you're gonna 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
Something to see, baby
Ain't that America
Home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses
For you and me
Oooh, little baby
For you and me

[Instrumental Interlude]

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 for thrills
The bills the pills that kill

Oh, but ain't that America
For you and me
Ain't that America
Something to see, baby
Ain't that America
Home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses
For you and me
Oooh
Ooooh, yeah...
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: John Mellencamp
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






Authority Song

They like to get you in a compromising position
They like to get you there and smile in your face
They think they're so cute when they got you in that condition
Well I think it's a total disgrace

[Chorus:]
I fight authority, Authority always wins
I fight authority, Authority always wins
I been doing it since I was a young kid
I come out grinnin'
I fight authority, Authority always wins

So I call up my preacher
I say, "Give me strength for Round 5."
He said , "You don't need no strength, you need to grow up son."
I said, "Growing up leads to growing old and then to dying
"And dying to me don't sound like all that much fun."

[Chorus]

Oh no oh no
I fight authority Authority always wins

[Chorus]
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: JOHN MELLENCAMP
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






Lonely Ol Night

She calls me up and says baby it's a lonely ol' night
I don't know I'm just so scared and lonely all at the same time
Nobody told us it was gonna work out this way
No, no, no, no, no
I guess they knew we'd work it out in our own way

[Chorus:]
It's a lonely ol' night
Can I put my arms around you
It's a lonely ol' night
Custom made for two lonely people like me and you

Radio playing softly some singer's sad sad song
He's singing about standing in the shadows of love
I guess he feels awfully alone
She says I know exactly what he means
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
And it's a sad, sad feeling when you're living on
Those in-betweens
But it's okay

[Chorus]

She calls me Baby She calls everybody Baby
It's a lonely ol' night but ain't they all

[Chorus]
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: JOHN MELLENCAMP
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






Small Town

Well I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Prob'ly die in a small town
Oh, those small communities

All my friends are so small town
My parents live in the same small town
My job is so small town
Provides little opportunity

Educated in a small town
Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town
Used to daydream in that small town
Another boring romantic that's me

But I've seen it all in a small town
Had myself a ball in a small town
Married an L.A. doll and brought her to this small town
Now she's small town just like me

No I cannot forget where it is that I come from
I cannot forget the people who love me
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town
And people let me be just what I want to be

Got nothing against a big town
Still hayseed enough to say
Look who's in the big town
But my bed is in a small town
Oh, and that's good enough for me

Well I was born in a small town
And I can breathe in a small town
Gonna die in this small town
And that's prob'ly where they'll bury me
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: JOHN MELLENCAMP
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A.

They come from the cities
And they come from the smaller towns
Beat up cars with guitars and drummers
Goin crack boom bam

R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A., Yeah, Yeah!
Rockin' in the U.S.A.

Said goodbye to their families
Said goodbye to their friends
With pipe dreams in their heads
And very little money in their hands
Some are black and some are white
Ain't to proud to sleep on the floor tonight
With the blind faith of Jesus you know that they just might, be
Rockin' in the U.S.A.
Hey!

Voices from nowhere
And voices from the larger towns
Filled our head full of dreams
Turned the world upside down

There was Frankie Lyman-Bobby Fuller-Mitch Ryder
(They were Rockin')
Jackie Wilson-Shangra-las-Young Rascals
(They were Rockin')
Spotlight on Martha Reeves
Let's don't forget James Brown
Rockin' in the U.S.A.
Rockin' in the U.S.A.
Hey!

R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A., Yeah, Yeah!
Rockin' in the U.S.A.
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: JOHN MELLENCAMP
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






Paper In Fire

She had a dream
And boy it was a good one
So she chased after her dream
With much desire
But when she got too close
To her expectations
Well the dream burned up
Like paper in fire

[Chorus:]
Paper in fire
Stinkin' up the ashtrays
Paper in fire
Smokin' up the alleyways
Who's to say the way
A man should spend his days
Do you let them smolder
Like paper in fire

He wanted love
With no invovlement
So he chased the wind
That's all his silly life required
And the days of vanity
Went on forever
And he saw his days burn up
Like paper in fire

[Chorus]

There is a good life
Right across the green field
And each generation
Stares at it from afar
But we keep no check
On our appetites
So the green fields turn to brown
Like paper in fire

[Chorus]
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: JOHN MELLENCAMP
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






Cherry Bomb

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

[Chorus:]
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
Holdin' hands meant somethin', baby
Outside the club"Cherry Bomb"
Our hearts were really thumpin'
Say yeah yeah yeah
Say yeah yeah yeah

The winter days they last forever
But 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

[Chorus]

Say yeah yeah yeah
Say yeah yeah yeah

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 laughing too loud
When they hear me talkin'
Like this to you

[Chorus]
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: JOHN MELLENCAMP
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC






Check It Out

A million young poets
Screamin' out their words
To a world full of people
Just livin' to be heard
Future generations
Ridin' on the highways that we built
I hope they have a better understanding

Check it out
Goin' to work on Monday
Check it out
Got yourself a family
Check it out
All utility bills have been paid
You can't tell your best buddy that you love him
So check it out
Where does our time go
Check it out
Got a brand new house in escrow
Check it out
Sleepin' with your back to your loved one
This is all that we've learned about happiness

Check it out
Forgot to say hello to my neighbors
Check it out
Sometimes I question my own behavior
Check it out
Talkin' about the girls that we've seen on the sly
Just to tell our souls we're still the young lions
So check it out
Gettin' too drunk on Saturdays
Check it out
Playin' football with the kids on Sundays
Check it out
Soarin' with the eagles all week long
And this is all that we've learned about living
This is all that we've learned about living

A million young poets
Screamin' out their words
Maybe someday
Those words will be heard
By future generations
Ridin' on the highways that we built
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Hope they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Hope they have a better understanding
Check it out.....
[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: RODNEY LEMAY, ANDRE MAURICE BARNES
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group






Without Expression

Have you ever ridden horses through a rainstorm?
Or a lion through a busy street bazarre?
There are many things I'd love to turn you on to
But somehow I feel they're safer where they are

Yes, there's a man I know
With no expression
He's got none at all
Yes, there's a man that I know
With no expression, darling
He's got none at all

Well, some people are inbound with infatuation
And some others spill depression as the law
From one's mother getting at no imagination
So beware then, maybe sin is at your door

Yes, there's a man that I know
With no expression
He's got none at all
Yes, there's a man I know
With no expression
He's got none at all

But you may never, never
See this man laughing
Come to think of it,
I've never seen him cry
But he might be sitting
And you hear him singing
And by and by he'll stop and sigh
Before his voice would even begin to speak
And he'd just cry

Yes, There's a man I know
With no expression, darling
He's got none at all
Yes, There's a man that I know
With no expression
He's got none at all

Have you ever, ever ridden horses through a rainstorm?
Or a lion through a busy street bazarre?
There are many things I'd love to turn you on to
But somehow I feel they're safer where they are

Yes, There's a man that I know
With no expression
He's got none at all
There's a man that I know
With no expression
He's got none at all


[ Correct these Lyrics ]

Writer: TERRY REID
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.








The Best That I Could Do 1978-1988 is the first greatest hits compilation album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, released by Mercury Records in 1997 (see 1997 in music). It compiles Mellencamp's most popular material recorded during his first decade with Riva and Mercury Records, beginning with 1978's A Biography, up through 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee, with a new recording of Terry Reid's "Without Expression".

Mellencamp picked the songs for the album and also came up with the title for the album. The album reached No. 33 on the Billboard 200. This album and Rough Harvest came about because, after leaving Mercury Records for Columbia Records, Mellencamp still owed the label two more albums.
Performed By: John Mellencamp
Genre(s): Rock, heartland rock
Released: November 18th, 1997
Year: 1997

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