Mellencamp songs that grow with age

[Alex1974]

We all have our favourite Mellencamp songs, often (but not always) his hits.  My favourite song, when I first fell in love with his music, was 'Check It Out' (I was twelve when I first encountered him, in the form of 'The Lonesome Jubilee', which was climbing the charts at the time in Australia, where I grew up).  However, while I still love this song, it is no longer my favourite of his, though I would still count it in my top twenty (or thirty).  So my question to fellow Mellenheads is whether, and how, your favourite songs of his have grown on you, or changed for you, over time? 

For example, I did not like 'Rain on the Scarecrow' when I first heard it as much as many other songs on the 'Scarecrow' album but after seeing Mellencamp play the song live in concert recently, it is now one of my all-time favourites.  It seemed to me that when he first sang that song, it was fuelled by a righteous anger that has morphed, in the years since, into a seething rage that underscores the importance, relevance and vitality of that song to a contemporary audience, which made it all the more powerful for me.  It is a song that has grown with age, so to speak.  Has anyone else found a love and respect for a Mellencamp song that did not excite them initially (perhaps unsurprisingly, given that he has written so many brilliant songs) until later in life?

[mellenq]

Wow, that's a tough question.

I have to admit that the 'hits' are rarely my favourites these days even though they must of been what caught my attention in the first place. Well, that and those blue eyes.....give me a break, I was 15 when I first found JM!!   

I think thangs are continually changing, depending on what is going on in my life, but I tend to go back to certain songs to give me strength, inspiration, or even clarity.  It's hard to pin down one song as a favourite, I just know that if I feel a 'need' for some words to sort out my feelings, then burried somewhere on one of JM's albums, there will be song with the just the right lyrics and just the right mood for what I need at that moment.

This probably doesn't answer you question, but it's the best I answer I've got.

[dolly23]

Well said,  I feel close to certain songs at certain times in my life,
the gentleman that said at the Live by Request Show,  John's songs are the soundtrack to my life, really summed it up.  I have felt that way for a long time.

Happy holidays to all in Mellenville!  God's Blessing on all.

[Mellenfan71]

"check it out" for sure

[mitch1982]

I think thangs are continually changing, depending on what is going on in my life, but I tend to go back to certain songs to give me strength, inspiration, or even clarity.  It's hard to pin down one song as a favourite, I just know that if I feel a 'need' for some words to sort out my feelings, then burried somewhere on one of JM's albums, there will be song with the just the right lyrics and just the right mood for what I need at that moment.

And as John would say "If a song you wrote can actually become a part of the fabric of a listener's life, that's as much as you can hope for..."  and it seems he's accomplished this for you and for so many other Mellenheads.  We all have a tapestry that has John's threads in it.

[kicker]

Two songs that have definitely grown in stature with me are ''To M.G (Wherever She May Be)'' and ''Sugar Marie'' i never much cared fo much of John's pre American Fool music, but when i heard the versions on the Rural Route box set they became two of my favorite Mellencamp songs, i think John's at his best when he keeps it simple.

[Alex1974]

Two songs that have definitely grown in stature with me are ''To M.G (Wherever She May Be)'' and ''Sugar Marie'' i never much cared fo much of John's pre American Fool music, but when i heard the versions on the Rural Route box set they became two of my favorite Mellencamp songs, i think John's at his best when he keeps it simple.

I agree completely - those songs were real eye-openers on the Rural Route box set.  I also love the version of 'Colored Lights' on that set, from his pre-American Fool albums.  But these two songs are a really good example of what I mean - songs to which one might not have paid much attention initially, but which grow on you later, or which you hear again (sometimes as another version) and find refreshing and startlingly good.  I felt this when I heard the acoustic version of 'Lonely Ol Night' - a song I thought was okay before, but never my favourite track from Scarecrow - that Mellencamp played at the Walter Reed Memorial Hospital concert in the early 2000s.  It was stripped down, with just Mellencamp, guitar and mouth organ, and it was absolutely brilliant.  When kept simple, Mellencamp's songwriting genius is particularly clear.

[mellenq]

I LOVE that  accoustic version of Lonely Ol' Night.  It became a whole new song when done that way, in fact I think the real meaning in that song came through so much better accousticly than it did on Scarecrow.....and I loved it on Scarecrow!

[jakesmom204]

I feel that way about a lot of John's songs, I think the acoustic versions show the songs the way they were meant to be in the first place.  I still think about hearing Human Wheels, Your Life is Now, Walk Tall and others done solo acoustic for the first time and feeling like I was really hearing the message for the first time.

[marilynb]

definitely "a ride back home" is the best i have heard from out of all of the songs john wrote.
there is such a clear message and i believe its a prayer of johns in this song. and i truly believe that this prayer in this song will be answered for you john.

yes john me and my prayer partners are still at it. we're still praying for you

keep the faith / peace & love

[cwspence]

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.