Text: John Mellencamp. A Biography. Let Them Run Your Lives.

Hello girls and boys
As you sit in your carpeted bedrooms
With your stereos on and on
Playin' with those hundred dollar toys
Built to occupy your minds
So you don't notice your future's are gone
And as you race on through the streets tonight
Lookin' for some lonely lover to hold you tight
You think that the world is alright
Well you're out of touch, you're out of time
You're gonna crack, your fragile regulated minds
As you're headin' on to no kind of conclusion

[Chorus:]
Go on, let 'em run your lives
Watch 'em as they cut your throat
With they're parental carving knife
Go on, let 'em run your lives
Are you too young to see
Or just to old to fight

They've taken the energy away from you
They haven't taught you enough to deal
With the ordeal you must be goin' through
Yeah but look at this now
They've left you the schools
They've left you the government
But they're all fallin' down
Don't forget to make the past due payments
And in this world of uncertainties
You can be certain that
You must kiss the ass of the authoritites
And kiss you will if you want to survive
You don't have to look too hard to see
That there just ain't no free rides
Hell it takes a real man to survive

[Chorus]

Well Jay Dee is locked in his soul some kinda hotel
Well he's burnin inside he shakes shakes shakes
All through the night
And little Ruda Juda is passed out on the floor
She's just so damn stupid won't somebody
Take away her gun and show her the door
Show her the door, show her that door's open
And me I'm so misunderstood, but I'm still alive
And my eyes are open wide to the fact
That the world just will lie
And it'll kick you right in the face

[Chorus]

Hey are you too young to see
Or just too old to fight
Do we have to fight the rest of our lives