Bruce Hornsby played piano on this and wrote this with Henley. I did like Don Henley’s solo albums in the 80s. I had this album and I wore it out in the late 80s. This one is probably my favorite Henley album. I prefer his solo music to the Eagles.
When the Eagles broke up in 1980, Joe Walsh (loved The Confessor ) and Glenn Frey also launched solo careers. They all did fairly well, but Henley was the most successful. The Eagles re-formed in 1994 for their Hell Freezes Over tour.
The End of the Innocence peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, and #48 in the UK.
The End of the Innocence album peaked at #8 in the Billboard Album Charts.
The End Of The Innocence was Henley’s third solo album. He didn’t release another for 11 years.
From Songfacts
The “Tired old man that we elected king” is a reference to US president Ronald Reagan. There are a lot of political overtones in the song, as Henley strongly opposed Reagan’s agenda.
The line about “Beating ploughshares into swords” is a distortion of Isaiah 2:4 in which Isaiah describes the end times: “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
The inversion of the words most likely hints at the decline of the number of family farms and the increase in US military power in the ’80s as a signal of the end times of innocence.
David Fincher directed the music video. Around this time, he was taking the form to a new level, with cinematic textures and storylines that would later appear in his films (The Game, Fight Club, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Other videos he directed around this time include Madonna’s “Vogue” and Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got A Gun.”
Bob Dylan often performed this on his 2002 US tour.
You can’t the get original video on youtube from Donny…he doesn’t allow it…so here is a live version.
The End of the Innocence
Remember when the days were long And rolled beneath a deep blue sky Didn’t have a care in the world With mommy and daddy standing by
When happily ever after fails And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales The lawyers dwell on small details Since daddy had to fly
But I know a place where we can go Still untouched by man We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by And the tall grass wave in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground And let your hair fall all around me Offer up your best defense But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence O’ beautiful, for spacious skies But now those skies are threatening They’re beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king Armchair warriors often fail And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie But I know a place where we can go And wash away this sin We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind Just lay your head back on the ground And let your hair spill all around me Offer up your best defense
But this is the end This is the end of the innocence Who knows how long this will last Now we’ve come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust That same small town in each of us I need to remember this So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look Before we say good bye Just lay your head back on the ground And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense But this is the end This is the end of the innocence
A 1966 Mustang is what I think of when I hear this song. That was my first car in 1983. My mom foolishly got me what is now a classic car. Not a good car to give a 16-year-old. When I heard this song I knew Robert wasn’t in Zeppelin anymore. It was a smart thing to distance himself at the time.
What I remember the most is the guitar parts played by Robbie Blunt. I remember the licks he plays just as much as the words Plant sings. It’s a great song to listen to on a long car trip.
A Big Log is common lingo of tractor-trailer drivers. It is the book in which their road hours are logged, therefore the connection between the road and love and the countless hours we all log on both…
The song peaked at #20 in the Billboard 100, #23 in Canada, #11 in the UK, and #7 in New Zealand in 1983. The album was The Principle of Moments that peaked at #8 in the Billboard Album Chart, #7 in the UK, #1 in Canada, and #
Phil Collins played drums on this and 5 other tracks on the album. He also played drums on Plant’s previous album Pictures At Eleven.
From Songfacts
In the video, Plant’s classic car overheats at a desolate desert gas station, which causes him to muse upon lost love.
This was Robert Plant’s first hit as a solo artist after the break up of Led Zeppelin.
Some people know this song as “My Love Is In League With The Freeway.” The phrase “Big Log” does not appear in the lyrics.
The name “Big Log” is likely meaningless. Plant’s solo work (up until Now And Zen) and work with Led Zeppelin often featured songs with titles that had little or nothing to do with the lyrics. Also from The Principle Of Moments are the tracks “Messin’ With A Mekon,” “Horizontal Departure” and “Stranger Here… Than Over There.”
Big Log
My love is in league with the freeway It’s passion will rise as the cities fly by And the tail lights dissolve in the coming of night And the questions and thousands take flight
My love is miles in awaiting The eyes that just stare and the glance at the clock In the secret that burns and the pain that won’t stop And it’s fueled with the years
Leading me on (leading me on) Leading me down the road Driving me on (driving me on) Driving me down the road
My love is exceeding the limit Red eyed and fevered with the hum of the miles Distance and longing and my thoughts do collide Should I rest for a while and decide
Your love is cradled in knowing Eyes in the mirror still expecting their prey Sensing too well when the journey is done There is no turning back No There is no turning back
On the run
My love is in league With the freeway Oh with the freeway And the coming of the night time My love My love Is in league with the freeway
The “picture of you” Chrissie Hynde sings about is a picture she found in her wallet of Ray Davies, lead singer and songwriter of The Kinks. Hynde and Davies were a couple and had a daughter together. This song started off about him, but the meaning changed when Honeyman-Scott died.
The song turned into a tribute to James Honeyman-Scott, the Pretenders guitarist who died of a drug overdose in 1982 at age 26. Scott’s death was followed by bass player Pete Farndon’s 10 months later. Farndon had been kicked out of the band because of his drug problems and died of an overdose.
The song peaked at #5 in the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, #14 in New Zealand, and #17 in the UK in 1983.
From Songfacts
This is a very emotional song. Chrissie Hynde would sometimes tear up when performing it.
A Chain Gang is a group of convicts who are chained together while they do manual labor, usually outside.
This was the first Pretenders single featuring Billy Bremner and Tony Butler, who replaced Farndon and Honeyman-Scott.
This was released as a single almost two years before the album came out.
Back On The Chain Gang
I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh What hijacked my world that night To a place in the past We’ve been cast out of? Oh oh oh oh Now we’re back in the fight We’re back on the train Oh, back on the chain gang
A circumstance beyond our control, oh oh oh oh The phone, the TV and the news of the world Got in the house like a pigeon from hell, oh oh oh oh Threw sand in our eyes and descended like flies Put us back on the train Oh, back on the chain gang
The powers that be That force us to live like we do Bring me to my knees When I see what they’ve done to you But I’ll die as I stand here today Knowing that deep in my heart They’ll fall to ruin one day For making us part
I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh Those were the happiest days of my life Like a break in the battle was your part, oh oh oh oh In the wretched life of a lonely heart Now we’re back on the train Oh, back on the chain gang
I remember the phrases that were on the show and phrases that the show spawned after it went off the air…like “Jump The Shark” and the “Chuck Cunningham Syndrome” (more below on them)
I watched Happy Days as a kid and even got the theme as a single. The show first aired in 1974 and finally came to a halt in 1984. Ever since then it’s gone into syndication.
Happy Days was centered around Ritchie Cunningham (Ron Howard) and his friends and family but the Fonz (Henry Winkler) character soon eclipsed Ritchie. The show portrayed 1950s life as a teenager but it did mirror the problems all teenagers encounter.
Fonz was everywhere in the seventies. Kids at school would do the hair in the mirror thing. If I only had a nickel every time I heard “heeeeyyyy” I would be a rich man. T-Shirts, lunch boxes, notebooks, and anything “Happy Days” could be printed on was… Phrases included Sit On It, Exactamundo, Bucko, and more became popular…Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah!
Two more phrases came because of the show. Jump the Shark and the Chuck Cunningham Syndrome but more in them in a minute.
Richie had some understanding parents… Howard and Marion Cunningham were always there with a solution and he had a sometimes bratty but typical little sister Joanie. His best friends were Potsy and Ralph Malph who would mostly get Richie in trouble.
Happy Days also spawned a number of spin-offs, including the hit shows Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy. We won’t discuss Joanie Loves Chachi…no that didn’t happen.
In the Seventies, a 50s revival was happening at the time and this show certainly added to it. Movies like Grease, American Graffiti, and The Last Picture Show were hits also.
Now some fun stuff.
Jump the Shark – A definition… “(of a television series or movie) reach a point at which far-fetched events are included merely for the sake of novelty, indicative of a decline in quality”
This originated from Happy Days. It was the episode where Fonzie jumps over a shark while on water-skis. This was way outside the original storyline of the show. If you want to know which one…Season 5 Episode 3 of a three-part episode storyline.
The Chuck Cunningham Syndrome – One of the definitions I found… occurs when a character in a television mysteriously vanishes from the show. No write-off, no death, not even a passing explanation of what happened to the character.
This originated from Happy Days. Poor Chuck was Ritchie’s brother and he is in a total of 11 episodes in the first two seasons. After that, we never see nor hear anything from Chuck again. Did aliens abduct him? Was he in the Witness Protection program? Was he a spy? Was he a figment of the family’s imagination? Did he grow up to be Alice Cooper?
This is where “Jump The Shark” was born…Yea, a guy from Milwaukee is going to water ski and jump a shark…with a leather jacket on.
I loved this song when I heard it. To hear George sing about his time with The Beatles surprised me. Of all the Beatles George seemed to have the most resentment and some of it was understandable. A few years after this he would join the remaining Beatles and start on The Beatles Anthology.
George co-wrote the song with Jeff Lynne, who also co-produced the album that shortly pre-dates the two of them forming The Traveling Wilburys. ‘When We Was Fab’ is a musical nod to the psychedelic sound that the Beatles had made their own. George used a sitar, string quartet, and backward tape effects.
This one peaked at #23 in the Billboard 100, #20 in Canada, and #25 in the UK.
He also got some help from Ringo. Starr played drums on this track and a few others on the album. Harrison says that when he started writing the song, he had Ringo’s drumming in mind for the intro and the overall tempo.
The album was Cloud Nine…it peaked at #8 in the Billboard Album Charts, #5 in Canada, #10 in the UK, and #27 in New Zealand.
From Songfacts
Harrison wrote this after the Beatles had split up. It’s about the days of Beatlemania, when the group was known as “The Fab 4.” It sounds very much like a Beatles song.
Jeff Lynne, George’s bandmate from the superstar band The Traveling Wilburys and leader of The Electric Light Orchestra, produced this song and as well as the rest of this album. A huge Beatles fan, Jeff also appears briefly in the video for this song (look for the big afro).
Harrison states in this song: “income tax was all we had.” Excessive taxation was a scourge for him – he wrote the Beatles song “Taxman” on the subject.
Gary Wright, who had a big hit with “Dream Weaver,” played piano on this track.
When We Was Fab
One! Two! Back then long time ago when grass was green Woke up in a daze Arrived like strangers in the night (Fab! Doot, doot, doot doo) Long time ago when we was fab (Fab!) Back when income tax was all we had Caressers fleeced you in the morning light Casualties at dawn And we did it all (Fab! Doot, doot, doot doo) Long time ago when we was fab (Fab) In my world you are my only love
And while you’re in this world The fuzz gonna come and claim you But you mo better wise When the buzz gonna come and take you away Take you away. Take you away
The microscopes that magnified the tears Studied warts and all Still the life flowed on and on (Fab! Doot, doot, doot, Gear!) Long time ago when we was fab (Fab)
But it’s all over now, baby blue (Oo! doot, doot doot. Fab!) Long time ago when we was fab (Fab!) Like this pullover you sent me (Fab! Doot, doot, doot. Gear!) And you really got a hold on me (Fab! Doot, doot, doot, Gear!)
So I might steal your diamonds, I’ll bring you back some gold
This was a surprise hit for Gregg Allman. The Allman Brothers broke up in 1982 because the 1980s were a hard time for older rock bands…especially bands that jammed a lot on stage and were nowhere near New Wave. Gregg was also going through severe substance abuse problems at the time.
When I read Gregg’s autobiography I was shocked that Gregg didn’t write this song. He and Dickey Betts were the main songwriters of the Allman Brothers. The song described Gregg perfectly. It was written by Tony Colton and Phil Palmer. The song helped revive Allman’s standing with rock and pop audiences.
The song peaked at #1 in the US Album Rock Tracks Billboard charts and #49 in the Billboard 100 in 1987.
Allman spent three days in jail for drunk driving a few weeks before the I’m No Angel album was released. He had been arrested in September 1986 after failing a roadside sobriety test in Belleview, Florida.
From Songfacts
This was the title track from Gregg Allman’s fourth solo album. Most of the ’80s were a tough time for Allman: He was in a drug-induced funk for much of the decade, but came out of it long enough to record this album.
This was an appropriate song for Allman, who endured years of alcohol and drug problems and five failed marriages. In the song, he explains that with him, you have to take the good with the bad. He’s a classic dangerous rebel type, complete with tattoos and a dark side. He’s letting the girl know that she’ll love him anyway, even as he drives her crazy.
Gregg Allman wrote most of his own songs and had a hand in composing most of the Allman Brothers catalog, but he didn’t write “I’m No Angel.” The song was written by Phil Palmer and Tony Colton; Palmer is a British session guitarist who recorded with Dire Straits and Eric Clapton; Colton was in a band called Head Hands and Feet with Albert Lee in the ’70s before moving on to songwriting and production work. They submitted the demo to Allman, who immediately identified with the song and decided to record it.
Cher opened her 1988 concerts with this song. Her tumultuous marriage to Allman lasted 1975-1979.
Allman never became a video star, but he did make a foray into the MTV age with his video for this song, where he and his band break down in front of a dilapidated saloon. Conveniently, there are instruments set up, so they start playing while ghosts appear from the bygone days of the Old West. Allman’s avatar is hanged, but not before he kisses his comely executioner.
Jeff Stein, who also did Tom Petty’s “Don’t Come Around Here No More” and Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell,” was the director.
This was one of only two hits for Allman as a solo artist; in 1974 his song “Midnight Rider,” originally recorded with his band The Allman Brothers, reached #19 after he included it on his first solo album and issued it as a single.
I’m No Angel
No I’m no angel No I’m no stranger to the street I’ve got my label So I won’t crumble at your feet
And I know baby So I’ve got scars upon my cheek And I’m half crazy Come on and love me baby
So you find me hard to handle Well I’m easier to hold So you like my spurs that jingle And I never leave you cold So I might steal your diamonds I’ll bring you back some gold
I’m no angel, no I’m no angel No I’m no stranger to the dark Let me rock your cradle Let me start a fire with your spark
Oh come on baby Come and let me show you my tattoo Let me drive you crazy Come on and love me, baby
So you don’t give a darn about me I never treat you bad I won’t ever lift a hand to hurt you And I’ll always leave you glad So I might steal your diamonds I’ll bring you back some gold I’m no angel
No I’m no angel No I’m no stranger to the dark Let me rock your cradle Let me start a fire in your heart
Oh come on, baby Come and let me show you my tattoo Let me drive you crazy Come on and love me baby
Oh come on, baby Drive me crazy Drive me crazy Oh come on, baby Oh come on, baby Oh come on, baby
This was originally an acoustic ballad Sting wrote while The Police were known as Strontium 90 and included bassist Mike Howlett. You can hear the first recording of this song at the bottom of the post above the version that we all know.
I liked these earlier Police songs. Ghost in the Machine also included Spirits in the Material World and Invisible Sun.
The song was on the album Ghost In The Machine and was released in 1981. The album peaked at #2 in the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in the UK, #1 in Canada, and #5 in New Zealand.
The song peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100, #1 in the UK, #1 in Canada, and #7 in New Zealand in 1981.
Sting:“When I moved to London in 1975, I was struggling to make a living. I auditioned at the Zanzibar in Covent Garden. I sang ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’ and the guy said: ‘We need commercial hit songs. We don’t need this kind of stuff.'”
Stewart Copeland:“We tried it fast, we tried it slow, we tried it reggae, we tried it punk, we tried it as a bossa nova,” “We tried every which way, but nothing. To the extent that we did it different from the demo was the extent to which it didn’t sound like a hit anymore. So, eventually, in a morning grump, I show up at the studios and I say, ‘Guys, I tell you what, just play me your f–king demo, lead me through the changes and see if that works.’ So, they put up the demo, and Sting is standing over me pointing out where the verse, the chorus, and all the different pieces are. I kind of knew that by now anyway because of all the different versions we had done, and then I just cranked out one take of OK, play the f–king demo and I’ll play along and see if that works, and it kinda did.”
From Songfacts
Sting used a lyric from this, “Do I have to tell the story of a thousand rainy days since we first met? It’s a big enough umbrella but it’s always me that ends up getting wet,” on some other songs he wrote, including The Police’s “O My God” from Synchronicity and “Seven Days” from his solo album Ten Summoner’s Tales.
True to their punk roots, The Police have some colorful and dysfunctional characters in their early songs. While this song seems very endearing, the guy clearly has some issues, as he pursues a girl who does not return his affections. He might be crossing over into stalker territory as he resolves to call her up “a thousand times a day.”
The video, directed by Derek Burbidge, shows the band in Montserrat, an island in the Caribbean where they recorded the album. Many of the shots are in George Martin’s AIR Studios, where they did their recording, but we also see people of the island with the members of the band. The Police were deeply influenced by the music of the Caribbean (reggae music).
The Police had been making videos since 1978, but Ghost in the Machine was their first album released after MTV launched. It was good timing for the band – they quickly became video stars and one of the biggest acts in America.
This was the first demo Sting ever played for his bandmates. Good thing it’s not a timely tune: They didn’t record it until their fourth album, Ghost in the Machine.
In 1982 this won the Best Pop Song at the annual Ivor Novello Awards.
Sting worked up a new demo of this song in early 1981 with the French Canadian keyboard player Jean Roussel, which they recorded at Roussel’s studio near Montreal. When The Police’s record company heard it, they pegged it as a hit and had the band record it, even flying in Roussel to play on it. But getting the magic that was on the demo proved difficult, and for days they struggled with it. Finally, drummer Stewart Copeland had Sting put the demo on and count him through the changes as he played to it. Sting conducted him through it, and they finally got the drum take. The rest of it Sting, Summers and Roussel were able to complete. According to Copeland, he was seething with anger when he did his take, which gave him the energy he needed to make it work.
The intro to this song was used by German R&B singer Sebastian Hamer for “Immer Noch.” His song’s meaning is just about the opposite of the original. >>
In the book MTV Ruled the World – The Early Years of Music Video, Police drummer Stewart Copeland talks about the fallout from playing with all those buttons during this video: “‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’ we shot in Montserrat, and it’s strange how that was regarded as, ‘The Who destroying equipment of our time,’ because we were trashing that Trident desk. And that desk, by the way, ended up at Studio One in A&M, here in Los Angeles, and I’ve been to five or six different studios around the world that claim that the Neve sitting in their room is the one that we trashed. And I don’t know which one is which. One Neve is the same as the other, if you ask me. And we weren’t aware of trashing it at all. We were in the habit – because we were all very fit – of climbing over it, because it was very long. And if you were over there and you wanted to get over here to hit a fader or something, we’d just climb over it. Certainly, we were not cognizant of any abuse of the console. But we were just dancing around.”
This song was included on Ghost in the Machine to try and “leaven the rather sober tone of the rest of the record,” Sting wrote in Lyrics By Sting. “It was written in 1976, the year I moved to London. I had no money, no prospects, nowhere to live. All I had was Stewart Copeland’s phone number and some vague idea of forming a band. It was the year of the Sex Pistols, punk rock, aggressive loud music, violent lyrics, and ‘Anarchy In The UK.’ And I wrote this song, which tells you how in touch with the times I was.”
This was used in The Office (US) episode “Phyllis’ Wedding” in 2007. It also appears on the soundtrack of the Adam Sandler movie The Wedding Singer and the 2005 film Bewitched. >>
A rather obvious hit, this was the first single from the Ghost in the Machine everywhere except the UK, where “Invisible Sun,” a song dealing with the political climate in Belfast, was issued first.
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Though I’ve tried before to tell her Of the feelings I have for her in my heart Every time that I come near her I just lose my nerve As I’ve done from the start
Every little thing she does is magic Everything she do just turns me on Even though my life before was tragic Now I know my love for her goes on
Do I have to tell the story Of a thousand rainy days since we first met It’s a big enough umbrella But it’s always me that ends up getting wet.
Every little thing she does is magic Everything she do just turns me on Even though my life before was tragic Now I know my love for her goes on
I resolved to call her up a thousand times a day. And ask her if she’ll marry me in some old fashioned way. But my silent fears have gripped me long before I reach the phone Long before my time has tripped me must I always be alone
Every little thing she does is magic Everything she do just turns me on Even though my life before was tragic Now I know my love for her goes on
Every little thing she does is magic Everything she do just turns me on Even though my life before was tragic Now I know my love for her goes on
Oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah Every little thing, every little thing, every little thing, every little thing Every little, every little, ever little, every little thing she does Every little thing she does Every little thing she does Every little thing she does
I was moved by this movie. It brought back the Cold War that even as kids we thought about from time to time. I watched this movie Wednesday night and I have been thinking about it ever since.
It’s not a movie to cheer you up by any means. It’s about an elderly British couple named Jim and Hilda Bloggs who read that war was about to begin. This was made during the cold war and Jim comes home with government brochures on how to prepare for a nuclear attack. They both keep thinking of WW2 and neither were knowledgeable on the horrors of nuclear war.
You really get invested in this couple and as the story unfolds and it’s terribly realistic. Jim keeps reading the brochure and both are optimistic about it all without fully understanding it…Even after the worse happens they remain confident that all will be well…it’s worth a watch. When the Wind Blows was based on a 1982 graphic novel, by British artist Raymond Briggs, that shows a nuclear attack on Britain by the Soviet Union.
It looks like a stop-motion background but with cartoon characters for the bulk of the movie. A technical crew employed a striking combination of hand-drawn and stop-motion animation to bring to life Briggs’ characters, the numerous fantasy/dream sequences, and the soon-to-be nuclear-ravaged, picture-postcard surroundings of the Sussex countryside.
The music… David Bowie sings the theme “When The Wind Blows” and he was going to give more tracks but decided to back out to focus on his album. Roger Waters came in and finished it up. Squeeze also adds to the soundtrack.
Yet another hit off of Born in the USA. It took me a little longer to get into this one. This was intially my least favorite song on the Born in the USA album. It grew on me because of the guitar.
Springsteen wrote this for Donna Summer, but decided to keep it for himself after recording the demo. A fan of the disco diva, Springsteen gave her a song called “Protection.”
Cover Me would have fit Donna Summer perfectly. The song peaked at #7 in the Billboard 100, #16 in the UK, #12 in Canada, and #7 in New Zealand in 1984.
Arthur Brown did a remix of Cover Me and Bruce liked it so much that he started to adapt parts of it live. This version peaked at #11 in the Billboard Dance/Club Charts in 1984.
The Arthur Baker Remix
Cover Me
The times are tough now, just getting tougher This whole world is rough, it’s just getting rougher Cover me, come on baby, cover me Well I’m looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me
Now promise me baby you won’t let them find us Hold me in your arms, let’s let our love blind us Cover me, shut the door and cover me I’m looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me
Outside’s the rain, the driving snow I can hear the wild wind blowing Turn out the light, bolt the door I ain’t going out there no more
This whole world is out there just trying to score I’ve seen enough I don’t wanna see any more, Cover me, come on in and cover me I’m looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me
Outside’s the rain, the driving snow I can hear the wild wind blowing Turn out the light, bolt the door I ain’t going out there no more
This whole world is out there just trying to score I’ve seen enough I ain’t gonna see any more, Cover me, wrap you arms around and cover me Well I’m looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me Ah looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me Yeah I’m looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me
I remember this song well but I also remember the MTV giveaway contest. Oh yes, you could win a free house in Indiana where Mellencamp was from…a pink one of course! MTV got a good deal on the first house…20,000 dollars…there was a reason for that. It was across the street from a toxic dump. MTV then had to get another house and they finally did and gave it away. Susan Miles won the house along with a pink jeep and a garage full of Hawian Punch…not sure how that factored in.
Inspiration for this song came when Mellencamp was driving on Interstate 65 in Indianapolis. As described in the first verse, he saw a black man sitting in a lawn chair just watching the road. The image stuck with Mellencamp, who wasn’t sure if the man should be pitied because he was desolate, or admired because he was happy.
Pink Houses peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100 and #15 in Canada in 1984. The song was on the Uh-Huh and that album peaked at #9 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1984. This is the album that in my opinion placed John Mellencamp with the so-called “Heartland Rockers” like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Bob Seger.
From Songfacts
Mellencamp is from a rural town in Indiana and often writes about the American experience. His songs are sometimes misinterpreted as patriotic anthems, when a deeper listen reveals lyrics that deal with the challenges of living in America as well as the triumphs. Mellencamp has expressed his love for his country, but has also criticized the US government for going to war in Iraq, developing a dependency on foreign oil and not doing more to support the working class.
“It’s really an anti-American song,” Mellencamp told Rolling Stone about “Pink Houses.” “The American dream had pretty much proven itself as not working anymore. It was another way for me to sneak something in.”
MTV ran a contest based on this song where they gave away a pink house in Indiana. They got a great deal on the place – John Sykes at the network remembers paying $20,000 for it – but unfortunately, the house was across from a toxic waste dump. When Rolling Stone ran an article pointing this out, Sykes flew to Indiana and bought another house, which is the one they gave away (after painting it pink). The ordeal provided one of the many strange-but-true memories of the early MTV years (and not the only one involving a contest – when they did a promotion with Van Halen making a viewer a “roadie for a day,” the guy who won almost died from the alcohol, drugs and assorted excess). According to Sykes, the house near the waste dump stayed on the books at MTV until 1992, as they couldn’t get rid of it.
Uh-Huh was the first album where Mellencamp used his real name. His manager named him “Johnny Cougar” when he started out, a name he used on his first two albums. He then became “John Cougar” until his seventh album, Uh-Huh, when he used John Cougar Mellencamp. In 1990, he recorded as John Mellencamp.
Changing his name was out of character, as he was notoriously combative with his record company and refused to participate in conventions like listening parties. But he knew that the only way he could ever call his own shots was by making hits, and the name change seemed like a good call, even though it didn’t suit him. When his plan worked, earning his autonomy, he started the process of changing to his real name.
Mellencamp’s previous hits, notably “Hurts So Good” and “Jack & Diane,” took him a long time to write. “Pink Houses” was different, and marked a creative breakthrough.
“I started writing every day and painting and drawing, and I found myself open to suggestion,” he said in his Plain Spoken DVD. “I wrote a song called ‘Pink Houses’ that came very quickly. I wasn’t thinking about it – I saw something a couple of days before, and I just more-less reported on it, and it came out to be ‘Pink Houses.’ True art is always a surprise. It’s not constructed. If it doesn’t surprise the person that’s writing it, it’s not going to surprise the person that’s listening.”
Mellencamp performed an 8-minute version of this with Kid Rock at the 2001 “Concert For New York,” a benefit for victims of the World Trade Center attacks.
Pink Houses
There’s a black man with a black cat Living in a black neighborhood He’s got an interstate running’ through his front yard You know, he thinks, he’s got it so good And there’s a woman in the kitchen cleaning’ up evening slop And he looks at her and says: “Hey darling, I can remember when you could stop a clock”
Oh but ain’t that America, for you and me Ain’t that America, we’re something to see baby Ain’t that America, home of the free, yeah Little pink houses for you and me, oh for you and me
Well there’s a young man in a T-shirt Listenin’ to a rock ‘n’ roll station He’s got a greasy hair, greasy smile He says: “Lord, this must be my destination” ‘Cause they told me, when I was younger Sayin’ “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, we’re something to see baby Ain’t that America, home of the free, yeah Little pink houses, for you and me, oh baby for you and me
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 Ooo yeah
And there’s winners, and there’s losers But they ain’t no big deal ‘Cause the simple man baby pays the thrills, The bills and the pills that kill
Oh but ain’t that America, for you and me Ain’t that America, we’re something to see baby Ain’t that America, home of the free, yeah Little pink houses for you and me, ooo, ooo yeah
Ain’t that America, for you and me Ain’t that America, hey we’re something to see baby Ain’t that America, oh the home of the free, Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Little pink houses babe for you and me, ooo yeah ooo yeah
I remember Columbo well when I was a kid but I never watched it much…until the lockdown that we all are going through. Now I know why this show was popular. A detective show that shows you “who done it” before you are into it for 10 minutes. You get enjoyment out of seeing how Columbo can find the killer. Back in the early seventies…Columbo was one of the most popular characters on television.
Peter Falk played Columbo for 35 years and in five different decades (1968-2003) counting the pilots. He looked like a walking unmade bed but was brilliant at solving cases. He would pester his suspect to death…very polite with “I’m sorry” and the main phrase as he was walking away…”There’s just one more thing.” that is followed by “There’s something that bothers me” and so on.
The killer would end up confessing or probably wanting to beg for jail simply to escape him.
The show lasted for 69 episodes. Each episode was over an hour long. It was part of The NBC Mystery Movie program that worked on a rotating basis – one per month from each of its shows. The shows were McMillian and Wife, McCloud, Hec Ramsey, and Columbo. Columbo was taken off the air in the late seventies but came back on the air in the eighties.
Falk had to wear a glass eye because his eye was taken out because of a tumor when he was 3 years old. That made Columbo’s trademark squint. He wore his raincoat and later on had a basset hound. Stories of his wife were always at hand all the while studying his suspect to see if they would slip.
Falk really made that role. If you get a chance to see it…try it. The stories are interesting and you will see some stars you might have forgotten about.
Bono wrote this as a birthday present to his wife, Ali. On her birthday, he was working on recording The Joshua Tree, so he was trying to make up for it. It was originally released as a B-side on the “Where the Streets Have No Name” single in 1987. The song was later re-recorded and re-released as a single in October 1998 for the band’s compilation album The Best of 1980–1990.
The song peaked at #63 in the Billboard 100 in 1998.
All proceeds from the song were given to the charity “The Children of Chernobyl”, which was chosen by Ali as her chosen charity, an organization that brought children affected by the Chernobyl disaster to visit and stay with Irish families.
Bono about his wife: “I’m a bit of a stray dog. I would not have been in the queue to get married had I not met someone as extraordinary as Ali. I always felt more myself with her than with anybody.” He describes the first time he saw her: “I thought she looked Spanish, a rose for sure, dark with blood-red lips.”
From Songfacts
U2 recorded this for The Joshua Tree, but left it off because they felt it did not fit in on the album. It was originally released as the B-side to a 7″ single that also included “Where The Streets Have No Name” and “Silver And Gold.”
This was rerecorded and released on U2 The Best Of 1980-1990 in 1998.
In 1998, this was released as a single with proceeds going to Children Of Chernobyl, the favorite charity of Bono’s wife, Ali.
The video shows Bono orchestrating an elaborate apology to Ali, who appears at the beginning of the clip getting into a horse-drawn carriage. The camera then cuts to Bono, who is facing her, and stays on him as they go for a ride down a street in Dublin. Along the way, Bono makes various outlandish offerings to win her favor, starting with the Irish group Boyzone, who climb on board. Next comes a marching band, a fire engine (with firemen), a string section, Irish step dancers from Riverdance, and an elephant. It’s not clear if the apology works, but he sure made an effort.
It looks like the Bono section is all one shot, but there are actually several edits made where the light flares come in. Kevin Godley, who directed it, did something similar on U2’s video for “Numb,” where the camera stays on The Edge for almost the entire time.
U2 didn’t play this live until March 17, 2000, when they played it a ceremony in Dublin where they were being honored. The following year, it made the setlist for their Elevation tour, then was mothballed until 2015 for their Innocence + Experience tour.
Boyzone star Ronan Keating revealed to co-host Harriet Scott on the Magic Radio Breakfast Show that Bono initially offered the song to him, but he insisted that U2 take it instead. Keating said: “It was U2’s, they had to sing it, I knew they had to sing it.
The Sweetest Thing
My love she throws me like a rubber ball Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing She won’t catch me or break my fall Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing Baby’s got blue skies up ahead But in this I’m a rain cloud You know she likes a dry kind of love Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
I’m losing you I’m losing you Ain’t love the sweetest thing
I wanted to run but she made me crawl Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing Eternal fire, she turned me to straw Oh oh, the sweetest thing You know I got black eyes But they burn so brightly for her This is a blind kind of love Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
I’m losing you Oh oh oh, I’m losing you yeah Ain’t love the sweetest thing Ain’t love the sweetest thing Oh oh, yeah, oh
Blue-eyed boy meets a brown-eyed girl Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing You can sew it up but you still see the tear Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing Baby’s got blue skies up ahead And in this I’m a rain cloud Oh this is a stormy kind of love Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Oh oh, the sweetest thing Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
When John Fogerty released the Centerfield album in 1985 I was excited. He had disappeared from the music scene for 10 years. I gave up hope of ever hearing new music from him. I kept hoping he would regroup with Creedence but I didn’t know at that time of the hostile history between them. This album was highly anticipated. I bought the album and it didn’t disappoint.
This is the second track on Fogerty’s Centerfield album, his first in 10 years. The song was inspired by his 12-year-old daughter, Laurie. Fogerty would watch her and her best friend hanging out and jokingly call them the Rock and Roll Girls.
The song peaked at #20 in the Billboard 100, #16 in Canada, #38 in New Zealand, and #83 in the UK in 1985.
Rock and Roll Girls
Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo The trick is to ride and make it to the bell But there is a place, sweet as you will ever know In music and love and things you never tell You see it in their face, secrets on the telephone A time out of time, for you and no one else
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Yeah, yeah, yeah
If I had my way, I’d shuffle off to Buffalo Sit by the lake and watch the world go by Ladies in the sun, listenin’ to the radio Like flowers on the sand, the rainbow in my mind
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls, yeah, yeah, yeah
This wraps up Full Moon Fever for the week. I hope you enjoyed it. I didn’t cover every song but we did get to quite a few. The other posts on this album are at the bottom.
This song I don’t hear much more…Love Is A Long Road is a song that I had forgotten about which got some airplay back in 1989.
This is one of the many songs that charted from Full Moon Fever. This song peaked at #7 in the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1989. Tom Petty and Mike Campbell wrote this song. This was the 5th single released from the album. Dave from “Have A Sound Day” has a good post about this album.
How did Jeff Lynne meet Tom Petty about producing Full Moon Fever? Jeff said he was on Sunset Boulevard and saw Tom… Here is what Jeff said: “He beeped his horn and I kept thinking, ‘Who’s that?’” “And it was Tom. ‘Hi, Tom!’ He said, ‘Pull over – I wanna have a word with you.’ He’d just been listening to George [Harrison’s album, Cloud Nine, which I’d just worked on, co-produced it, and he really liked it. He said, ‘Do you fancy writing some songs together?’ I said, ‘I sure do.’”
There was a girl I knew She said she cared about me She tried to make my world The way she thought it should be Yeah we were desperate then To have each other to hold But love is a long, long road
There were so many times I would wake up at noon With my head spinning ’round I would wait for the moon And give her one more chance To try and save my soul But love is a long, long road
Yeah it was hard to give up Some things are hard to let go Some things are never enough I guess I only can hope For maybe one more chance To try and save my soul But love is a long, long road
Tom Petty had written this song for Southern Accents, and it had in the vault for that time. They were going through songs really fast, and Jeff Lynne asked, ‘Have you got anything laying around?’ Tom brought this song out of the closet. He had cut a demo with Stevie Nicks (video at the bottom), just the two of them. That was the only thing Tom had, just that demo. Jeff made it into a Buddy Holly Style record.
The song added to the texture of Full Moon Fever. It is a fun song along with Yer So Bad.
Jeff Lynne on Tom Petty: “I always liked Tom,” “I always loved his style, and he’s so American. It’s a great thing for an English person to actually work with a real Southern American… they’ve got the best voices. George always said, ‘It’s like they’ve got a head start over English people because they already have a twang.’ They’ve just got this lovely-sounding voice.”
Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks on the Demo
The Apartment Song
I used to live in a two-room apartment Neighbors knockin’ on my wall Times were hard, I don’t wanna knock it I don’t miss it much at all
[Chorus:] Oh yeah I’m alright I just feel a Little lonely tonight I’m okay, most of the time I just feel a little lonely tonight
I used to need your love so badly Then I came to live with it Lately I get a faraway feeling And the whole thing starts again
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