After Mellencamp hit with the song Hurt So Good and Jack and Diane…the rest of the 80s he took advantage of the opportunity that he got. The radio constantly played him and to be truthful…I took him for granted. Next album…more hits…it just seemed natural. He is one of the very few artists I liked in the 80s that was constantly in the top 20. This song grew on me as time went by.
John Mellencamp was releasing quality songs in the eighties that were timeless. This song was on his album The Lonesome Jubilee which was released in 1987. When he wrote this he was tremendously popular but he had some downs in his personal life. His uncle and grandfather had recently died, and many of his friends were getting divorced. He made the statement “It’s horrible to think you’ve gotta be a miserable son of a bitch to write a good song, but I guess that’s kind of the way it works sometimes.”
The song peaked at #9 on the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, #16 in New Zealand, and #86 in the UK….the heartland rockers didn’t translate as well in the UK at the time. That includes Petty, Mellencamp, and even Springsteen.
The video was shot outside of a house on a dirt road in Savannah, Georgia. Mellencamp wanted to show poverty in America to go along with the social commentary in the song, and also explore racism – the extras in the video are black. His next video – for “Hard Times For An Honest Man” – was also shot in Savannah.
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 get too close
To her expectations
Well the dream burned up
Like paper in fire
Paper in fire
Stinking up the ashtrays
Paper in fire
Smoking 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 involvement
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
Paper in fire
Stinking up the ashtrays
Paper in fire
Smoking up the alleyways
Who’s to say the way
A man should spend his days
Do you let them smolder
Like paper in fire
There’s a good life
Right across the green fields
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
Paper in fire
Stinking up the ashtrays
Paper in fire
Smoking up the alleyways
Who’s to say the way
A man should spend his days
Do you let them smolder
Like paper in fire
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