John Mellencamp was spotted out on a stroll recently with his girlfriend Meg Ryan and her daughter, 9-year old Daisy, in the Soho area of New York.

The heartland rocker and actress have been together for three years, but Mellencamp says he can’t see himself moving to New York; he’s an Indiana boy all the way.

“I’m too sensitive to live there,” he said in December. “I can’t see poor people. I can’t see the suffering. I can’t see the trash on the streets.” As for the paparazzi, he says, “I don’t give a f**K about me, but I don’t like it for [Ryan]. I’m not leaving Indiana. I’m going to die here.”

The native Hoosier recently announced a new tour that will begin in June and said last year that he’ll be working on his first new album in five years, collaborating with the legendary T-Bone Burnett.

“I just signed with Universal, so I’m back on a major label. I’ve got a notebook with 85 new songs that I’ve written for my next record. T Bone Burnett is going to come out to (my home in) Indiana sometime in early January and we’re gonna go into the studio for however long it takes to make a new album. I haven’t done one in five years.”

Mellencamp is making headlines this week after Republican Gov. Scott Walker used his song “Pink Houses” on the campaign trail without his consent; the singer is heavily pro-union and has crossed paths with Walker before for the use of his song “Small Town” two years ago. Walker ended collective bargaining for many workers in Wisconsin, something Mellencamp and many other celebrities fought against. Mellencamp’s publicist, Claire Mercuri, released a statement saying the musician is aware that Walker is using his songs and wants him to know that his views haven’t changed from two years ago.

“Nothing has changed since the last time Gov. Walker ran for election,” Mercuri said.

Image via Wikimedia Commons