John Mellencamp tonight in Chicago
I'm going to be one of the opening acts for John Mellencamp tonight at his show at the Charter One Pavilion on Northerly Island.
Below are the two pieces that I'll be performing.
Love,
Joe
"COOL"
(the Chicago Remix)
Ryan Seacrest in his black leather pants
Is not cool
Hummers in parking spots labeled compact
Are not cool
Rims more expensive than your car
Are not cool
Calling a burrito a wrap
Is not cool
Calling a woman a bitch
Is not cool
Winters so cold you can freeze your nipples off
Are not cool
Downtown parking prices
Are not cool
Summer Expressway Construction
Is not cool
Leaving a voice mail message and giving the phone number really fast
Is not cool
Those mornings when it feels like your goals are completely out of reach
Are not cool
A 21 year old b-boy of mine
Being shot and paralyzed
For being at the wrong place at the wrong time
Is not only not cool
It is a painful reminder of what still needs to change in our world today.
And these ridiculous gas prices
Are not cool
I’ll tell you what I think is cool
Heath Ledger’s performance in “The Dark Knight”
Is cool
Getting Italian ice at Mario’s on Taylor Street
On a hot summer night
Is cool
Chicago Theater
Is cool
Chicago pizza
Is cool
The best skyline in the country
Is cool
Walking with a women and not in front of her
Is cool
Any John Mellencamp CD
Is cool
A father walking with his son in Millennium Park
Is cool and beautiful
Cute chicks in ugly cars
Are cool
Voting in November
Is cool
Enjoying what you do
Is cool
Being alive in the present
Is cool
Working to create change
Is cool
Never giving up
Is cool
The fact that Bush will be gone soon
Is cool
Cubbies/Sox World Series
Will be cool
Lucinda Williams
Is cool
The audience at Charter One Pavilion on a beautiful Tuesday night
Is cool
Bill O’Reilly
So please remember as I continue to remind myself
Living your life by Rousseau’s philosophy that
“All men are inherently good”
Is cool
Treating people as you wish to be treated
Is cool
Giving your own life the respect that it deserves
That’s the coolest of them all.
"AMERICA'S SON"
I’m a small city kid with my eyes open wide
Riding my bike through Chicago’s Northwest side
A 13 year old boy full of so many questions
Being raised by Catholic Poles and Mexicans
Hanging out with headbangers
Attending a Black high school
So many cultures
I don’t understand the rules
That somehow set up a deeply segregated population
Economics using race to divide our nation
But it doesn’t seem right to me
Dr. King spoke of commonalities
But Reagan says everything’s okay
And he looks great on TV
So who am I, at thirteen,
To question our country?
And then I hear this voice on the radio
I listen to his words
He strips off the paradise
Exposing the real world
It almost sounds like country
And yet I like it
I don’t understand why
He says he was born in a small town
And I live among buildings that touch the sky
But there’s more to it
It’s the way the band grooves
It’s like rock n roll born out of rhythm and blues
And there’s a passion in his voice
A connection immediately felt
To him it’s not about race
It’s about those who truly have the wealth
Those in the fields
Those with blue collars
Those who focus on something higher than the man made dollar
Those with bloodied palms for a day’s minimum wage
Those who wear their knowledge in the crow’s feet on their face
I immediately wanna run out and buy all of this man’s CDs
But I can’t afford them so my buddy dubs copies for me
Album after album so many solid joints
Yes, john, by the way, I owe you some soundscan points
Written in poor penmanship
I pop in a tape simply labeled “Uh-huh”
And I learn that it’s
“the simple man that pays for the thrills, the bills, the pills that kill”
I stretch out scarecrow
Staying glued to the TV while I watch this man inspire an entire Farm Aid audience
As they sing along with pride
“Scarecrow on a wooden cross
Blackbird in the barn
400 empty acres
That used to be my farm
I grew up like my daddy did
My grandpa cleared this land
When I was five
I walked the fence
While grandpa held my hand”
I switch tapes and breathe in Lonesome Jubilee
The tape that still means the most to me
Released on my fourteenth birthday
I claim this as the one that makes me a lifelong fan
From “Paper in Fire” to “Down n Out in Paradise” to
“Hard Times for an Honest Man”
I finally have enough dollars to buy Big Daddy
As I make my way to Princeton University
A scholarship kid with very few dates and a coupla A’s
I witness so much money and I’m both angry and amazed but then I listen to
“Whenever We Wanted” and I’m reminded
(which I have to say has one of the most intelligent, down to earth and straight up SEXIEST women ever on its album cover)
I’m reminded
“Now more than ever the world needs love
Now more than ever I can’t stand alone
Now more than ever…”
I am one of a million young poets screaming out their words
To a world full of people just living to be heard
By future generations riding on the highways that this man from Bloomington built
Thanks to you, John, I do have a better understanding
I know it’s important to not only question my government but more importantly myself
To remove my plastic smile and pull my confidence back off the shelf
To stop making excuses to follow through with my plan
To suck it up tough it out to be the best I can
Cuz this is our country at such a brilliantly beautiful time
America was born from those not afraid to cross the line
I am still the same city boy with my eyes open wide
With optimism so brightly shining from inside
A full-grown adult still full of so many questions
But what would you expect from a Catholic Polish Mexican?
Thanks to you
I now embrace my full family name
I accept my life without passing the blame
My life is now I know that’s the answer
And I’m not ashamed that I’m a real good dancer
And yes, I’m 5’6” which to the world might be small
But you remind me to always walk tall
So on those days when I ask myself if it’s all worth it
Your music gives me a true sense of purpose
Your music reminds me that I am not the only one
So I keep on fighting thanks to you
You are truly America’s Son.
Below are the two pieces that I'll be performing.
Love,
Joe
"COOL"
(the Chicago Remix)
Ryan Seacrest in his black leather pants
Is not cool
Hummers in parking spots labeled compact
Are not cool
Rims more expensive than your car
Are not cool
Calling a burrito a wrap
Is not cool
Calling a woman a bitch
Is not cool
Winters so cold you can freeze your nipples off
Are not cool
Downtown parking prices
Are not cool
Summer Expressway Construction
Is not cool
Leaving a voice mail message and giving the phone number really fast
Is not cool
Those mornings when it feels like your goals are completely out of reach
Are not cool
A 21 year old b-boy of mine
Being shot and paralyzed
For being at the wrong place at the wrong time
Is not only not cool
It is a painful reminder of what still needs to change in our world today.
And these ridiculous gas prices
Are not cool
I’ll tell you what I think is cool
Heath Ledger’s performance in “The Dark Knight”
Is cool
Getting Italian ice at Mario’s on Taylor Street
On a hot summer night
Is cool
Chicago Theater
Is cool
Chicago pizza
Is cool
The best skyline in the country
Is cool
Walking with a women and not in front of her
Is cool
Any John Mellencamp CD
Is cool
A father walking with his son in Millennium Park
Is cool and beautiful
Cute chicks in ugly cars
Are cool
Voting in November
Is cool
Enjoying what you do
Is cool
Being alive in the present
Is cool
Working to create change
Is cool
Never giving up
Is cool
The fact that Bush will be gone soon
Is cool
Cubbies/Sox World Series
Will be cool
Lucinda Williams
Is cool
The audience at Charter One Pavilion on a beautiful Tuesday night
Is cool
Bill O’Reilly
So please remember as I continue to remind myself
Living your life by Rousseau’s philosophy that
“All men are inherently good”
Is cool
Treating people as you wish to be treated
Is cool
Giving your own life the respect that it deserves
That’s the coolest of them all.
"AMERICA'S SON"
I’m a small city kid with my eyes open wide
Riding my bike through Chicago’s Northwest side
A 13 year old boy full of so many questions
Being raised by Catholic Poles and Mexicans
Hanging out with headbangers
Attending a Black high school
So many cultures
I don’t understand the rules
That somehow set up a deeply segregated population
Economics using race to divide our nation
But it doesn’t seem right to me
Dr. King spoke of commonalities
But Reagan says everything’s okay
And he looks great on TV
So who am I, at thirteen,
To question our country?
And then I hear this voice on the radio
I listen to his words
He strips off the paradise
Exposing the real world
It almost sounds like country
And yet I like it
I don’t understand why
He says he was born in a small town
And I live among buildings that touch the sky
But there’s more to it
It’s the way the band grooves
It’s like rock n roll born out of rhythm and blues
And there’s a passion in his voice
A connection immediately felt
To him it’s not about race
It’s about those who truly have the wealth
Those in the fields
Those with blue collars
Those who focus on something higher than the man made dollar
Those with bloodied palms for a day’s minimum wage
Those who wear their knowledge in the crow’s feet on their face
I immediately wanna run out and buy all of this man’s CDs
But I can’t afford them so my buddy dubs copies for me
Album after album so many solid joints
Yes, john, by the way, I owe you some soundscan points
Written in poor penmanship
I pop in a tape simply labeled “Uh-huh”
And I learn that it’s
“the simple man that pays for the thrills, the bills, the pills that kill”
I stretch out scarecrow
Staying glued to the TV while I watch this man inspire an entire Farm Aid audience
As they sing along with pride
“Scarecrow on a wooden cross
Blackbird in the barn
400 empty acres
That used to be my farm
I grew up like my daddy did
My grandpa cleared this land
When I was five
I walked the fence
While grandpa held my hand”
I switch tapes and breathe in Lonesome Jubilee
The tape that still means the most to me
Released on my fourteenth birthday
I claim this as the one that makes me a lifelong fan
From “Paper in Fire” to “Down n Out in Paradise” to
“Hard Times for an Honest Man”
I finally have enough dollars to buy Big Daddy
As I make my way to Princeton University
A scholarship kid with very few dates and a coupla A’s
I witness so much money and I’m both angry and amazed but then I listen to
“Whenever We Wanted” and I’m reminded
(which I have to say has one of the most intelligent, down to earth and straight up SEXIEST women ever on its album cover)
I’m reminded
“Now more than ever the world needs love
Now more than ever I can’t stand alone
Now more than ever…”
I am one of a million young poets screaming out their words
To a world full of people just living to be heard
By future generations riding on the highways that this man from Bloomington built
Thanks to you, John, I do have a better understanding
I know it’s important to not only question my government but more importantly myself
To remove my plastic smile and pull my confidence back off the shelf
To stop making excuses to follow through with my plan
To suck it up tough it out to be the best I can
Cuz this is our country at such a brilliantly beautiful time
America was born from those not afraid to cross the line
I am still the same city boy with my eyes open wide
With optimism so brightly shining from inside
A full-grown adult still full of so many questions
But what would you expect from a Catholic Polish Mexican?
Thanks to you
I now embrace my full family name
I accept my life without passing the blame
My life is now I know that’s the answer
And I’m not ashamed that I’m a real good dancer
And yes, I’m 5’6” which to the world might be small
But you remind me to always walk tall
So on those days when I ask myself if it’s all worth it
Your music gives me a true sense of purpose
Your music reminds me that I am not the only one
So I keep on fighting thanks to you
You are truly America’s Son.
posted by Joe Hernandez-Kolski at
11:14 AM
0 Comments
