"Mellencamp later told "The Wall Street Journal" that he had written the lyrics using an electronic typewriter that beeped whenever he misspelled a word, which had amused the people listening upstairs; however, they were silenced when he played the song to them.In 2013, Mellencamp told "Rolling Stone", "I wanted to write a song that said, 'You don't have to live in New York or Los Angeles to live a full life or enjoy your life.'