He uses irony to exemplify how imperfect America truly is, singing “ Oh but ain’t that America for you and me. Mellencamp stresses the fact that although America seems like the perfect building block for the ideal life, it is not that simple. The chorus of the song shows that the American Dream isn’t what it is made up to be.
#John cougar little pink houses free
Mellencamp addresses the fact that in the American Dream, people are free to live as they choose and that life seems to be portrayed as somewhat picture perfect. Pink houses represent the deceiving facade of all American Dreams as well as the identical ideals of picket fences, a family to come home to, a steady job, and ultimately success. The lyrics of this song stand to depict the stereotypical American Dream.
Songwriter John Mellencamp sheds light on the austere reality of the American Dream in his song “Pink Houses.” At the time that Crevecoeur wrote What is An American, America was only just developing and therefore hadn’t experienced the harsh realities that can drive people off their path of obtaining the American Dream. There has been a surplus of diverse challenges that obstruct us from obtaining our own personal standards of success as the generations have seemed to only become more complex. Crevecoeur portrays the Dream as something easily attainable for all citizens of the land but as time has progressed, the Dream seems to be slipping further out of reach. To quote one of his rabble-rousing ’80s hits: “I fight authority, authority always wins.” But John Mellencamp is never going to stop throwing punches.In the three centuries since Crevecoeur’s What is An American, it is obvious that the American Dream has undergone a significant transformation evident in today’s modern world. Yet as socially conscious later efforts like 2014’s Plain Spoken show, he’s remained resolute in his fight for the little guy. Since his ’80s commercial peak, Mellencamp has remained highly prolific both as a musical and visual artist, expanding his roots-rock aesthetic through collaborations with bass queen Meshell Ndegeocello, rapper Chuck D, and producer T Bone Burnett. (The latter song has a long history of being misappropriated by politicians who mistake its weary “ain’t that America” chorus as a patriotic campaign jingle.) For 1987’s Cajun-spiced The Lonesome Jubilee, he simply put the Mellencamp name on the cover, signaling his complete transition from rock ‘n’ roll bad boy to down-home Americana icon (an image reinforced by his cofounding role in the Farm Aid charity-concert series).
That focus would only turn sharper as he rebranded himself John Cougar Mellencamp for 1983’s Uh-Huh and 1985’s Scarecrow, where acoustic anthems like “Small Town” and “Pink Houses” celebrated Rust Belt resilience while quietly raging at the socioeconomic inequalities that necessitate it. Initially dropping his Germanic surname for the more all-American stage handle of Johnny Cougar, the Seymour, Indiana native (born in 1951) emerged in the late ‘70s as a leather-clad rock ‘n’ roll rebel for the New Wave age, enjoying his first success with 1978’s ersatz-Springsteen sing-along “I Need a Lover.” But a tiny name tweak to the slightly more sophisticated John Cougar heralded his chart-topping breakthrough with 1982’s American Fool, whose eternal teen-romance serenade “Jack and Diane” recast him as a keen observer of small-town American life. The evolution of heartland rocker John Mellencamp can be easily charted through the various monikers he’s put on his album covers.