About The Song
“Check It Out” is a 1987 song by John Mellencamp released as the third single from his album The Lonesome Jubilee in 1988. The single was a top 20 hit, reaching number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
According to Mellencamp biographer David Masciotra, the song “describes the rewards and punishments of a typical American middle-class family” and professes that “our attempts to solve the mysteries of the heart and grasp the truth of humanity are fraught with disaster and disappointment.” Mellencamp biographer Paul Rees called its sound “uplifting”.
Cash Box said that Mellencamp’s rough county-ish feel takes you into the heartland [of America]” and that the song “features a nice instrumental hook line that sounds like an otherworldly bagpipe and leads into the verses.”
Masciotra calls it “a uniquely powerful testament to the mystery of inner life”.
The video was shot as a live performance at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis on December 11, 1987, during Mellencamp’s massive Lonesome Jubilee tour.
Video
Lyrics
A million young poets screaming out their words
To a world full of people just living to be heard
Future generations, riding on the highways that we built
I hope they have a better understanding
Going to work on Monday
(Check it out)
Got yourself a family
(Check it out)
All utility bills have been paid
You can’t tell your best buddy that you love him
Where does our time go?
(Check it out)
Got a brand new house in escrow
(Check it out)
Sleeping with your back to your loved one
This is all that we’ve learned about happiness
Forgot to say hello to my neighbours
(Check it out)
Sometimes I question my own behaviour
(Check it out)
Talking about the girls that we’ve seen on the sly
Just to tell our souls we’re still the young lions
Getting too drunk on Saturdays
(Check it out)
Playing football with the kids on Sundays
(Check it out)
Soaring with the eagles all week long
And this is all that we’ve learned about living
This is all that we’ve learned about living
Check it out
Check it out
Check it out
Yeah, check it out
A million young poets screaming out their words
Maybe someday those words will be heard
By future generations riding on the highways that we built
Maybe they’ll have a better understanding
Hope they’ll have a better understanding
(Check it out)
Maybe they’ll have a better understanding
(Check it out)
Maybe they’ll have a better understanding
(Check it out)
Hope they have a better understanding
Hey, check it out
Check it out
Check it out
Check it out
Check it out
Check it out