Written by: John Mellencamp



Suzanne divorced her husband

She got the keys to the car and the home

But her friends were really his friends

No one stops by to see her much anymore

So one night she goes back down to the old haunts

That once upon a time were her own

She didn't know nobody out there no more

And the whole experience just made her feel so old

She says



Chorus

I want to live the real life

I want ot live my life close to the bone

Just because I'm middle-aged that don't mean

I want to sit around my house and watch T.V.

I want the real life

I want to live the real life



Jackson Jackson was a good kid

He had four years of college and a bachelor's degree

Started workin' when he was 21

Got fed up and quit

When he was 43

He said,