This being Independence week and with many people on the road (or in the air) traveling to see this glorious country, I decided to dig into songs about America.
I could take the easy road and mention Lee Greenwoods “God Bless The USA” but I literally can’t stand that song, so it’s out. Or Ray Charles’s “America, The Beautiful” but that is just too easy. As you know, I like to dig deep into the archives and while this list isn’t all that deep, it contains a few songs you wouldn’t normally think as true American Pride songs but they were written by people who deeply care about America.
What might be one of the best songs ever written about an American experience, “America” by Simon and Garfunkel. The harmonies were perfect. The story and visualization was clear. The longing to feel home and to feel America just hits you right in your heart. First and only mention of The New Jersey Turnpike in a somewhat positive light. A song I have never tired of and while the intent might have been a little different, I still feel the longing “To Look For America”.
“Living in America” by James Brown has such an uplifting vibe and was just what the country needed when it was released. A song of celebration by a guy who knew how to celebrate. Brown is one of my all time favorites but the stuff he produced at this stage of his career was forgettable until this song. You want to celebrate America? Get on your good foot and drop the needle on this record.
Instead of going over each of these songs individually, I decided to lump them together and just say that the California Sound was as feel good American as you can possibly get. Start with ”California Dreamin” by the Mamas and Papas, pretty much anything by the Beach Boys before “Kokomo”(possibly the worst song ever recorded by a great group), and it with “Hotel California” by The Eagles. All representing what a lot of the country wanted to aspire to. Beaches, mountains, fresh air and a laid back lifestyle. Obviously California failed and “Hotel California” is it’s obituary but you get my point.
While these next songs don’t glorify America directly, they do glorify something few other countries have, freedom. Freedom to express their opinions and try to change the narrative by way of song. To me protest songs are as American as Apple pie and Chevrolet.
Maybe I am biased because I love Johnny Cash but “Man in Black” is an incredible song about America. Not the good stuff either. He dressed in black for a reason and he explains his issues with the way this country treats its poor, its homeless, the incarcerated. He stood up for those with no voice and after this song was released he received immediate backlash. He stood up for what he believed in and to hell with the pushback, he was going to sing it as long as someone would listen. Few artists today have that strong a backbone and would never risk what Johnny Cash would risk almost daily. His demons may have gotten to him but he tried not letting the demons get to the common man or woman.
“Ohio” by Crosby, Stills,Nash and Young was the ultimate Vietnam protest song but was not about Vietnam directly. It was about the shooting of four students at Kent State University in May of 1970. You will never hear a more powerful song directly confronting the powers that be at the time. Still carries power now and along with “Find the Cost to Freedom” show why, you may not agree with their politics now but back then, they wrote some of the best protest songs ever.
“Born in The USA” by Bruce Springsteen was no celebration of America. What it was was an indictment on the way Veterans have been treated in this country , especially those coming back from the Vietnam War. As powerful a Look in the Mirror song as you will ever hear.
My last protest song is an odd one because the song actually eviscerates America and its political class. “Monster/Suicide/America” by Steppenwolf received very little airplay because it clocked in at over nine minutes but it may also been a little too Anti-American for the time. It is more a bleak history of the United States with parts and sub parts. It’s a complex song and while I paint a negative picture of the intent of this song I think it is more about wishing things were better and that we have the potential to make things better if we just get up and do something about it.
To something a little brighter, “Little Pink Houses” by John Mellencamp is one of those songs that grow on you and you actually like it even if you can’t stand the artist singing it, which I can’t. It’s as symbolic of America as any song you will find. Regular people living regular lives. Work, Church, and Home. People on the East Coasts and West Coasts would like to think that these regular people no longer exist but they still do. And there a lot of them.
Now the Tom Petty songbook has so many great American songs it is very hard to pick one but I will. One that you would never expect but if you listen to the lyrics, you will know why I selected “Spike”. The story of an outcast in Gainesville Florida. Having been to Gainesville, I can’t believe he found just one. Town is all outcasts and Trailer Park executives. Oops, sorry thats my Tennessee football jealousy striking. Anyway, It’s the story about Spike, a misfit who wears a dog collar and just doesn’t fit in. Part of the American diaspora. BTW, the live version is better than the version from Souther Accents.
An odd list for sure, but thats what I always try to do, open your eyes and perceptions to something different. I like to come at things at different angles and music is just one of those things that I approach differently.
Thank You for today's journey. Caught me a little off guard with the obit of Cal;) I can see You're feeling better! Good Health to You and I sure enjoy your "entertaining" articles on Friday.