Mellencamp was interviewed by Charlie Rose and said that this song is about an interracial relationship between a black high school boy and a white girl, as Mellencamp himself has at least one black ancestor (great-grandfather?) He said his record company persuaded him to omit all racial references in the lyrics and the video to avoid controversy and white backlash, which there definitely would have been, especially back in '82. You can see that interview on youtube, from 2014 I think.
Mellencamp was interviewed by Charlie Rose and said that this song is about an interracial relationship between a black high school boy and a white girl, as Mellencamp himself has at least one black ancestor (great-grandfather?) He said his record company persuaded him to omit all racial references in the lyrics and the video to avoid controversy and white backlash, which there definitely would have been, especially back in '82. You can see that interview on youtube, from 2014 I think.