The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
I'm a 45 spinning on an old Victrola
I'm a two strike swinger, I'm a Pepsi Cola
I'm a blue jean quarterback saying "I love you" to the prom queen
In a Chevy
I'm John Wayne, Superman, California
I'm a Kris Kristofferson Sunday morning
I'm a mama and daddy singing along to Don McLean
At the levee
And I'm a child of a backseat freedom, baptized by rock and roll
Marilyn Monroe and the Garden of Eden, never grow up, never grow old
Just another rebel in the great wide open, on the boulevard of broken dreams
And I learned everything I needed to know from John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16
Hey, hey
Everything I needed
That's right
I'm Mark Twain on the Mississippi
I'm Hemingway with a shot of whiskey
I'm a TV dinner on a tray trying to figure out the Wheel of Fortune
I'm a Texaco star, I'm a Gibson guitar
I'm still a teenage kid trying to go too far
I'm a jukebox waiting in a neon bar for a quarter
I'm a child of a backseat freedom, baptized by rock and roll
Marilyn Monroe and the Garden of Eden, never grow up, never grow old
Just another rebel in the great wide open, on the boulevard of broken dreams
And I learned everything I needed to know from John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16
Oh, yeah, yeah, oh-oh
I spent a lot of years running from believing
Looking for another way to save my soul
The longer I live, the more I see it, there's only one way home
I'm a child of a backseat freedom, baptized by rock and roll
Marilyn Monroe and the Garden of Eden, never grow up and never grow old, no
Another rebel in the great wide open, on the boulevard of broken dreams
And I learned everything I needed to know from John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16
Oh, I'm a child of a backseat freedom, baptized by rock and roll (rock and roll)
Marilyn Monroe and the Garden of Eden, never grow up, never grow old (never grow old)
Another rebel in the great wide open, on the boulevard of broken dreams (everything I needed)
And I learned everything I needed to know from John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16 (3:16)
(John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16)
Everything I needed
John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16
Everything I needed
(John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16)
That's right
I'm a two strike swinger, I'm a Pepsi Cola
I'm a blue jean quarterback saying "I love you" to the prom queen
In a Chevy
I'm John Wayne, Superman, California
I'm a Kris Kristofferson Sunday morning
I'm a mama and daddy singing along to Don McLean
At the levee
And I'm a child of a backseat freedom, baptized by rock and roll
Marilyn Monroe and the Garden of Eden, never grow up, never grow old
Just another rebel in the great wide open, on the boulevard of broken dreams
And I learned everything I needed to know from John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16
Hey, hey
Everything I needed
That's right
I'm Mark Twain on the Mississippi
I'm Hemingway with a shot of whiskey
I'm a TV dinner on a tray trying to figure out the Wheel of Fortune
I'm a Texaco star, I'm a Gibson guitar
I'm still a teenage kid trying to go too far
I'm a jukebox waiting in a neon bar for a quarter
I'm a child of a backseat freedom, baptized by rock and roll
Marilyn Monroe and the Garden of Eden, never grow up, never grow old
Just another rebel in the great wide open, on the boulevard of broken dreams
And I learned everything I needed to know from John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16
Oh, yeah, yeah, oh-oh
I spent a lot of years running from believing
Looking for another way to save my soul
The longer I live, the more I see it, there's only one way home
I'm a child of a backseat freedom, baptized by rock and roll
Marilyn Monroe and the Garden of Eden, never grow up and never grow old, no
Another rebel in the great wide open, on the boulevard of broken dreams
And I learned everything I needed to know from John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16
Oh, I'm a child of a backseat freedom, baptized by rock and roll (rock and roll)
Marilyn Monroe and the Garden of Eden, never grow up, never grow old (never grow old)
Another rebel in the great wide open, on the boulevard of broken dreams (everything I needed)
And I learned everything I needed to know from John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16 (3:16)
(John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16)
Everything I needed
John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16
Everything I needed
(John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16)
That's right
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Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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Released this morning, the country superstar's new single, "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16" is the first we've heard from his upcoming album, a still-untitled record that will follow Fuse by roughly two years. Like "Little Bit of Everything," Fuse's kickoff single, "John Cougar" swirls country and modern pop into the same package, hinting at another album's worth of genre-jumping songs.
Guitar nerds: this isn't the tune for you. Backed by DJ scratches, drum loops and an active bass line, Urban sets down his six-string for most of the song, focusing instead on lyrics that barrel their way through more than a century's worth of American popular culture. Along the way, he namechecks John Wayne, compares himself to the lead character from Tom Petty's "Into the Great Wide Open" and pays tribute to Kris Kristofferson. The song's title comes from the rapid-fire chorus, where Urban insists, "I learned everything I ever needed to know from John Cougar, John Deere and John 3:16."
Written by Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman and Josh Osborne, “John Cougar" made its unofficial debut last February, when Urban played a solo, seated version of the song during a private luncheon at the 2015 Country Radio Seminar. This Wednesday night, it'll be unveiled in more proper fashion with a live performance at the CMT Music Awards.
It's about how people named John can teach you everything you need to know about life.