John Mellencamp, The Eyes Of Portland (new song), live in San Francisco, March 17, 2023 (4K)

[@TimBracken]

Thanks for watching my video. I gathered all the songs I shot at this show in a KZbin playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLwdc0qZNx0tYYEMRvnMUfRVESRpFcgVGT. The songs are: Paper In Fire, Small Town, Hey God (new song), Check It Out, The Eyes Of Portland (new song), Longest Days, Jack & Diane, Gloria (Van Morrison cover), Pink Houses, Cherry Bomb, and Hurts So Good. Enjoy!

[@RichaRd_JeRome]

Got to See (Again Tonight) 4\\6/2023 State TheateR 🎭 Minneapolis Minnesota AWESOME 😎👍👍👍 SHOW

[@agnesrivera8481]

I'm going to see him tonight and I swear if he tells this story and people laugh I'm going to scream "what is wrong with you, people"

[@bobbychin7176]

It brings tears in my eyes listening to this song as a local resident I witnessed this everyday

[@SherryLiguori]

I love how real he is... 'Your tears and prayers won't help..." ....so true for so many problems in this country...people think they can just pray things away when real help is needed.

[@lezobrandon3398]

Well Oregon spends billions on homeless yet it just gets worse so where does all the tax dollars goooo if there was a work requirement for food stamps that would solve the issue overnight

[@carlodave9]

Just as worse are those with all the answers talking crap about them as a way of congratulating themselves for not being one.

[@johnlindblom1430]

Faith without works is dead.

[@sfender2182]

@SherryLiguori But prayers are linked to faith, and faith is linked to actions that can help the homeless. Also without prayers and faith (which is declining in America) our country has become much poorer in many ways.

[@heidiwagner1363]

THIS IS SUCH A GREAT SONG AND STORY!GOD BLESS YOU JOHN!LOVE YOU! ...SAW JOHN IN BUFFALO,NY ON JUNE 2023,SAW HIS BUSES AND AIRSTREAM WAS HOPING TO SEE HIM OUTSIDE UP CLOSE BUT NO LUCK

[@mariegalante2000]

Great song john, love your music

[@shaunhatzian7186]

One of three Best songwriters

[@michaelwright6431]

I'm a big fan of John and how he has shed a light on societal issues for decades. This son, on its face, draws attention to the homeless crisis all across America. To focus on my home town was not called for. He has zero idea how hard thousands of citizens here are fighting every day to bring change. John also was asleep at the wheel when his handlers put together the video of this song. Not one single image is actually Portland... all the video and images are from LA, Baltimore and NYC. To bring shame on a city fighting for change is beneath John. Maybe he will consider that the next time he sits on his deck on his acres of land with an ocean view in privileged Santa Barbara. This is not a song viewed through the eyes of Portland at all... that is fake. It is the Eyes Of America John - man up and change it.

[@brianwright4852]

Why are people laughing at this story? This horrific and sad.

[@TimBracken]

This struck me as I was doing the subtitles for this video. It's jarring. I'm not making excuses for those people, but one thing to note is that just seconds earlier, Mellencamp had given his "If you want to yell during my acoustic set, go outside in the hallway to do it" speech (kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoeQmY2PrZ2Igrc), which made a lot of people laugh. So I think these folks were a little slow to mentally switch gears into the human tragedy of the story that followed.

[@FuckPedophileBiden]

@@TimBracken It's not a tragedy. Addiction is a choice and every addict knows it.

[@TimBracken]

@Dirt Farmer: I've been thinking about your comment that "addiction is a choice" and I disagree. Addiction, by its own definition, means being trapped in a cycle of compulsive substance abuse. You might say that the original choice to take the illicit substance was voluntary, which is obviously true. But let's take fentanyl, for example. Fentanyl is up to 100 times as potent as heroin. People can get hooked with just one pill. And it often gets mixed in with other less powerful drugs without the user knowing it. So if some clueless 15-year-old kid at a party takes a pill that leads them down a path of addiction, did they knowingly choose to get hooked? No. And regardless, I still feel empathy for that person, and I still think we as a society should try to help them break free of their addiction. That, ultimately, is the point of this song. We need empathy, coupled with action, to help people like the girl in Mellencamp's story.

[@FuckPedophileBiden]

@@TimBrackenNo, that is incorrect. No one can get addicted to fentanyl or any other drug by one use no matter how potent it is. It takes sustained use to become addicted and even once someone is addicted it's a personal choice every time they use. Not only is that a proven medical fact there are millions of former addicts like myself that have made the personal choice when they were addicted to not use drugs or alcohol, and continue to be successful staying off them.

[@thomasbushnell884]

They didn't get the message yet .

[@ftucker56]

I believe in sharing God’s love and feeding, clothing and praying with them. We do that every Tuesday and Sunday. I recommend doing something, it helps you just as much as it helps them

[@loopybla5001]

Wow

[@antomano5623]

This was the hope and change that someone promised us back in 2008, how is it working out johnny?

[@annahanguiano8931]

Too many conservatives not enough liberals running this country

[@jeffreyg607]

Interesting that an audience in (my ex-city) San Francisco found Portland's situation funny. Pot, meet kettle. Sadly. Badly RUN cities incur bad circumstances. Two beautiful cities allowed to become unrecognizable. Failed ideologies.

[@soxfan801]

I saw him in Evansville IN Saturday and was moved by the story and song.

[@heidiwagner1363]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!♥️10/7/23

[@danmathews2151]

I got to be honest I never was a big John Mellencamp fan. But God bless him. Not so much for him giving her the money. But getting up from his dinner and carrying enough to go out and confront her

[@jeffgriffin7338]

In Oshawa Ontario Canada the Mayor passed a bylaw that makes it illegal to hand a sandwich or a toothbrush to a homeless person. Today I handed out 27 sandwiches

[@norasmadinorasim5789]

I am not an American but I felt

[@cameroncook3863]

Dam John.

[@TT-hi1qv]

Go play that at the WHITE HOUSE!

[@billbazen9432]

Voice sounds terrible..the girl wanted the money for drugs...so,you didn't help her after all Mellancamp.

[@craig2e46]

I saw him last night at the Masonic temple in Detroit and he told the same story and my wife and I were saying why are people laughing it's like the saddest story I ever heard I felt terrible.

[@jessscott]

The official music video isn’t even of Portland, it’s of LA. He’s just complaining about a problem across the entire nation and not offering any solutions. Way too much ignorant privilege in his part.

[@tonymagrogan]

Some of the video’s footage is LA, and some is PDX

[@Sean-st5ud]

are you actually as stupid as you sound ?

[@tonicastonguay2116]

Been to Missoula? How about our reservations?

[@martindebrois1472]

Good song. Hmm I wonder if he's smart enough to realize *his people* [The Democrats] did this - the current morass - to the city of Portland ?

[@cl2008cl2008]

No, the Democrats did not cause this. This is correlation, not causation. Homeless people are drawn to cities because cities have better services, and cities tend to be run by Democrats. The root cause is the intersection of income inequality, untreated mental illness, and a glut of highly addictive drugs flowing into our country. And Democrats did not cause those things.

[@StillYHWHs]

😢😭That is a sad story. This is what trafficking is, sexual abuses, not enough work, under paid, poverty, starvation, physical abuses, Mental health issues, neglect and addictions cause. I have no judgment on them. I just recommend prayer and action from people. John you saved her for one night. Your offer to help her home, there are no words for it. God bless you for trying to help her. God bless those who are tormented by those who suppressed them. The homeless, lost and abandoned. May they all find you father YHWY and the Messiah Yeshua. Amen 🙏

[@lovetrucks4212]

Bout time people start talking about the mess that is American streets.

[@michaelwright6431]

Man up and change the name of this song John. This is about America's crisis. Don't come back to our city until you do.

[@RSLucky204]

You can't help someone who won't help him/herself.

[@michaelhennegan9637]

Like Frisco is any better. It’s even worse.

[@cl2008cl2008]

Clearly you missed the whole point of the song. It's not about trashing Portland. It's about urging people to show empathy and to act when it comes to homelessness. Everywhere. Not just Portland.

[@Max-lt2gh]

@@cl2008cl2008 Yeah throw yet more money at the problem. That always works, right?

[@cl2008cl2008]

@@Max-lt2gh Yeah, turn your back on people who are mentally ill and drug addicted and let them pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. That always works, right?

[@billbazen9432]

​​@@cl2008cl2008 He gave the girl money.She headed to the drug dealer so his so called help was no help at all.

[@leosulentic9597]

PORTLAND IS HELL

[@tubbers20]

He's an idiot.

[@MrSnappy67]

Huh? Have you ever been there?

[@frenchfilmmtheband2556]

I entered a contest to win tickets to this concert and won but I could take them because I lived in Portland Oregon not a Californian. Too sad.

[@theresadecandia2442]

❤

[@yvonnespurlock1613]

I can't believe people would think this is funny. My daughter lives in Oregon its terrible. These are people's family not fucking funny

[@Shadowraven373]

I love Johns music ❤🎶 it was just bad luck that he didn't become as famous as the boss

[@michaelhughes8733]

He sounds kinda like Bruce these days.

[@franktaconelli9095]

what a great song; Woody Guthrie would be proud

[@toddgittins5692]

True Communist think alike. So, yes I agree.

[@cl2008cl2008]

@@toddgittins5692 Hahaha. "Communist." You right wing trolls are too much. I realize that because Fox News' median viewer age is 75 years old, they need to keep screaming about the evils of "Communism" to drive ratings, but I have a news flash for you. The rest of the country doesn't care. So while you would do Joseph McCarthy proud, your fixation on labeling everyone you dislike a Communist says so much more about you than it does about them. Sad!

[@karenstanley964]

Woodie Guthrie wasn’t a communist, bucko…

[@cl2008cl2008]

@@karenstanley964 Is this sarcasm? Woody Guthrie was a socialist, as is Mellencamp. At the heart of it is their belief that we should not elevate corporations and millionaires/billionaires above the working class, the poor, and farmers. That people should never starve in America, nor go homeless because of obscene medical bills that enrich large corporations. That workers should not be exposed to hazardous workplaces or be exploited for their labor. That millionaires and billionaires should pay a higher share of their income in taxes than the poor should. That education should be free for everyone (this is where we get the radical concept of public school). That discrimination based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity is insidious and must be stamped out. The fact that right-wingers denigrate and spit in the face of these values says so much more about their character than it does about people like Mellencamp and Guthrie.

[@tessiemae8569]

He was definitely a socialist, the same as Pete Seeger.

[@rasj1020]

he didn't like ppl talking during his show and told them to stop, yet ppl didn't like he refused to stand up for national athjem at a sports game last year.

[@annahanguiano8931]

Good for John 👍

[@theberserker5077]

why are these people laughing ? hes not trying to be funny..he's setting up a song... F em! thanks John...as always, you recognize the problems in this madhouse.

[@livequality4578]

Glad he's telling the truth about how far Portland has fallen.

[@winnowmethis9501]

Listen to what this man is saying. His message is greater than his celebrity. He says it like it is.

[@EnvironmentalAuto]

Why isn’t lamestream media talking about this? John is doing his job singing about it. You get the Government you vote for!

[@AZCobraman]

Yup, exactly what Portland and SanFran got....

[@remysplace]

So sad😢. There's no reason for so many homeless people on the streets. It's a great song!

[@antomano5623]

Using drugs and alcohol will make you homeless.

[@SWog617]

Should've gotten off the cigarettes, John... it's never improved any singer's voice.

[@zoomustard]

He likes it,

[@Sean-st5ud]

he made more money this year than you have your entire pathetic life

[@Love.IsTheAnswer]

He's not a singer. He's a poet with a guitar.

[@shaunhatzian7186]

How could you not know who john Mellencamp is. 🙄.

[@mark11967AD]

People are idiots. The internet and algorithms have conditioned people’s perceptions to be cynical and disrespectful. This crowd is an embarrassment. I never would have laughed at that story that’s for damn sure. What’s going on with drugs and homelessness in this country is hell on earth and we continue to let it grow. So many people dead from fentanyl too. Horrible.

[@lorigrover8284]

There’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes.

[@ringmike]

this one does have a Prine vibe to it

[@toddgittins5692]

Prine is a thousand times better.

[@stevenlane9850]

The way some people laughed is sadly telling, especially when San Francisco is supposedly a liberal city. And evidently not so empathic to the mentally ill, unhoused, and homeless. From what I understand, if a person is not mentally ill before becoming homeless, they will become so by being so. I wonder if the story was received similarly across Middle America.

[@TimBracken]

There were 2,000 fans at this show and I'd say at least 95% were listening in rapt silence. Given the acoustics and the silence, the ones who did laugh seem more numerous than they really were. And even for them, I don't think you can draw conclusions about their empathy (or lack thereof). Just seconds earlier, Mellencamp made everyone laugh with a funny speech about disrupting his show, and some people are just a little slow (especially when they've been drinking) to switch mental gears from humor to pathos.

[@stevenlane9850]

​@@TimBracken Your description sounds a bit more encouraging. That said, IMHO when a person laughs at people living on the street, oftentimes several conclusions can be drawn.

[@tobyschuring1534]

So Mellencamp has empathy. Good to know. Sounds like Bob Dylan, but he sold himself to the devil.

[@MsHannah61]

😞 We should all be ashamed of ourselves to continue to allow our loved one endure this treatment 😔

[@Kgio-2112]

Loved ones? Whatchu talkin bout willis

[@shaunhatzian7186]

This is why we love him sand this is why he should run for president

[@ricktweden2276]

It is a very sad irony that the decay in American cities is caused by political ideologies that mirror his.

[@cl2008cl2008]

Since you're clearly smarter than the rest of us, please explain how the left is responsible for enormous income inequality, easy access to guns, and a flood of fentanyl on our streets.

[@daveabraham2817]

HE SHOULD OF NEVER TOLD SUCH PATHIC STORY?

[@johnnyelizabethton]

What does "SHOULD OF" mean?

[@Sean-st5ud]

should never of ..... great English asshole

[@yachtrock3631]

When did this lil termite turn into Bruce Springsteen

[@johnrenterprises2604]

Like his music but his politics are lost.