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