Jake Owen Revisits John Mellencamp Classic With New Track

(Radio.com) Jake Owen has released the new single 'I Was Jack (You Were Diane)," as well as a surprise track, "Something To Ride To." The lyrics to "I Was Jack (You Were Diane)" depicts a man reminiscing about the days he and a girl were teenagers listening to pop tunes and experiencing young love. It opens with the familiar hook from John Mellencamp's classic rock standard, 'Jack & Diane," and samples the song throughout the track.

"I never release a song without the intention of stepping up to the plate and knocking it out of the park," said Owen in a press release on the new music. "When I first heard 'I Was Jack (You Were Diane),' I thought, 'How can I do this and re-create what is already a classic song?' But the more I listened to it, the more I saw my own life growing up."

"The original 'Jack & Diane' was about 'two American kids growing up in the heartland' and that image is exactly what so many country songs are based on. Plus, the most important thing to me and my team is that we sent the song to Mellencamp and he digs the track. Getting his stamp of approval sealed the deal for me that this song should be our debut single."

With its familiar melody, country-rock groove and hand claps, the music is a clever combination of the past and present, just like the lyrics.

The surprise track, 'Something To Ride To," is a mid-tempo number about losing a girl and wanting to hear one song on the radio that doesn't make the vocalist sad or think about love lost.

'Give me something to ride to/ and forget about life to/ the kind you want to get high to/ lay back in the night to/ Yeah, used to be dance halls/ slow jams and romance songs/ but now that she's gone and the radio's on I just want one that don't sing about her/ Give me something to ride to."

Owen will kick off his Life's Watcha Make It tour on May 18 in Chattanooga, Tennessee with Chris Janson and Jordan Davis. Check out Owen's new tracks here.

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