John Mellencamp May Punch You

What is your present interpretation of the song?

Although I am not nostalgic, I recognize that when I perform it for the audience, they are. I could perform a whole show of hits if I wanted to, but I choose not to. This is one reason why I discontinued playing in arenas or outside shows. It was no longer about the music, it was just being a human jukebox.

Your songs seem to show a declining concept of America, particularly in “The Eyes of Portland.”

That song portrays a real-life event that happened to me in Portland about six or seven years ago. I was having lunch in a fancy restaurant when I saw a 25-year-old woman walking frantically outside the restaurant. She told me that no one wanted her back home because she was troublesome. I gave her money, and she asked if she had to have sex with me in exchange. I said no, and she ran away. I don’t know if she made it back home, so I wrote a song about her.

Your first album’s first song was titled “American Dream.” You composed “American Son” for the second album. Jack and Diane were “two American kids,” and the hook for “Pink Houses” is “Ain’t that America.” Is it correct to say that you’re always singing about America, irrespective of the era?

I will quote Bob Dylan, who once told me that he had written those same four songs a million times. He said this in all seriousness when we were painting together. I’ll align myself with Bob on that. It’s always the same song, but with a different perspective and more maturity.

Your singing voice has undergone significant changes. Could you explain why?

I continue to smoke, which is why my voice has changed so much. My grandmother lived to be a hundred, but I am quite sure I won’t live that long since I started smoking at the age of ten. You have to want to smoke when you start, and now it’s the only thing I do well, so why change it?