For the next 30 days, I’ll be taking the #AprilAcrossAmerica challenge, picking one song a day as I make my way across the country and across genres at the same time.

Day 9: Bloomington, IN

Time to drive westward – from a small city in Ohio to a small town in Indiana. When John Mellencamp wrote this song, he wanted to capture the notion that you didn’t have to live in a big city to live it up. “Small Town” was about his simple, yet idyllic experience growing up in Bloomington. More than that, it’s a song about embracing your roots and community instead of trying to escape it.

I remember the first time I heard “Small Town” was seeing the video on MTV. It was a big year for music. And John Mellencamp’s heartland-fueled rock wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. But I loved this song right away – and I never ever got sick of it. In some ways, it’s one of the sincerest, most unpretentious rock songs ever written and recorded. And that means something. It’s human. And, with that, somehow it seems “Small Town” is like the definition and antithesis of rock ‘n roll all at once.

“Educated in a small town. Taught to fear of Jesus in a small town. Used to daydream in that small town. Another boring romantic, that's me.”