John Mellencamp – Pink Houses

"Pink Houses" as written by and John Mellencamp....
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


Lyrics submitted by numb

"Pink Houses" as written by John Mellencamp

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Pink Houses song meanings
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17 Comments

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  • +1
    General CommentRonald Reagan asked to use this as a campaign song in '84...Mellencamp said no one in hell.

    I think Reagan should have read the verses.
    UnpopularPoeton January 13, 2006   Link
    • 2 Replies
  • +1
    General CommentI think this song is about how there comes a time in your life when you realize you're too old to be a dreamer. Where you realize that you can no longer be anything you want to be.
    cubbyblueson August 15, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Commentgreat song describes all the intangebles bout the american dream how u can reach for the sky but most never get there also shows how diverse we are ecomicaly we are how some think they got it good like the black man standing on the porch hes got a interstate running thru his yard and he thinks hes got it good but then there is the man in the high rise who vacations in the gulf og mexico and pays the bill thrills and the pills that kill it just prove that your only a success if ur happy and your doing wat u wanna do it dosent matter how much money is in your bank account or what material possesion u hold if u c ur self a success then u r srry bout the spelling and grammer im a college student guess that i should be a bit better than this but i had a lot to say and didnt want to forget it so w/e kick ass song ur american dream is wat ever u want it to be this is wat i say i love my country but hate my government just my opinon so dont get offended by it live long and a happy life thats all that matters
    dontsellout2sellouton August 30, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General CommentI think it's asking us to reevaluate the American Dream. Maybe that it isn't what we thought it was.
    Smokleron October 16, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General CommentThis song should be recognized as one of the best songs in rock & roll. Wonderfully written and performed, and one of my all-time favorites. I agree with all the above comments, but can anyone comment of the significance of "pink houses"?
    kickstart71on January 19, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General CommentThe term "Pink Houses", refers to just that, pink houses. I lived in one for the first year of my life from 1954 to 55'. They were low-cost houses (which my parents refered to as the "projects") that were bulit in the late 40s' and early 50s' for all the new growing families most of which were military returning home from the war. (BABY BOOMERS) I would go back there with my parents to visit there old friends till I was 10-12 years old, and YES, ALL the houses were painted pink. Not a bright "shocking pink" but pink nontheless. I'm not sure why pink was the color of choice in the midwest but there you have it.
    twiseon February 21, 2007   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +1
    General Commenti live in indianapolis, a hoosier just like john...and you drive down interstate 65 to downtown indy, and when you drive down I65 to downtown Indianapolis, you can see where the neighborhood roads just cut from where I65 was built, always reminds me of this song and the first couple of lines.
    weetoddit311on June 29, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General CommentGreat song, but the line about his wife being able to stop a clock always seemed a bit of a back-handed compliment and funny to me - like you had a face that could stop a clock?
    daherbieon July 25, 2009   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +1
    General CommentAnd there's winners and there's losers
    But they ain't no big deal

    i dont like this line. everyone is equal.

    i do love the message of this song tho.
    america aint so great. especially when it cums to economic inequality. it is my opinion that people cannot be equal without economic, social, and political equality. i guess u can call me a communist.

    as far as "And there's winners and there's losers
    But they ain't no big deal" i think that mellencamp is referring to the fact that rich people have it made, complete fuckups have dug their own graves. and it is the workers who keep america going but also have to slave every day
    ThinkSolutionson May 07, 2010   Link
    • 2 Replies
  • +1
    General CommentPink Houses are also the name of projects in Brooklyn. I'm not sure if that was what Mr. Mellencamp was referring to, but it could fit the theme of the song as well. I like when songs get the meaning across, but leave some room for interpretation.
    lyricallydeliciouson May 11, 2010   Link

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