Thanks for the very detailed review.  Definitely looking forward to hearing some new material.

I think the entire "Big Daddy" album has really grown on me as I've gotten older.  Maybe it's the fact that I'm now about the same age as John was when the album came out (OK, I'm a little older now, but close enough).  Specifically, "To Live" is a song that I really appreciate more now.  "I'd rather fight with you than lay down and die..." is a line that can be interpreted in many ways - which is one of the aspects I like about this song and the entire album. "Big Daddy Of Them All", "Void In My Heart", and "Mansions In Heaven" are also favorites from the album.

Big Daddy - the first album where John wasn't trying to write a hit record
Uh-Huh - validation of John's prominence as a songwriter
Scarecrow - solid follow up to Uh-Huh, and established John as a social commentator

Yes, I'm sure that lyric is a reference to the line in the movie.  I'm only basing this on what I've read over the years - that John is a big Paul Newman fan (even naming his son Hud).  There are several other lines from Paul Newman movies that are referenced in Mellencamp's songs ("earth-shakin' " in Theo and Weird Henry as an example).