Written by John Mellencamp

Everything is slower here, everybody's got a union card
They get up on Sunday and go to church of their choice
Come back home cook out in the backyard

Chorus:
And they call this the Great Midwest
Where the cornfields row and flow
They're all 5 years ahead of their time
Or 25 behind, I just don't know

All the young men talk about their 4 wheel drives
And how much money they're gonna make on Friday night
And, they like to brag about how they mistreat their girlfriends
Hey, let's get drunk, party it up, start a fight

Chorus II:
And they call this the Great Midwest
Sure make a hell of a car
And the old hearts, they race their way through the night
The upheaval of who they really are

Growin' up under normal conditions, television and radio
That's just about all of this whole world
That any of us get to see, get to know

Chorus III:
And they call this the Great Midwest
Where you sacrifice your body and soul
And no one really wants to get even
Most of us find it hard enough just lettin' go

Bridge:
Don't get me wrong I ain't complaining
I ain't braggin' nor do I mean to place blame
That's just the way things are around here
And there's a future carryin' my name on it
Sayin' hey man, you gonna stick around here you better get on it
If you're gonna stick around here you better make yourself some real good friends

Well I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth
So I can't talk about the big city life
But if you wanna talk about bein' bored and runnin'
away from yourself, hell I talk to you all night

Chorus IV:
And they call this the Great Midwest
Where livin' is just gettin' by
And people trade in their happiness
For a smokestack, a big money deal in the sky