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, "My whole life
I've done what I'm supposed to do
Now I'd like to maybe do something for myself
And just as soon as I figure out what that is
You can bet your life I'm gonna give it hell"
He says

Chorus

I guess it don't matter how old you are
Or how old one lives to be
I guess it boils down to what we did with our lives
And how we deal with our own destinies
But something happens
When you reach a certain age
Particularly to those ones that are young at heart
It's a lonely proposition when you realize
That's there's less days in front of the horse
Than riding in the back of this cart
I say

Chorus