When I was a kid, I used to try to control the song. It was just sent to me, and what I've learned is that you can't control the song. I'm surprised a lot because like I said, a lot of times, I didn't even know what I was writing about. So it was just that simple of the thought that led to that song.īaltin: Were there themes that emerged in the record that surprised you? Even as simple as, "How are you doing today?" "I'm doing great." No, they're not, but they say it anyway. 'Cause you turn the news on, you get lies. The average person hears 300 or 400 lies a day and will tell 150 himself and not even know it. And I guess maybe everybody does." And then I did a little research. Mellencamp: The first song on the record is a song called "I Always Lie To Strangers." And I thought, "Well, I don't really do that, but I guess maybe I do. And I felt that it was important to make sure that this guy was represented properly.īaltin: What were those first couple of songs where you started to realize that this messenger was speaking to you? And I realized that this is one guy's story. It sounds silly, and I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times, but it was the same messenger delivering these songs to me. Mellencamp: Yeah, I realized after a couple, three songs. Then I'm open to suggestions, which means that sometimes I'll be doing something and a voice in my head will go, "Well, you better write this down." And I think, "Ah, f**k I'm painting, I don't want to write this down." And I'm like, "You need to write this down, John." And that happened quite a bit with this record.īaltin: What was the impetus for writing all from the voice of One-Eyed Jack? Was there one song early on where you realized that this character was the narrator for this album? ![]() But I have grown to be a good observer and good listener, so I hear what other people think and what people say. ![]() But who's the character? You can't write about yourself all the time. I've been very lucky and beat a lot of odds. I've been very fortunate, as you well know. Mellencamp: This is my twenty-sixth album, twenty-seventh, I don't know.
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