"Rain on the Scarecrow" by John Mellencamp

Questions for blog:
1.  What's this song about?
2.  What are some conflicts this song might address?
3.  Make a claim about Mellencamp's use of imagery/symbolism.
4.  Make a claim about Mellencamp's word choice.
5.  If this represents Mellencamp's opinion, who does he seem to favor?  What side of the conflict does he seem to be on? Support your answers from the text.

Answers:
1 and 2.  This song is about a family who lost their farm because they couldn't pay to keep it running.  The conflict is about how the narrator loses all that he knows (the farm).
3.  He describes a piece of the farm (the scarecrow) to resemble the farm as a whole.  The farm and the scarecrow are both defenseless and not seen to be worth much to most people.
4.  He uses words that you would hear down on the farm or in the country, like, "ol' hoss" and "I'll say a prayer for your soul tonight."
5.  He favors the farmers and the farm.  He uses the scarecrow to represent the farm, and how defenseless it is to the "blood," or the disaster to the farm.  The farm, or the "scarecrow on a wooden cross," can't provide anymore because the bank took it away (the people who owned the farm couldn't pay).