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By Don Spaeth
First he was Johnny Cougar. Then John Cougar Mellencamp. Now simply John Mellencamp, a guy who flies just under the radar grid of celebrity and fame. Not the greatest songwriter; not the greatest vocalist. But here he is still rocking for a 2009 cable TV special—at Walter Reed Hospital, no less. And it was an amazing show.
I think most of us know John’s hits, even if we don’t know the titles. There’s the “little ditty” about Jack and Diane. And another song with the simple refrain “Ain’t that America”. Some of us may know he was a heavy smoker who had several heart attacks. He even made an album with some pure poetry in the lyrics, “Mr. Happy Go Lucky”. One song from that album always struck me, “Key West Intermezzo (I Saw Her First)”. There’s a line in the song about “the bone colored dawn”. Lovely. But I didn’t know John was a vocal critic of the war in Iraq. I thought he was the Farm-Aid Guy. A Midwestern good ole boy who didn’t do much traveling and kept his horizons close. Wrong. Dead wrong.
The cable TV special started with John and his crew walking through the wards at Walter Reed. Remember now, he is a Vocal Critic of the War in Iraq. And here he is walking through the wards talking to young women and men who have lost a great deal—arms, legs, eyes, friends—fighting that very same war. Wait a minute, Mellencamp, you are way out of your depth here, pal. The camera swings to a young man with a titanium leg prosthesis and a guitar painted red, white and blue. The boy starts strumming “Jack and Diane”. Mellencamp joins in singing with him. The boy is transfixed, illuminated. The moment is pure, unplanned beauty. Later on, John worries out loud that there won’t be many people in the audience… not everybody shares his politics at Walter Reed Hospital.
On to the show… and, yes, there aren’t many folks in the audience. The upper galleries are completely empty and the main floor is kept in darkness to avoid showing the lack of people. But, Mellencamp and his band put on a beauty of a show. All the old hits, some new songs. The band was tight and having a good time—as were the folks in front of the stage.
Suddenly John jumps into the crowd and begins dancing with a young woman who looked to have lost both legs. She was standing with two canes and seemed uncomfortable having to move in a dance-like motion with the rock star. I was uncomfortable. This was tasteless TV. John jumps back on stage. He looks over his shoulder at the woman, jumps back down into the crowd and gives the microphone to her. He asks her to join him singing that familiar chorus “Ain’t that America for you and me? Ain’t that America the land of the free?” The woman drops her canes, takes the mike and begins belting out those simple words. Tears are pouring down my face. Mellencamp is watching her, rapt in a heavenly glow.
So, there it is. A mid-level rocker takes his music and politics to Walter Reed Hospital to entertain the wounded troops and shed some light on their plight. As John Cougar said, “You can disagree with the war and still support the troops.”
I will remember those two scenes for a long time—the boy with one leg and an American flag guitar playing “Oh yeah life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone” and the young woman standing with the aid of two canes and probably no legs at all singing “Ain’t that America?”
Ain’t that America?
Spaeth is a retired English teacher and Woodstock resident