As I was going through my music collection, I came across a song I had not listened to in a long time, but it is probably the best song John Mellencamp has ever done. It is a track from his 1985 album "Scarecrow" titled "Minutes to Memories." Like most artists with a long track record, this is another example of the best being buried on an album from long ago.
The subject matter is an area that has been well traveled: it deals with an old man trying to give a young man advice about the life he is about to live. Though the material is familiar, it is handled with care. For a rock song, it is quite wordy, but it has a lot to say.
I won't bore you with an extended analysis of it. However, the old man gives lots of good advice that many youngsters (and others) should heed today. Life is not a free ride. No one said it would be easy. Family and friends will be the best part of your life. Time passes quickly and tends to sweep away the dreams people have. An honest man's pillow is his peace of mind.
It is a song worth checking out.
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2 comments:
When I was a kid, I took great joy from taking popular songs and adding my own lyrics to them. I made up a song called "Cherry Bong," to the tune of JCM's "Cherry Bomb." The only part of MY song I remember is: "The last smoke I toked was a joint / And soon we were groovin' / Outside with my cherry bong / We were high and we were all numb."
Oh, what would John Cougar think of that?!
"When I was a kid, I took great joy from taking popular songs and adding my own lyrics to them."
Wait a minute...isn't that pretty much what MC Hammer did? You were ahead of your time.
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