You cannot expect the guy who drove the car into the ditch to navigate it out of the ditch. You have to put a new driver in the seat. I'm not saying the new driver is going to be any better, but we need a new driver. Kerry is the only choice. John Mellencamp More Quotes by John Mellencamp More Quotes From John Mellencamp Everything I see and hear... I will take ideas from anyplace, anywhere, anytime, and life has become a song to me. I'm always looking for a song. John Mellencamp looking me song life If we have any hope for survival of the music that we all love, compassion must replace name-calling, fairness must replace greed, and we need to come together as a musical community and try to understand each other's problems. John Mellencamp music hope together love I've been around so many people for so long that I take great delight in my own company. John Mellencamp great my-own long people I need a long and lingering death to make sure that I have time to have a deathbed conversion. John Mellencamp need time long death I'm as left-wing as you can get. John Mellencamp left-wing get you American folk songs were about tragedy, right? They were about suffering and tragedy, and a lot of my songs are about that, even though they were misunderstood. John Mellencamp right american tragedy suffering Elaine came out on tour with me [early on] and looked at what was going on, she goes, 'This is not going to go on anymore. No more [random] people backstage.' I said to her, 'Why? I thought we were having fun.’. John Mellencamp I try to make sure that my kids understand how fortunate they are and that they shouldn't take any of this for granted. John Mellencamp