Hangin' Out In 100b

“Jack & Diane” is a relatively simple song – the lyrics are straightforward and not especially poetic, the music itself is almost stereotypically 80s and doesn’t have any special bells and whistles (except for those awesome handclaps). But it had to be that way.

The everyman story of Jack and his girl Diane, and the everyman way it’s told, is what makes this song a classic. They’re the most relatable teenage couple ever put to music. I’d be really surprised if there’s anyone who doesn’t hear at least a little bit of their teenage self in “Jack & Diane”. You may not have had a Tasty Freeze in your town, but I’m sure you had a similar hangout. You had all your hopes and dreams paving the roads ahead and I bet you had someone you shared them with, someone you thought would travel those roads with you. No matter where in the world you were, you probably wished you were somewhere else – somewhere bigger and better – and you were all set to go out and discover it.

I read that John Cougar (now Mellencamp) brought back Jack and Diane in his 1998 song “Eden Is Burning”, singing “How could I have been so wrong about you?” From just reading the lyrics, it’s hard to say if that line refers to them – he does mention them in the first line, but then switches to first person narration. I hope it’s not, I don’t want to think Jack and Diane ended up that way. I don’t think they stayed together forever, that wouldn’t fit the realism of the song. In my version of their ending, they eventually broke up but not for any dramatic reason. Perhaps Jack went to the city, like he wanted, and he and Diane tried to make it work for a while. But she never did want to leave their hometown and they just drifted too far apart. The song says it all: “Life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone”. Back in 1982, Jack and Diane still felt that thrill. Now, even though life goes on, they can still think back on each other and remember how it felt to have everything ahead of them, together.

   John Cougar – Jack & Diane