Written by John Mellencamp



Go on and admit it

You can't take it anymore

So why don't you quit it

Your scratching off again

Can't you see it

Well the whole thing was such a surprise



I know you and your hear crazy notions

Your pretty girls and no devotions

Down by the ocean middle class

Down by the gulf side, you let it all slide



But now your saying that you don't

wanna be a sixteen year old girl, aah

But you don't want to turn twenty-five

You never ever, you never ever lied,

where you been, aahh

You got to survive to keep yourself alive,

yeah-ah, yeah



It ain't no big deal if your attitude is wrong

and you don't know how you feel

You just cop someone else's ideas

and masturbate yourself, make them your own

Well I, I don't mean to tell you what to do

cause I've scratched off myself a time or two

Well it just leaves you blue, with nothing to do

And they think I'm crazy when I stay up all weekend



But now your saying that you don't

wanna be a sixteen year old girl, oh yeah, aah

But you don't want to turn twenty-five

You never ever, you never ever lied

where you been, aahh

You got to survive to keep yourself alive

yeah-ah, my na na no, yeah



So if I'm walking down the street and you see me

Don't walk on by, say hey man

you know your looking, your looking so fine

You don't have to mean it, no no

Its just one of the regular lies that we've lived with

And this is a love song and

I'm writing it just to survive