John Cougar Mellencamp released Scarecrow

Scarecrow John Cougar Mellencamp

Released: August 5, 1985 Peak: 2 US, -- UK, 2 CN, 2 AU, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 5.4 US, 0.50 UK, 6.68 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. Rain on the Scarecrow [3:45] Grandma’s Theme [0:55] Small Town [3:41] Minutes to Memories [4:11] Lonely Ol’ Night [3:45] The Face of the Nation [3:13] Justice and Independence ‘85 [3:31] Between a Laugh and a Tear [4:30] Rumbleseat [2:57] You’ve Got to Stand for Somethin’ [4:31] R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. [2:54] The Kind of Fella I Am [2:56] Total Running Time: 41:07

Rating: 4.402 out of 5.00 (average of 31 ratings) Quotable: “One of the definitive blue-collar rock albums of the mid-‘80s.” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Pre-Scarecrow Singer/songwriter and musician John Mellencamp was born in 1951 in Seymour, Indiana. He released his first album, Chestnut Street Incident, as Johnny Cougar in 1976. Over the next few years, he cracked the top-40 with hits “I Need a Lover,” “This Time,” and “Ain’t Even Done with the Night” before breaking through to a much wider audience with 1982’s American Fool. The album spawned the #2 hit “Hurts So Good” and chart-topper “Jack and Diane.” The album was the first of five consecutive top-10, platinum-selling albums. Each of the first four produced at least two top-10 hits and he became the #1 album rock artist of the 1980s. While American Fool was his only chart-topper, the 1985 album Scarecrow matched it as his best-selling album with 5 million copies and reached #2. The album’s first three singles (“Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Small Town,” and “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.”) were all top-10 hits. Two more singles reached the top 40. Mellencamp Established as the Heartland Rocker Previous album “Uh-Huh found John Mellencamp coming into his own, but he perfected his heartland rock with Scarecrow.” AM “Though the comparison has often been applied to him unfairly, it’s fair to say that Scarecrow is to John Cougar Mellencamp what Born in the U.S.A. is to Bruce Springsteen: a hugely popular hit that solidified both his fan base and his critical reputation. The one important difference is that U.S.A.’s message was largely misinterpreted (Ronald Reagan co-opted the title song in a manner that’s tragically ironic), while Scarecrow’s ode to Mellencamp’s native Indiana comes through loud and clear.” AZ The Fading American Dream Mellencamp said, “With Scarecrow, I was finally starting to feel my feet as a songwriter. Finally, for the first time, I realized what I thought I wanted to say in song.” WK Scarecrow is “a loose concept album about lost innocence and the crumbling of small-town America,” AM even more specifically “the hopes and fears of Middle America.” AM Mellencamp’s “writing has never been more powerful” AM especially on songs like Rain on the Scarecrow when he laments the plight of the American farmer and on Small Town when he celebrates small community life, singing “No I cannot forget where it is that I come from / I cannot forget the people who love me / Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town.” Songs like “Lonely Ol’ Night and Rumbleseat effortlessly convey the desperate loneliness of being stuck in a dead-end life.” AM “While the rest of the album isn’t quite as strong, that’s only a relative term, since it’s filled with lean hooks and powerful, economical playing that make Scarecrow one of the definitive blue-collar rock albums of the mid-‘80s.” AM Roots Rock Mellencamp and his band spent a month playing ‘60s rock and roll songs before heading into the studio. Producer Don Gehman said the intent was “to learn all these devices from the past and use them in a new way with John’s arrangements.” WK Reissues In 2005, the album was reissued with an acoustic version of “Small Town” as a bonus cut. A 2022 reissue added a second disc of material, including alternate mixes and writer’s demos of “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Between a Laugh and a Tear,” “Rumbleseat,” “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” “Minutes to Memories,” and “Small Town.” That collection also added the non-album cuts “Under the Boardwalk,” “Carolina Shag,” “Cold Sweat,” “Smart Guys,” and “Shama Lama Ding Dong.” The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Rain on the Scarecrow John Cougar Mellencamp

Writer(s): John Mellencamp, George M. Green (see lyrics here) Released: 4/30/1986 (single), Scarecrow (1985), Words & Music: Greatest Hits (2004) B-Side: “You’ve Got to Stand for Somethin’,” “Pretty Ballerina” First Charted: 9/21/1985 Peak: 21 BB, 28 CB, 19 GR, 26 RR, 16 AR, 3 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 8.8 video, 23.64 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “Rain on the Scarecrow” was the fourth single from Scarecrow. The previous three were top-10 hits. “Rain” peaked at #21 but “it holds up as well if not better than any of those hits.” AS It is “a fierce, downcast track written from the perspective of a man pushed to the brink by the pressures of making a living via agriculture.” AS Mellencamp and collaborator George Green (who also co-wrote “Hurts So Good”) were talking about towns that were disappearing and people who were losing their farms which had, in some cases, been in their families for generations. It ranks alongside “King Harvest Has Surely Come” by the Band and “A Month of Sundays” by Don Henley as “one of the best songs about the sadder side of the farming life.” AS “That sense of heartbreak mixes with potent anger as Mellencamp inhabits the harried protagonist with uncanny authenticity in one of his most memorable vocals. Amidst stomping drums and cutting guitars, he sets the scene with brutal efficiency in the first few lines: ‘Scarecrow on a wooden cross, blackbird in the barn / Four hundred empty acres that used to be my farm.’” AS Cashbox called it “solid riveting rock and roll from an American treasure” WK that is an “impassioned plea on behalf of America’s small farmers.” WK Billboard said it has a “raw rage and bleak visions of a disintegrating way of life.” WK

Grandma’s Theme Laura Mellencamp

Writer(s): public domain/traditional Released: Scarecrow (1985) Peak: 18 Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.92 streaming About the Song: Mellencamp tapped his grandmother to lend her vocals on this public domain song.

Small Town John Cougar Mellencamp

Writer(s): John Mellencamp (see lyrics here) Released: 11/2/1985 (single), Scarecrow (1985), The Best That I Could Do (1997), Words & Music: Greatest Hits (2004) B-Side: “Small Town” (acoustic version) First Charted: 9/14/1985 Peak: 6 BB, 6 CB, 4 RR, 13 AC, 2 AR, 53 UK, 13 CN, 80 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 17.1 video, 152.51 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The lead-off single, “Lonely Ol’ Night,” reached #6. Its follow-up, “Small Town,” first charted on the album rock chart in September 1985 and was officially released two months later as a single. It copied its predecessor’s success in peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 but surpassed it in becoming an iconic song that could arguably called Mellencamp’s signature tune. Cash Box called the song “a rocking homage to the small town of the artist’s life and the small towns of America.” WK Mellencamp wrote it about his life in Seymour and Bloomington, Indiana and being “steeped in the sensibilities of his environment.” DM “Many songs have been written about looking to escape the confines of small town America, but Mellencamp celebrates it…most vividly on this song.” SF It can be viewed as “sentimental nonsense derived from America’s myth of agrarian patriotism. But play this record for audience reared in Brooklyn and they’ll tell you that growing up there felt the same way to them.” DM Mellencamp did actually move to New York City after he got a record deal, he “felt overwhelmed and creatively bereft” SF and moved back to Indiana. He told Rolling Stone, “I wanted to write a song that said, ‘You don’t have to live in New York or Los Angeles to live a full life or enjoy your life.’ I was never one of those guys that grew up and thought, ‘I need to get out of here.’ It never dawned on me. I just valued having a family and staying close to friends.” WK He said, “I wrote that song in the laundry room of my old house…We had company and I had to go write the song.” WK He explained that he wrote the words on a typewriter which beeped when he misspelled a word, which amused the guests upstairs. WK He “perfects his latter-day folk-rock (C&W instruments played Rolling Stones-style).” DM

Minutes to Memories John Cougar Mellencamp

Writer(s): John Mellencamp, George M. Green Released: Scarecrow (1985) First Charted: 1/18/1986 Peak: 14 AR, 25 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 5.27 streaming About the Song: Rolling Stone wrote that songs like “Face of the Nation,” “Minutes to Memories,” and “Small Town” have “a bittersweet, reflective tone.” WK

Lonely Ol’ Night John Cougar Mellencamp

Writer(s): John Mellencamp Released: 8/24/1985 (single), Scarecrow (1985), The Best That I Could Do (1997), Words & Music: Greatest Hits (2004) B-Side: “The Kind of Fella I Am” First Charted: 8/16/1985 Peak: 6 BB, 10 CB, 3 GR, 4 RR, 37 AC, 15 AR, 7 CN, 32 AU, 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.6 video, 17.97 streaming About the Song: “Lonely Ol’ Night” was the lead single from Scarecrow. It reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the mainstream rock chart. The song title was inspired by the Paul Newman 1963 film Hud. The title character’s strained relationship with his father affected Mellencamp. WK Cash Box called it “a chugging track which portrays love as the all important link of life.” WK

The Face of the Nation John Cougar Mellencamp

Writer(s): John Mellencamp Released: Scarecrow (1985) Peak: 22 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.20 streaming About the Song: Rolling Stone wrote that songs like “Face of the Nation,” “Minutes to Memories,” and “Small Town” have “a bittersweet, reflective tone.” WK

Justice and Independence ‘85 John Cougar Mellencamp

Writer(s): John Mellencamp Released: Scarecrow (1985) First Charted: 11/30/1985 Peak: 28 AR, 8 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.55 streaming

Between a Laugh and a Tear John Cougar Mellencamp

Writer(s): John Mellencamp Released: Scarecrow (1985) Peak: 36 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.49 streaming

Rumbleseat John Cougar Mellencamp

Writer(s): John Mellencamp Released: June 1986 (single), Scarecrow (1985), Words & Music: Greatest Hits (2004) B-Side: “Cold Sweat” First Charted: 6/28/1986 Peak: 28 BB, 32 CB, 29 GR, 33 RR, 4 AR Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.5 video, 7.39 streaming About the Song: “Rumbleseat” was the fifth top-40 hit from Scarecrow, making it Mellencamp’s most successful album, at least in terms of number of hit singles. Billboard characterized the song as “stripped down rockabilly with a moral to it.” WK Cash Box said “the distinctive, rocking style of Mellencamp is put to great effect.” WK

You’ve Got to Stand for Somethin’ John Cougar Mellencamp

Writer(s): John Mellencamp Released: 4/30/1986 (B-side of “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.”), Scarecrow (1985) Peak: 34 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.06 streaming About the Song: Mellencamp said in writing the song “You’ve Got to Stand for Somethin’” that “I never did say what you should stand for – except your own truth. That song was supposed to be funny, too, and I hope people got that. But I think that’s the key to the whole LP – suggesting that each person come to grips with their own individual truth – and try to like themselves a little bit more. Find out what you as a person are – and don’t let the world drag you down. People should have respect for and believe in themselves.” WK

R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to ’60s Rock) John Cougar Mellencamp

Writer(s): John Mellencamp Released: January 1986 (single), Scarecrow (1985), The Best That I Could Do (1997), Words & Music: Greatest Hits (2004) B-Side: “Under the Boardwalk” First Charted: 9/14/1985 Peak: 2 BB, 4 CB, 3 GR, 2 RR, 36 AC, 6 AR, 67 UK, 7 CN, 18 AU, 9 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.30 video, 65.16 streaming About the Song: “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” was an ode to Mellencamp’s rock-n-roll roots. It became his most successful single since 1982’s #1 “Jack and Diane.” Mellencamp said he was “kinda disappointed” with the song, explaining “I don’t think people are getting the idea of what the song’s about, so I must’ve not done a very good job.” WK

The Kind of Fella I Am John Cougar Mellencamp

Writer(s): John Mellencamp Released: 8/24/1985 (B-side of “Lonely Ol’ Night”), Scarecrow (1985) Peak: 37 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.61 streaming About the Song: This was a bonus track on the CD and cassette versions of Scarecrow.

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AZ Amazon.com review by Randy Silver AS American Songwriter (2019). Behind the Song: John Mellencamp, ‘Rain on the Scarecrow’” by Jim Beviglia DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Pages 189-190. SF Songfacts page for “Small Town” WK Wikipedia page for Scarecrow WK Wikipedia page for “Small Town” WK Wikipedia page for “Lonely Ol’ Night” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/24/2008; last updated 2/13/2026.