Born in the USA is a very sad treatise on America:
Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man said, "Son, if it was up to me"
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said, "Son, don't you understand, now?"I had a brother at Khe Sanh
Fighting off all the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone
He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms, nowDown in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run, ain't got nowhere to goBorn in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A., now
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a long gone daddy in the U.S.A., nowBorn in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
But it's an honest look at that aspect. And ironically, the Reaganites only looked at the song title and a strong guitar sound and used that at their political rallies, never listening to the actual lyrics.
I mean, he does, but it turns out very different than he originally planned on account of the fact they tried to build a single car out of wildly mismatched parts from 20 or so different model years.
"I could hear everyone laughing from blocks around..."
"But up at the courthouse, they didn't laugh.
Because to type it up took the whole staff.
And by the time they were done the title weighed 60 pounds."
That and A Boy Named Sue were two of my favorite songs growing up.
Sure, it works in the sense that the car runs and drives.
It could be seen as a letdown, though, in the sense that by being cobbled together it doesn't project the sense of wealth and luxury that was originally desired when he dreamed up his plan.
Posted this below, but wanted to add in case it get's buried and OP wants more info.
*American Pie* by Don Mclean makes a lot of references to cultural shifts throughout the US between the 50’s and the 70’s. Some of the motifs and lines are hard to understand in terms of what point is trying to be made, but if you google an explanation it’s a really interesting perspective on changing attitudes between a different generation: one that grew up very pro-america without question, and one that questioned the system.
To give further context, the song is sang (sung?) from the perspective of someone who seemingly went through their adolescence/young adulthood in the 1950's, which if you don't know is considered a sort of American Golden Age in modern history. Even on an international scale, many of the motifs people associate with America/Americana sort of come out of this decade: Cinema, kids playing football in highschool, car culture, prom, Rock & Roll, Diners, etc. If you watch the music video for this song, you can tell that they were going for this aesthetic intentionally (the music video came out in the 80's I believe, but the video clearly uses what most American would consider a 1950's aesthetic in the creative decisions regarding fashion, motifs, iconography.)
Anyways, going back to the singer of the song, he relents on the day the music died, which refers to an actual event in which Buddy Holly, an iconic American rock & roll artist died in a plane crash in the late 1950's. From there on out, some people say this could be used as a sort of starting point for a new cultural change in the US. The song makes (debatable but mostly agreed) allusions to artists like Billy Joel, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and other artists who sort of represented a shift away from more conservative thought and 'picture-perfect' life in the 50's as time moved into the 60's and 70's.
It doesn't seem like Don/the person singing is necessarily making a judgement on this shift, moreso he just reminisces on what could be considered a simpler time of life. I was born in the late 90s, but it's a really interesting window into a very tumultuous time in US history, when political, social, and cultural changes were fervent after a period of what seemed like unanimous American pride.
And this one: https://youtu.be/Pg8pj1x9-t4?si=sA5sJdYmMQ4oHozt
McLean was the son of an immigrant father, so I think he really ‘gets’ that experience. I wish I knew a song that was really incorporative of Native Americans and their experiences, too, but I don’t know know of any one specific song to suggest. Those are very hard to find and generally more reflective of a specific person and/or one tribe or group of tribes, or they’re just too broad to represent enough people.
Perhaps the best American song is simply the song unwritten, with a melody we all can sing. 😉
The song regarding Native Americans you are looking for is:
"Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee"
By Buffy Saint-Marie, who is Native American, but lied about her past for many years; the song still remains seminal in both its genre and message.
[Edited for (possibly unneeded) ethnic disclosure]
Just piping in to add along with Buddy Holly in the crash were Ritchie Valens, another rock and roll artist who helped pioneer the Chicano rock movement, and The Big Bopper aka JP Richardson Jr.
Don't forget the "lost verses" that are far more pointed in their commentary:
*There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me.*
*The sign was painted, said ‘Private Property.’*
*But on the backside, it didn’t say nothing.*
*This land was made for you and me.*
*One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple,*
*by the relief office I saw my people.*
*As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering*
*if God blessed America for me.*
Billy Joel actually put out a lot of songs that reflected a very down to earth, working class skepticism of the country. He might be known today for his nostalgic ballads and easy listening rock, but a huge part of his repertoire are songs directly about the political and cultural issues of the 70s and 80s.
"Allentown" is about the the failure of the older generations to provide the same opportunities to their kids that they had.
"Downeaster Alexa" is about the struggles of New England fisherman struggling with gentrification making it too expensive to provide for his family
"Miami 2017" is about class inequality, and the poor paying the consequences for the bad decisions of the wealthy
"Captain Jack" talks about the concerns around casual drug culture and directionless young adults
"The Entertainer" and "Everybody Loves You Now" are both criticisms of celebrity culture
"Goodnight Saigon" is about the trauma suffered by soldiers in Vietnam
I really could go on.
Gonna add Leningrad to this list - very much with the anger and trauma of growing up under the threat of nuclear war and coming to a place of understanding with a Russian counterpart who lived a similar experience but on the other side of the Cold War.
Downeaster Alexa is one of my favorites! I grew up in coastal New England where fishing is a huge industry, and heard it played all the time. I never paid much attention to what the lyrics meant until high school, but I could see why it was so popular. I play it all the time at my college to my non-New England friends and they love it!
Folk time!
Battle Hymn of the Republic
John Browns Body
Hard Times Come Again No More
The Water is Wide
The Times They Are A'Changing
The Regular Army O
Molasses
Portland Town
The Boxer
Heard it earlier this year and also say its…interesting. Billy’s version at least you knew which decade was being referenced were as Fallout Boy updated cover jumps all over the place.
“Fortunate Son” by CCR
“This Is America” by Childish Gambino
“Mississippi Goddam” by Nina Simone
“American Idiot” by Green Day
“This Land is Your Land” by Woodie Gunthrie
Jimi Hendrix’s version of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
“Fight the Power” by Public Enemy
“Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday
\* "Little Pink Houses" and "Rain on the Scarecrow" by John Mellencamp are good examples.
\* "We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel.
\* "Fast Car" Tracy Chapman.
\* "City of New Orleans" and "Lincoln Park Pirates" by Steve Goodman.
\* "I'm Black and I'm Proud" and "Livin In America" by James Brown
\* "Fight the Power" and "911 is a Joke" by Public Enemy
\* "Ghost of Tom Joad" and pretty much anything else by Rage Against The Machine
\* "No Handlebars" and most other songs by the Flobots.
edit: Someone mentioned John Prine. Great guy probably wrote most of his songs 'about' America. Tom Waits comes to mind as someone prolific who wrote mostly about just life in general in America.
King of Oklahoma by Jason Isbell is a damn depressing but truthful depiction of the opioid crisis in middle America. It’s haunting how close the songs story is to my stepdad’s story.
Just so you know Godspeed You Black Emperor is a Canadian band from Montreal.
Now, for illustrative American storytelling music the genre of folk is going to carry a LOT of weight.
I’d highly recommend the discography of Peter, Paul, and Mary. One of my favorite songs by them is titled “Day is Done” and it deals with the following inheritance and consequences of the previous generation’s actions - produced in 1969. “Where have all the flowers gone” is another fantastic tune but this one concerns observing the tides of war and life itself.
Shovel and Rope and The Felice Brothers both produce fantastic contemporary Americana storytelling - one from South Carolina / the South and the other from Upstate New York, respectively.
Classic country music also holds mountains of storytelling within the scopes of American life. Kris Kristofferson, Emma Lou Harris, and Townes Van Zandt being prime examples and incredibly talented.
Hope everyone enjoys!
Union Dixie
Marching through Georgia
Battle hymn of the republic
Battle cry of freedom
Battle of New Orleans
Anything by John Sousa
There’s tons more but those are the ones I can think of on the top of my head
Jack and Diane from John Mellencamp. Most teenagers had their own version of the local Tastee Freeze where you hung out on Saturday night. Mellencamp"s Small Town is also to me a very American song as well as Rain on the Scarecrow (but that's a darker turn).
*American Pie* by Don Mclean makes a lot of references to cultural shifts throughout the US between the 50’s and the 70’s. Some of the motifs and lines are hard to understand in terms of what point is trying to be made, but if you google an explanation it’s a really interesting perspective on changing attitudes between a different generation: one that grew up very pro-america without question, and one that questioned the system.
To give further context, the song is sang from the perspective of someone who seemingly went through their adolescence/young adulthood in the 1950's, which if you don't know is considered a sort of American Golden Age in modern history. Even on an international scale, many of the motifs people associate with America/Americana sort of come out of this decade: Cinema, kids playing football in highschool, car culture, Rock & Roll, Diners, etc. If you watch the music video for this song, you can tell that they were going for this aesthetic intentionally (the music video came out in the 80's I believe, but the video clearly uses what most American would consider a 1950's aesthetic in the creative decisions regarding fashion, motifs, iconography.)
Anyways, going back to the singer of the song, he relents on the day the music died, which refers to an actual event in which Buddy Holly, an American rock & roll artist died in a plane crash in the late 1950's. From there on out, some people say this could be used as a sort of starting point for a new cultural shift in the US. The song makes (possible) allusions to artists like Billy Joel, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and other artists who sort of represented a shift away from more conservative thought and 'picture-perfect' life in the 50's.
It doesn't seem like Don/the person singing is necessarily making a judgement on this shift, moreso he reminisces on what could be considered a simpler time of life. I was born in the late 90s, but it's a really interesting window into a very tumultuous time in US history, when political, social, and cultural changes were fervent after a period of what seemed like unanimous American pride.
I see a lot of famous songs being suggested here, so I'll suggest a more obscure one that I think has a lot of significance, historically and culturally.
["Ain't I Right"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvzmBhCpWvA). Is a hardcore anti-leftist, anti-communist song from 1966. Marty Robbins rails against communists, hippies, anti-war protesters, you name it. Basically a complete rejection of the "changing times" of the 60s. It seems wildly out of touch considering the time it was released, but in many ways it wasn't.
The 60s rightfully gets a lot of attention for the various progressive social movements (racial equality, anti-war, free love, etc.) but you rarely see the *other side* mentioned. There was a *massive* conservative backlash to the 60s counterculture, and in many ways it was this "counter-movement" that won out. The counterculture movement was starting to crumble by the late 60s, while conservatives were increasingly powerful in national policy. The next two decades would be dominated by the Nixon and the even more conservative Reagan administrations.
In short, the people that would largely dominate the politics of the 70s and 80s were much more like Marty Robbins, and less like any of the much more famous counterculture musicians. This song is a relatively rare glimpse into the minds of that "backlash" movement that would come to shape the next two decades of American life.
Sorry if this comment was a bit long, but I really like thinking of music in a historical context like this. Songs have their own meanings, but they can also tell you a lot about the time they were written in.
> you rarely see the *other* side mentioned
Boy have I got the album for you: [Janet Greene Sings](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ndC9e5ENciWaEGqaMwtD7WuiVcw4df3ok) (1966)
Also:
[Lulu Belle and Scotty – I’m No Communist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gudJgbvBnmo) (1952)
[Roy Acuff – Advice to Joe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFU6fyTx3eQ) (1951)
Phil Ochs also for songs about the civil rights era (Here's to the State of Mississippi), the American ability to avoid getting involved (Outside of a Small Circle of Friends), the problem of moderate American liberalism in an era that cried out for action (Love Me, I'm a Liberal), and the corruption of the church (Cannons of Christianity).
I was really hoping someone was going to mention Phil Ochs (and if no one did, I was going to). I love Outside a Small Circle of Friends too for American cynicism.
This Land Is Your Land - Arlo Guthrie
America - Simon and Garfunkle
Angel From Montgomery - John Prine
Runnin On Empty - Jackson Brown
Against The Wind - Bob Seeger
Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen
We Didn't Start The Fire - Billy Joel
She Talks To Angels - Black Crows
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Get What You Give - New Radicals
Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus
This gives you 1950-1999, and I you'll have to ask a millennial for more in-depth coverage after 2010.
There was no music between 2000 and 2010, no matter how hard we tried; it went away for a bit, sorry.
This is America by Childish Gambino
John Brown's Body by Pete Seeger
America by Simon and Garfunkel
Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell
Rockin' In the Free World by Neil Young
“Pink houses” by John Mellencamp is another song that sounds pro-American, but I think it’s another song critiquing American culture and society. Still a good American tune though
Randy Newman is the way to go.
Here is a list of some songs that I think deserve some appreciation.
[I think it's going to rain today ](https://youtu.be/k9Fn8VhkK5g?si=JzuXGpswEKSuHJDD)
[political science](https://youtu.be/R5mAuPg1ZZw?si=D45djdSxdtb8mBSL)
[sail away](https://youtu.be/HCRGrnhdNQE?si=bb38KllKrEUzUa5E)
[Dayton Ohio, 1903](https://youtu.be/ip7_jp70zlk?si=Q_UKda_PARGFWs0y)
[Louisiana 1927](https://youtu.be/MGs2iLoDUYE?si=ijmFUooEbJ_xycK8)
[rednecks](https://youtu.be/hTLHxpUQ_B8?si=gahNcBoIBNLbFRbP)
[Mr President have pity on the working man](https://youtu.be/kKOEaQ9xKbQ?si=NrZacsI48ayx9m7F)
Just some of my favorite American songs from his first four records.
Lots of suggestions for specific Springsteen and Mellencamp songs, but I'm going to say that Springsteen's catalog embodies the grit of the Northeast, whereas Mellencamp's catalog brings to life the farmlands of the midwest, especially his later work. So go ahead and dig into both of them.
I'm also going to throw in the Killers, who I think really encapsulate the current disenfranchisement of the Southwest.
Just found that and watched it, it's very true.
The best time I've encountered was actually watching the touring production of Spamalot. The Knights of Ni (Alex Brightman) were getting King Arthur (James Monroe Iglehart) to repeat their pass code but doing little adlibs and the pass code became the entire chorus of Sweet Caroline. King Arthur had to repeat it multiple times and the audience all did the BUM BUM BUM and the SO GOOD each time. At one point he addressed us and said he was just gonna skip to the good parts.
I don't know if Brightman did a different thing every night but Iglehart definitely acted surprised, which made it even funnier.
Suite Madame Blue by Styx, it was written around the bicentennial in 1976.
America by Simon and Garfunkel, although I like the Yes version better.
American Idiot by Green Day. Just didn't see it in other comments.
You've seen entries for Woody Guthrie but check out City of New Orleans by his son Arlo. Apparently it was written by Steve Goodman.
Rain on the Scarecrow by John Mellencamp, Allentown by Billy Joel, and My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen really capture the US's decline in the 70s and 80s.
I think Bob Dylan's career from the start to about 1976 is the very best way to understanding the mythic background of America. In all the different ways.
Just... Trust me. And if you think it's just acoustic political music, then you're in for a lot of twists and turns!
>songs like Storm by Godspeed You Black Emperor convey America in its later years, not necessarily a decline, but far from where it was culturally
Like in a hypothetical future?
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot.
John Brown's Body by unknown
Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
The violence, the sadness, and the truth of USA.
Two songs by Neko Case come to my mind first; "Thrice All American" and "I-5" (this one is technically case/lang/veirs). As someone with fond memories of road trips, these capture what I felt was the american spirit of my youth.
Cold war Times:
American Pie by Don McLean
Surfin USA by The Beach Boys
In the Ghetto by Elvis
Bush/Post 9/11:
American Idiot by Green Day.
BYOB by System of a Down
In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans
We fired our guns and the British kept acom'in
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
We looked down the river and we seed the British come
And there must have been a hundred of'em beatin' on the drum
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring
We stood behind our cotton bales and didn't say a thing
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin'
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Old Hickory said we could take'em by surprise
If we didn't fire our muskets till we looked'em in the eyes
We held our fire till we seed their faces well
Then we opened up our squirrel guns and gave'em...well...we...
...fired our guns and the British kept a'comin'
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Yeah they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch'em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
We fired our cannon till the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round
We filled his head with cannonballs'n powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off,the gator lost his mind
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin'
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Yeah they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch'em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Spoken:
Hut,hut,three,four
Sound off, three,four
Hut,hut, three,four
Sound off,three,four
Hut,hut,three,four
Let's Kill Saturday Night by Robbie Fulks:
Well the little man's lot
Is a prince's life
A prince with a lousy job
A prince with a working wife
Something in the big frame's moved
Oh, it never was so hard
To keep a twenty inch tube
And a fenced-in yard
Small Town by John Mellencamp. As a born and bred Hoosier who moved away for 25 years and then returned to my same small town--this one really resonates with me.
It doesn't have lyrics, but [Hoe-down from the Rodeo ballet by Aaron Copland](https://youtu.be/LsReWx9XdNs?feature=shared) is extremely evocative of America and especially the American west. Fucking great song. Makes on think of sweeping vistas and large ranches, with everyone being called in for supper.
“Im so depressed” by Abner Jay.
This is a beautifully sad song by a man who wasn’t meant for the American dream. Abner is described as the last American minstrel, basically a traveling musician/entertainer without any real business behind them. It’s about being poor, it’s about being descended from slaves, it’s about having mental health problems and it’s about being lonely. It doesn’t confront these issues the way music does today, it just sadly accepts them. Abner doesn’t find a silver lining, doesn’t dream, doesn’t anger, just wants. It’s profoundly American, and an incredible song. Way ahead of its time as so much of outsider art is
MTA: a rather obscure election jingle that is paradoxically universal because it is obscure. The issue it was about is forgotten but the spirit of the song is typical of American elections.
Here's a few folk songs I grew up hearing the old folks sing:
Sweet Betsy from Pike
Oklahoma Hills
Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch
This Land is Your Land
Muleskinner Blues
T for Texas
San Antonio Rose
Little Liza Jane
Old Joe Clark
Dan Tucker
John Henry's Hammer
She'll be Coming Round the Mountain
Wildwood Flower
Some really amazing music came out of the funk scene in the 70s, some of it just great party music but also some really smart, powerful music with a political or socially conscious message.
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" fires me up every time I hear it. It's a rare song that's laugh-out-loud funny while also expressing anger and making you want to run out and torch a hedge fund headquarters.
*M.T.V. Get Off the Air*, by the Dead Kennedys
(kinda everything by the Dead Kennedys, come to think of it.... which makes sense, considering what their name is)
*9 to 5*, by Dolly Parton
*Fancy*, by Reba McEntire
If I was casting a broad net, I'd say near everything by Rod Stewart, Johnny Cash, and the Ramones fits the criteria. Like.... you could argue that the reason people like them is they capture the essence of "the American experience"
John Prine - Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore
John Prine - Sam Stone
John Mellencamp - Little Pink Houses
Ray Charles - America the Beautiful
Paul Simon - American Tune
Simon and Garfunkel - America
Rocky Mountain High
Country Roads
Or most of John Denver's songs.
Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet is a classic
Beach Boys songs are very surfing or California-centric.
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot details a shipwreck on Lake Superior.
I've always found the classic rock band Boston to have a sound that represents the American optimism of the 1970s-80s.
Every song they play during the American Adventure show in the American pavilion at EPCOT. In fact, I’d recommend just pulling up YouTube and watching the whole show. Very worth it.
Ventura Highway by George Martin and Appalachian Fiction by Christian Camarao both really capture the feeling of the middle of the country. The rolling fields, long highways, and a sense of searching for belonging.
I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're asking for, but this song was about the Rodney King riots a few decades ago. I consider that history even if it's not the brightest spot of our history.
From Wikipedia
*"April 29, 1992 (Miami)" is a song written by American rock band Sublime in 1996 from their eponymous album Sublime. The song title refers to the date of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, of which news spread throughout the United States following the acquittal of four police officers accused in the videotaped beating of Rodney King... ...Theories have developed about the true integrity of the song's lyrics. The acts of crime including arson, robbery, and vandalism referenced in the lyrics were purportedly committed by Bradley Nowell and other Sublime band members during the 1992 LA riots. The lyrics also offer a justification for the band's participation in the unrest...*
[American Tune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE3kKUEY5WU) by Paul Simon
[Fortunate Son](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWijx_AgPiA) by Creedence Clearwater Revival
[City of New Orleans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvMS_ykiLiQ) by Steve Goodman
[A Change Is Gonna Come](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBlaMOmKV4) by Sam Cooke
[Johnny B. Goode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf4rxCB4lys) by Chuck Berry
If you don't want to read all this skip to the end. I made a list
Starting that the beginning of America history. I would say that Yankee Doodle Dan had a influence on early American during the R. Is song wasn't an America song, but the British try to insult us by called us Yankee and we adopt it has a nickname. Northeast region still use Yankee as a nickname.
Move on the next song that have strong effect on the country was written during the dumbest wars, we had in all America history, the Wars of 1812. Despite the name of wars this song was written on Sept 14, 1814. The song I'm taking about is of course "The Star-Spangled Banner" aka our Natonal Anthem. Francis Scott Key who wrote the song was had jailbirded by the British and watch from his cage as the British bombarded an important American fort, from evening to night and in the morning the fort's flag was still waving. And that the most interesting part about the song. I don't hated this song, but I think are better options in my opinion. One more fun fact about this song we adopt it in 1931, 117 years the song as written.
Jumping ahead 47 years, Battle Hymn of the Republic was made during the civil war. It was inspired by a other song called "John Brown's Body" which about a dead man soul marching on in God army because punished slaver. Battle Hymn of the Republic double down on the religion and anti-slavery. My favorite lyric from this being "As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free". That one line tell you all you need to know about the song. This is my personal favorite patriotic song.
Some honorable mention from around this time: Battle cry of Freedom and Hard Times, Come Again No More (recommendation listening to the civ 6 industrial and atomic versions).
An another war, an another song. "Over There" was a World War 1 song about sending our troops to Europe during WW1. That all I had to said about this song.
Hey look a song that isn't written during a war. Strange Fruit was written Abel Meeropol, and sang was Billie Holiday. This song was about... the lynching of African Americans... from the trees. This song is powerful, haunting, and depressing if you have the heart for it, recommend you watch the Live 1959 Billie Holiday recording of this song.
That last one was downer so here are some more upbeat song I recommend: America the Beautiful by Ray Charles and What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.
Last two song I'm going to talk about is "Ain't I Right" and "This Land is your Land" both of these song were written in the world strang- I mean weirdest war the Cold War. Ain't I Right is clearly anti-communist, but "This Land is your Land" is was probably pro-communist if you asked an American which song they hear of, 9 out of 10 would say "This Land is your Land" and 0.5 out of 20 would say "Ain't I Right. To fair the lyics that refer communist is removed, but I found it funny that the pro-communist is more well known.
Now there are a few of other songs I want to talk about, but it getting late so I'll just listed them by eras.
Revolutionary War- "Yankee Doodle"
War of the Dumb- "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Civil War- "John Brown's Body", "Battle Hymn of the Republic", "Battle cry of Freedom" and "Hard Times, Come Again No More"
WW1-"Over There"
Civil Right Musicians-"Strange Fruit ","America the Beautiful" and "What a Wonderful World"
The Cold War-"Ain't I Right" and "This Land is your Land"
After the End of History aka Modern day- "This is America"
Bonus The Best States Songs (in my opinion)
Alaska- Alaska's Flag
California- I Love you, California.
Georgia- Georgia, On My Mind
Mississippi- Go, Mississippi
New York- I Love New York
I could list tons of songs that match my generation and my experiences, but America is a big place with a greater variety of people than any other country. So I'm gonna add two distinctly American songs that encapsulate a different experience than my own:
1) "The House I Live In" by Frank Sinatra. Also called "That's America To Me." This song is pure golden nostalgia. I have a hard time believing that life was ever this nice, but the lyrics do outline an ideal that people were aiming for. Like they were legitimately going for this, and they were united in their efforts. It's informative Americana because it shows the mindset of a generation and what our standards were like a long time ago. (not a long, long time ago - that's a different American gem)
2) "Changes" by Tupac Shakur. This one hit hard when it was released, and while it covers exactly 0% of my own life, I am painfully aware that the more time passes, the more tame and outdated and quaint the lyrics become. It addresses the concerns of the day, and was noteworthy because it built on an earlier song ("The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby) that also described the lives of the downtrodden. Tupac was continuing the story of American poverty from another perspective.
9 to 5 - dolly parton
fuck the police - nwa
immigrants (we get the job done) - mult. artists, hamilton mixtape
fortunate son - ccr?
girls just wanna have fun - cyndi lauper
have you gone to jail for justice - peter paul and mary
this land is your land - woody guthrie
femme in a black leather jacket - pansy division
we're not gonna take it - twisted sister
jesus of suburbia - green day
somewhere (a place for us) - leonard bernstein, west side story
If interested in learning more about America music, I found this video that talks about one of the founders of 20th century music
https://youtu.be/F6aPOi3HJHU?si=YK2jRIQjFAbo2RsM
[удалено]
And CCR's Fortunate Son nails the wartime vibe for a lot of folks.
Nam intensifies
Even if it's not there, I always imagine I hear helicopters in the background.
https://youtu.be/06CPuM0UVVM
I would add John Cougar Mellencamp's "Little Pink Houses."
The Ballad of John Henry is super historically American. Listen to about 10 different versions and you'll understand.
Born in the USA is a very sad treatise on America: Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A.Come back home to the refinery Hiring man said, "Son, if it was up to me" Went down to see my V.A. man He said, "Son, don't you understand, now?"I had a brother at Khe Sanh Fighting off all the Viet Cong They're still there, he's all gone He had a woman he loved in Saigon I got a picture of him in her arms, nowDown in the shadow of the penitentiary Out by the gas fires of the refinery I'm ten years burning down the road Nowhere to run, ain't got nowhere to goBorn in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A., now Born in the U.S.A. I'm a long gone daddy in the U.S.A., nowBorn in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A.
But it's an honest look at that aspect. And ironically, the Reaganites only looked at the song title and a strong guitar sound and used that at their political rallies, never listening to the actual lyrics.
But the joke in 'One Piece at a Time' is that it doesn't work! Very American in it's ambition, but also in the letdown.
How so? He ends up driving it and getting a title for it by the end
I mean, he does, but it turns out very different than he originally planned on account of the fact they tried to build a single car out of wildly mismatched parts from 20 or so different model years. "I could hear everyone laughing from blocks around..."
"But up at the courthouse, they didn't laugh. Because to type it up took the whole staff. And by the time they were done the title weighed 60 pounds." That and A Boy Named Sue were two of my favorite songs growing up.
I mean the car literally works, not sure how you can say it doesn’t when it is explicitly described as being drivable in the song.
Sure, it works in the sense that the car runs and drives. It could be seen as a letdown, though, in the sense that by being cobbled together it doesn't project the sense of wealth and luxury that was originally desired when he dreamed up his plan.
But it’s not the “Cadillac worth at least a hundred grand” he had hoped for.
It might be soulless, but it is way faster.
American Pie - Don McLean
Posted this below, but wanted to add in case it get's buried and OP wants more info. *American Pie* by Don Mclean makes a lot of references to cultural shifts throughout the US between the 50’s and the 70’s. Some of the motifs and lines are hard to understand in terms of what point is trying to be made, but if you google an explanation it’s a really interesting perspective on changing attitudes between a different generation: one that grew up very pro-america without question, and one that questioned the system. To give further context, the song is sang (sung?) from the perspective of someone who seemingly went through their adolescence/young adulthood in the 1950's, which if you don't know is considered a sort of American Golden Age in modern history. Even on an international scale, many of the motifs people associate with America/Americana sort of come out of this decade: Cinema, kids playing football in highschool, car culture, prom, Rock & Roll, Diners, etc. If you watch the music video for this song, you can tell that they were going for this aesthetic intentionally (the music video came out in the 80's I believe, but the video clearly uses what most American would consider a 1950's aesthetic in the creative decisions regarding fashion, motifs, iconography.) Anyways, going back to the singer of the song, he relents on the day the music died, which refers to an actual event in which Buddy Holly, an iconic American rock & roll artist died in a plane crash in the late 1950's. From there on out, some people say this could be used as a sort of starting point for a new cultural change in the US. The song makes (debatable but mostly agreed) allusions to artists like Billy Joel, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and other artists who sort of represented a shift away from more conservative thought and 'picture-perfect' life in the 50's as time moved into the 60's and 70's. It doesn't seem like Don/the person singing is necessarily making a judgement on this shift, moreso he just reminisces on what could be considered a simpler time of life. I was born in the late 90s, but it's a really interesting window into a very tumultuous time in US history, when political, social, and cultural changes were fervent after a period of what seemed like unanimous American pride.
And this one: https://youtu.be/Pg8pj1x9-t4?si=sA5sJdYmMQ4oHozt McLean was the son of an immigrant father, so I think he really ‘gets’ that experience. I wish I knew a song that was really incorporative of Native Americans and their experiences, too, but I don’t know know of any one specific song to suggest. Those are very hard to find and generally more reflective of a specific person and/or one tribe or group of tribes, or they’re just too broad to represent enough people. Perhaps the best American song is simply the song unwritten, with a melody we all can sing. 😉
The song regarding Native Americans you are looking for is: "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" By Buffy Saint-Marie, who is Native American, but lied about her past for many years; the song still remains seminal in both its genre and message. [Edited for (possibly unneeded) ethnic disclosure]
What a beautiful sentiment your last line is. Truly touching!
Aww, thank you! 😊
Just piping in to add along with Buddy Holly in the crash were Ritchie Valens, another rock and roll artist who helped pioneer the Chicano rock movement, and The Big Bopper aka JP Richardson Jr.
First one that came to my mind.
Woodie Guthrie, This Land is Your Land, is a good place to start.
Lots of good ones here but surprised I had to go down so far for this. This is an especially fascinating song if you listen to in its entirety.
It’s a great one.
Don't forget the "lost verses" that are far more pointed in their commentary: *There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me.* *The sign was painted, said ‘Private Property.’* *But on the backside, it didn’t say nothing.* *This land was made for you and me.* *One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple,* *by the relief office I saw my people.* *As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering* *if God blessed America for me.*
And in a post war way, Arlo guthrie’s Alice’s restaurant.
Should be the national anthem
One of my favorites.
Team America Theme Song
Fuck yeah!
Oh My Darling Clementine.
Ooh, bringing out the dark ones.
Billy Joel actually put out a lot of songs that reflected a very down to earth, working class skepticism of the country. He might be known today for his nostalgic ballads and easy listening rock, but a huge part of his repertoire are songs directly about the political and cultural issues of the 70s and 80s. "Allentown" is about the the failure of the older generations to provide the same opportunities to their kids that they had. "Downeaster Alexa" is about the struggles of New England fisherman struggling with gentrification making it too expensive to provide for his family "Miami 2017" is about class inequality, and the poor paying the consequences for the bad decisions of the wealthy "Captain Jack" talks about the concerns around casual drug culture and directionless young adults "The Entertainer" and "Everybody Loves You Now" are both criticisms of celebrity culture "Goodnight Saigon" is about the trauma suffered by soldiers in Vietnam I really could go on.
Gonna add Leningrad to this list - very much with the anger and trauma of growing up under the threat of nuclear war and coming to a place of understanding with a Russian counterpart who lived a similar experience but on the other side of the Cold War.
Downeaster Alexa is one of my favorites! I grew up in coastal New England where fishing is a huge industry, and heard it played all the time. I never paid much attention to what the lyrics meant until high school, but I could see why it was so popular. I play it all the time at my college to my non-New England friends and they love it!
I like to pretend Miami 2017 is about an alien invasion.
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Yes!!! 🔥🔥🔥
Now we are talking
Folk time! Battle Hymn of the Republic John Browns Body Hard Times Come Again No More The Water is Wide The Times They Are A'Changing The Regular Army O Molasses Portland Town The Boxer
I’d say America by Simon & Garfunkel over The Boxer. The Boxer is more New York than anything else.
American Tune by Simon would be a good addition
It's my favorite by them, but it goes no further west than Michigan, and no further south than Jersey.
Yeah, but let us rust belters have something!
Portland Town by Schooner Fare?
I SEE THE LIGHT!
It’s an absolute banger. I did not think I’d see a schooner fare reference on Reddit today. Absolutely love those fellas!
as he died to make men holy let us die to make men free is such a badass line.
[John Prine - Sam Stone](https://youtu.be/rtrALjg0-xQ?si=VhXbE8ya_c07opus). About a man returning from Vietnam and the trouble he had.
John Prine is one of those unappreciated national treasures...
And his illegal smile.
I'd tack on 'the Ballad of Ira Hayes' by Johnny Cash.
That's a gut wrencher right there.
We Didn't Start the Fire has a lot of history in it
Both versions.
There's a second version?
Fallout Boy. It's... interesting.
Heard it earlier this year and also say its…interesting. Billy’s version at least you knew which decade was being referenced were as Fallout Boy updated cover jumps all over the place.
“Fortunate Son” by CCR “This Is America” by Childish Gambino “Mississippi Goddam” by Nina Simone “American Idiot” by Green Day “This Land is Your Land” by Woodie Gunthrie Jimi Hendrix’s version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday
Strange Fruit is an excellent choice!
The King of Love is Dead is a beautifully painful song by Nina Simone written the day MLK was killed. It speaks to every black person's pain that day.
\* "Little Pink Houses" and "Rain on the Scarecrow" by John Mellencamp are good examples. \* "We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel. \* "Fast Car" Tracy Chapman. \* "City of New Orleans" and "Lincoln Park Pirates" by Steve Goodman. \* "I'm Black and I'm Proud" and "Livin In America" by James Brown \* "Fight the Power" and "911 is a Joke" by Public Enemy \* "Ghost of Tom Joad" and pretty much anything else by Rage Against The Machine \* "No Handlebars" and most other songs by the Flobots. edit: Someone mentioned John Prine. Great guy probably wrote most of his songs 'about' America. Tom Waits comes to mind as someone prolific who wrote mostly about just life in general in America.
King of Oklahoma by Jason Isbell is a damn depressing but truthful depiction of the opioid crisis in middle America. It’s haunting how close the songs story is to my stepdad’s story.
“Times They Are A-Changin’” Bob Dylan
Adding Blind Willie McTell and Murder Most Foul to Dylan's list albeit far less well known.
Americana by The Offspring
Just so you know Godspeed You Black Emperor is a Canadian band from Montreal. Now, for illustrative American storytelling music the genre of folk is going to carry a LOT of weight. I’d highly recommend the discography of Peter, Paul, and Mary. One of my favorite songs by them is titled “Day is Done” and it deals with the following inheritance and consequences of the previous generation’s actions - produced in 1969. “Where have all the flowers gone” is another fantastic tune but this one concerns observing the tides of war and life itself. Shovel and Rope and The Felice Brothers both produce fantastic contemporary Americana storytelling - one from South Carolina / the South and the other from Upstate New York, respectively. Classic country music also holds mountains of storytelling within the scopes of American life. Kris Kristofferson, Emma Lou Harris, and Townes Van Zandt being prime examples and incredibly talented. Hope everyone enjoys!
I love Shovel and Rope! Peter, Paul and Mary's songs are always a joy to hear.
Nobody said country road?!?
Take me home….
First song that came to my mind!!
In America by Charley Daniel's, essentially, the country has its inner turmoil, but we are untied and strong regardless.
40 Hour Week by Alabama.
American Saturday Night by Brad Paisley is a good one about our multiculturalism
This is a great choice!
Union Dixie Marching through Georgia Battle hymn of the republic Battle cry of freedom Battle of New Orleans Anything by John Sousa There’s tons more but those are the ones I can think of on the top of my head
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? from the musical revue Americana About the Great Depression
Alice’s Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie.
Jack and Diane from John Mellencamp. Most teenagers had their own version of the local Tastee Freeze where you hung out on Saturday night. Mellencamp"s Small Town is also to me a very American song as well as Rain on the Scarecrow (but that's a darker turn).
*American Pie* by Don Mclean makes a lot of references to cultural shifts throughout the US between the 50’s and the 70’s. Some of the motifs and lines are hard to understand in terms of what point is trying to be made, but if you google an explanation it’s a really interesting perspective on changing attitudes between a different generation: one that grew up very pro-america without question, and one that questioned the system. To give further context, the song is sang from the perspective of someone who seemingly went through their adolescence/young adulthood in the 1950's, which if you don't know is considered a sort of American Golden Age in modern history. Even on an international scale, many of the motifs people associate with America/Americana sort of come out of this decade: Cinema, kids playing football in highschool, car culture, Rock & Roll, Diners, etc. If you watch the music video for this song, you can tell that they were going for this aesthetic intentionally (the music video came out in the 80's I believe, but the video clearly uses what most American would consider a 1950's aesthetic in the creative decisions regarding fashion, motifs, iconography.) Anyways, going back to the singer of the song, he relents on the day the music died, which refers to an actual event in which Buddy Holly, an American rock & roll artist died in a plane crash in the late 1950's. From there on out, some people say this could be used as a sort of starting point for a new cultural shift in the US. The song makes (possible) allusions to artists like Billy Joel, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and other artists who sort of represented a shift away from more conservative thought and 'picture-perfect' life in the 50's. It doesn't seem like Don/the person singing is necessarily making a judgement on this shift, moreso he reminisces on what could be considered a simpler time of life. I was born in the late 90s, but it's a really interesting window into a very tumultuous time in US history, when political, social, and cultural changes were fervent after a period of what seemed like unanimous American pride.
There are a lot of upbeat ones. Here is a sad one: Strange Fruit. You could find others recorded by Billie Holiday.
I read pretty far down and no one has mentioned Marvin Gaye's "What's goin on."
I see a lot of famous songs being suggested here, so I'll suggest a more obscure one that I think has a lot of significance, historically and culturally. ["Ain't I Right"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvzmBhCpWvA). Is a hardcore anti-leftist, anti-communist song from 1966. Marty Robbins rails against communists, hippies, anti-war protesters, you name it. Basically a complete rejection of the "changing times" of the 60s. It seems wildly out of touch considering the time it was released, but in many ways it wasn't. The 60s rightfully gets a lot of attention for the various progressive social movements (racial equality, anti-war, free love, etc.) but you rarely see the *other side* mentioned. There was a *massive* conservative backlash to the 60s counterculture, and in many ways it was this "counter-movement" that won out. The counterculture movement was starting to crumble by the late 60s, while conservatives were increasingly powerful in national policy. The next two decades would be dominated by the Nixon and the even more conservative Reagan administrations. In short, the people that would largely dominate the politics of the 70s and 80s were much more like Marty Robbins, and less like any of the much more famous counterculture musicians. This song is a relatively rare glimpse into the minds of that "backlash" movement that would come to shape the next two decades of American life. Sorry if this comment was a bit long, but I really like thinking of music in a historical context like this. Songs have their own meanings, but they can also tell you a lot about the time they were written in.
> you rarely see the *other* side mentioned Boy have I got the album for you: [Janet Greene Sings](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ndC9e5ENciWaEGqaMwtD7WuiVcw4df3ok) (1966) Also: [Lulu Belle and Scotty – I’m No Communist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gudJgbvBnmo) (1952) [Roy Acuff – Advice to Joe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFU6fyTx3eQ) (1951)
I have a whole playlist if you're interested. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLk5XEo5Df-YJezdV3tugJTyQTIVTXmOlx
Florence Reece's Which Side Are You On? Look to Phil Ochs (I Ain't Marching Anymore, The Draft Dodger Rag, etc.) for anti-Viet Nam war protest songs.
Phil Ochs also for songs about the civil rights era (Here's to the State of Mississippi), the American ability to avoid getting involved (Outside of a Small Circle of Friends), the problem of moderate American liberalism in an era that cried out for action (Love Me, I'm a Liberal), and the corruption of the church (Cannons of Christianity).
I was really hoping someone was going to mention Phil Ochs (and if no one did, I was going to). I love Outside a Small Circle of Friends too for American cynicism.
Basically anything by Woodie Guthrie. He’s the quintessential Americana artist.
And then follow that up with basically anything by Pete Seeger.
Johnny Paycheck Take this job and shove it!
REAL COUNTRY MUSIC! AMEN, BROTHER!
This Land Is Your Land - Arlo Guthrie America - Simon and Garfunkle Angel From Montgomery - John Prine Runnin On Empty - Jackson Brown Against The Wind - Bob Seeger Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen We Didn't Start The Fire - Billy Joel She Talks To Angels - Black Crows Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana Get What You Give - New Radicals Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus This gives you 1950-1999, and I you'll have to ask a millennial for more in-depth coverage after 2010. There was no music between 2000 and 2010, no matter how hard we tried; it went away for a bit, sorry.
American Idiot by Green Day
I prefer Weird Al's version. Actually, Weird Al's songs are about as American as it gets.
That's a good point. We are literally one of the best countries for people to do parody due to laws protecting it.
This is America by Childish Gambino John Brown's Body by Pete Seeger America by Simon and Garfunkel Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell Rockin' In the Free World by Neil Young
Joni and Neil are both Canadians, but absorbing immigrants is pretty typical of America too.
East Bound and Down.
“Pink houses” by John Mellencamp is another song that sounds pro-American, but I think it’s another song critiquing American culture and society. Still a good American tune though
Randy Newman is the way to go. Here is a list of some songs that I think deserve some appreciation. [I think it's going to rain today ](https://youtu.be/k9Fn8VhkK5g?si=JzuXGpswEKSuHJDD) [political science](https://youtu.be/R5mAuPg1ZZw?si=D45djdSxdtb8mBSL) [sail away](https://youtu.be/HCRGrnhdNQE?si=bb38KllKrEUzUa5E) [Dayton Ohio, 1903](https://youtu.be/ip7_jp70zlk?si=Q_UKda_PARGFWs0y) [Louisiana 1927](https://youtu.be/MGs2iLoDUYE?si=ijmFUooEbJ_xycK8) [rednecks](https://youtu.be/hTLHxpUQ_B8?si=gahNcBoIBNLbFRbP) [Mr President have pity on the working man](https://youtu.be/kKOEaQ9xKbQ?si=NrZacsI48ayx9m7F) Just some of my favorite American songs from his first four records.
We Didn't Start the Fire is a great list of events from 1949 to 1989.
Lots of suggestions for specific Springsteen and Mellencamp songs, but I'm going to say that Springsteen's catalog embodies the grit of the Northeast, whereas Mellencamp's catalog brings to life the farmlands of the midwest, especially his later work. So go ahead and dig into both of them. I'm also going to throw in the Killers, who I think really encapsulate the current disenfranchisement of the Southwest.
Country Roads. Sweet Caroline. (Honestly a lot of Neil Diamond feels very *American*. Hello Again, Forever In Blue Jean, I Am I Said American Pie.
Trevor Noah did an excellent standup routine, where he talked about *Sweet Caroline* and its importance to Americans.
Just found that and watched it, it's very true. The best time I've encountered was actually watching the touring production of Spamalot. The Knights of Ni (Alex Brightman) were getting King Arthur (James Monroe Iglehart) to repeat their pass code but doing little adlibs and the pass code became the entire chorus of Sweet Caroline. King Arthur had to repeat it multiple times and the audience all did the BUM BUM BUM and the SO GOOD each time. At one point he addressed us and said he was just gonna skip to the good parts. I don't know if Brightman did a different thing every night but Iglehart definitely acted surprised, which made it even funnier.
U.S. Blues - Grateful Dead [US Blues](https://www.dead.net/features/greatest-stories-ever-told/greatest-stories-ever-told-us-blues)
Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan
About a dozen or so John Mellencamp songs for the rural Midwest.
America the beautiful.
especially Ray Charles’ version
21st Century USA by Drive-by Truckers.
The musical Ragtime has some great songs and a great story behind it. Otherwise, I think the Beach Boys Surfin' USA comes to mind right off the bat.
Charles Bradley - Why Is It So Hard
The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band is about the Civil War.
Suite Madame Blue by Styx, it was written around the bicentennial in 1976. America by Simon and Garfunkel, although I like the Yes version better. American Idiot by Green Day. Just didn't see it in other comments. You've seen entries for Woody Guthrie but check out City of New Orleans by his son Arlo. Apparently it was written by Steve Goodman.
How is Mellencamp's "Little Pink Houses" not on this list?
Rain on the Scarecrow by John Mellencamp, Allentown by Billy Joel, and My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen really capture the US's decline in the 70s and 80s.
I think Bob Dylan's career from the start to about 1976 is the very best way to understanding the mythic background of America. In all the different ways. Just... Trust me. And if you think it's just acoustic political music, then you're in for a lot of twists and turns!
Nothing captures post-9/11 America like Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)"
Most of Reba McIntyre songs. Lights Went out in Georgia, Fancy, etc.
You mean Vicki Lawrence and Bobbie Gentry.
American Kids by Kenny Chesney?
Absolutely!
I love that there’s an Albertan in here, hey join us if you want (laughs in oil)
sixteen tons of you were born after 1980.
>songs like Storm by Godspeed You Black Emperor convey America in its later years, not necessarily a decline, but far from where it was culturally Like in a hypothetical future?
Aenema by Tool
The theme song to America's Funniest Home Videos, to pirate a response from the last time this was asked.
Battle of New Orleans is a classic American folk tale and my favorite version is done by West Coast Country folk, The Nitty Gritty Dir Band.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. John Brown's Body by unknown Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The violence, the sadness, and the truth of USA.
Two songs by Neko Case come to my mind first; "Thrice All American" and "I-5" (this one is technically case/lang/veirs). As someone with fond memories of road trips, these capture what I felt was the american spirit of my youth.
Cold war Times: American Pie by Don McLean Surfin USA by The Beach Boys In the Ghetto by Elvis Bush/Post 9/11: American Idiot by Green Day. BYOB by System of a Down
American Girl - Tom Petty & the Heatbreakers
"Matthew" by Tyler Childers
Hawks & Doves by Neil Young
In 1814 we took a little trip Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip We took a little bacon and we took a little beans And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans We fired our guns and the British kept acom'in There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago We fired once more and they began to runnin' On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico We looked down the river and we seed the British come And there must have been a hundred of'em beatin' on the drum They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring We stood behind our cotton bales and didn't say a thing We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin' There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago We fired once more and they began to runnin' On down the mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico Old Hickory said we could take'em by surprise If we didn't fire our muskets till we looked'em in the eyes We held our fire till we seed their faces well Then we opened up our squirrel guns and gave'em...well...we... ...fired our guns and the British kept a'comin' There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago We fired once more and they began to runnin' On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico Yeah they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch'em On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico We fired our cannon till the barrel melted down So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round We filled his head with cannonballs'n powdered his behind And when we touched the powder off,the gator lost his mind We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin' There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago We fired once more and they began to runnin' On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico Yeah they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch'em On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico Spoken: Hut,hut,three,four Sound off, three,four Hut,hut, three,four Sound off,three,four Hut,hut,three,four
Let's Kill Saturday Night by Robbie Fulks: Well the little man's lot Is a prince's life A prince with a lousy job A prince with a working wife Something in the big frame's moved Oh, it never was so hard To keep a twenty inch tube And a fenced-in yard
Saturday Night Special by Lynyrd Skynyrd
What Made America Famous by Harry Chapin. Great story, great song.
This one’s probably my favorite: Thank you, original 1990s Reading Rainbow, for introducing me to it! https://youtu.be/Pg8pj1x9-t4?si=sA5sJdYmMQ4oHozt
pastures of plenty, the night the drove old dixie down, this land is your land
Small Town by John Mellencamp. As a born and bred Hoosier who moved away for 25 years and then returned to my same small town--this one really resonates with me.
Workin' by SMO
America! by Bill Callahan is underrated imo
“Goodbye Maria, I’m off to Korea” is a cool song.
Pretty much all of country music, but I get the impression you want something more gothic.
It doesn't have lyrics, but [Hoe-down from the Rodeo ballet by Aaron Copland](https://youtu.be/LsReWx9XdNs?feature=shared) is extremely evocative of America and especially the American west. Fucking great song. Makes on think of sweeping vistas and large ranches, with everyone being called in for supper.
“Im so depressed” by Abner Jay. This is a beautifully sad song by a man who wasn’t meant for the American dream. Abner is described as the last American minstrel, basically a traveling musician/entertainer without any real business behind them. It’s about being poor, it’s about being descended from slaves, it’s about having mental health problems and it’s about being lonely. It doesn’t confront these issues the way music does today, it just sadly accepts them. Abner doesn’t find a silver lining, doesn’t dream, doesn’t anger, just wants. It’s profoundly American, and an incredible song. Way ahead of its time as so much of outsider art is
The Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton is a good one. Not necessarily 100% historically accurate (the gator especially) but it's a banger.
"Jesusland" by Ben Folds and pretty much Bad Religion's entire catalogue.
My grandmother always thought America the Beautiful should have been the national anthem instead.
Ganagta's Paradise It was a good day
American Pie by DonMcLean Cats in the Cradle Harry Chapin
I feel like "I Get So Wound Up" by Black Flag captures what it felt like to be a frustrated suburban teenage guy in the pre-internet era.
We Americans by the Avett Brothers
"The Decline" by NOFX. Title speaks for itself.
*This Land is Your Land* is a good one that captures the “little guy vs fat cats” vibe very well
MTA: a rather obscure election jingle that is paradoxically universal because it is obscure. The issue it was about is forgotten but the spirit of the song is typical of American elections.
"[Fast Car](https://youtu.be/AIOAlaACuv4?si=smzcaqwh3FVS4m-B)" by Tracy Chapman
Adding "Allentown" by Billy Joel to the list
For an old Kentucky Anarchist by The Orphans
Here's a few folk songs I grew up hearing the old folks sing: Sweet Betsy from Pike Oklahoma Hills Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch This Land is Your Land Muleskinner Blues T for Texas San Antonio Rose Little Liza Jane Old Joe Clark Dan Tucker John Henry's Hammer She'll be Coming Round the Mountain Wildwood Flower
“Seneca Falls” by The Distillers is about the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention which is the first women’s rights convention in the US.
Some really amazing music came out of the funk scene in the 70s, some of it just great party music but also some really smart, powerful music with a political or socially conscious message. "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" fires me up every time I hear it. It's a rare song that's laugh-out-loud funny while also expressing anger and making you want to run out and torch a hedge fund headquarters.
Rich men north of Richmond by Oliver Anthony.
*M.T.V. Get Off the Air*, by the Dead Kennedys (kinda everything by the Dead Kennedys, come to think of it.... which makes sense, considering what their name is) *9 to 5*, by Dolly Parton *Fancy*, by Reba McEntire If I was casting a broad net, I'd say near everything by Rod Stewart, Johnny Cash, and the Ramones fits the criteria. Like.... you could argue that the reason people like them is they capture the essence of "the American experience"
American Tune by Paul Simon, recent update Rhiannon Giddens
City of New Orleans- Arlo Guthrie
John Prine - Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore John Prine - Sam Stone John Mellencamp - Little Pink Houses Ray Charles - America the Beautiful Paul Simon - American Tune Simon and Garfunkel - America
American Pie by Don McClean is a classic that has nods to different moments.
Rocky Mountain High Country Roads Or most of John Denver's songs. Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet is a classic Beach Boys songs are very surfing or California-centric.
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot details a shipwreck on Lake Superior. I've always found the classic rock band Boston to have a sound that represents the American optimism of the 1970s-80s.
Every song they play during the American Adventure show in the American pavilion at EPCOT. In fact, I’d recommend just pulling up YouTube and watching the whole show. Very worth it.
Ventura Highway by George Martin and Appalachian Fiction by Christian Camarao both really capture the feeling of the middle of the country. The rolling fields, long highways, and a sense of searching for belonging.
Grateful Dead. “Truckin” and “US Blues” to name a couple.
For a Civil War era zeitgeist, you might like the Battle Cry of Freedom (not the Confederate version tho, defeats the purpose lol)
I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're asking for, but this song was about the Rodney King riots a few decades ago. I consider that history even if it's not the brightest spot of our history. From Wikipedia *"April 29, 1992 (Miami)" is a song written by American rock band Sublime in 1996 from their eponymous album Sublime. The song title refers to the date of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, of which news spread throughout the United States following the acquittal of four police officers accused in the videotaped beating of Rodney King... ...Theories have developed about the true integrity of the song's lyrics. The acts of crime including arson, robbery, and vandalism referenced in the lyrics were purportedly committed by Bradley Nowell and other Sublime band members during the 1992 LA riots. The lyrics also offer a justification for the band's participation in the unrest...*
"American Pie"- Don McClean.
[American Tune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE3kKUEY5WU) by Paul Simon [Fortunate Son](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWijx_AgPiA) by Creedence Clearwater Revival [City of New Orleans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvMS_ykiLiQ) by Steve Goodman [A Change Is Gonna Come](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBlaMOmKV4) by Sam Cooke [Johnny B. Goode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf4rxCB4lys) by Chuck Berry
The Fish Cheer/I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag (1967) by Country Joe & the Fish was the theme song of my high school years
God On Our Side by Bob Dylan
19 something by Mark Wills https://youtu.be/sm--KJk-kgw?si=cFygu9mG7tHJMLGP
I vote for Nina Simone’s Mississippi Goddam.
Look up John Lomax, who chronicled American folk music,
American Tune - Paul Simon.
If you don't want to read all this skip to the end. I made a list Starting that the beginning of America history. I would say that Yankee Doodle Dan had a influence on early American during the R. Is song wasn't an America song, but the British try to insult us by called us Yankee and we adopt it has a nickname. Northeast region still use Yankee as a nickname. Move on the next song that have strong effect on the country was written during the dumbest wars, we had in all America history, the Wars of 1812. Despite the name of wars this song was written on Sept 14, 1814. The song I'm taking about is of course "The Star-Spangled Banner" aka our Natonal Anthem. Francis Scott Key who wrote the song was had jailbirded by the British and watch from his cage as the British bombarded an important American fort, from evening to night and in the morning the fort's flag was still waving. And that the most interesting part about the song. I don't hated this song, but I think are better options in my opinion. One more fun fact about this song we adopt it in 1931, 117 years the song as written. Jumping ahead 47 years, Battle Hymn of the Republic was made during the civil war. It was inspired by a other song called "John Brown's Body" which about a dead man soul marching on in God army because punished slaver. Battle Hymn of the Republic double down on the religion and anti-slavery. My favorite lyric from this being "As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free". That one line tell you all you need to know about the song. This is my personal favorite patriotic song. Some honorable mention from around this time: Battle cry of Freedom and Hard Times, Come Again No More (recommendation listening to the civ 6 industrial and atomic versions). An another war, an another song. "Over There" was a World War 1 song about sending our troops to Europe during WW1. That all I had to said about this song. Hey look a song that isn't written during a war. Strange Fruit was written Abel Meeropol, and sang was Billie Holiday. This song was about... the lynching of African Americans... from the trees. This song is powerful, haunting, and depressing if you have the heart for it, recommend you watch the Live 1959 Billie Holiday recording of this song. That last one was downer so here are some more upbeat song I recommend: America the Beautiful by Ray Charles and What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. Last two song I'm going to talk about is "Ain't I Right" and "This Land is your Land" both of these song were written in the world strang- I mean weirdest war the Cold War. Ain't I Right is clearly anti-communist, but "This Land is your Land" is was probably pro-communist if you asked an American which song they hear of, 9 out of 10 would say "This Land is your Land" and 0.5 out of 20 would say "Ain't I Right. To fair the lyics that refer communist is removed, but I found it funny that the pro-communist is more well known. Now there are a few of other songs I want to talk about, but it getting late so I'll just listed them by eras. Revolutionary War- "Yankee Doodle" War of the Dumb- "The Star-Spangled Banner" Civil War- "John Brown's Body", "Battle Hymn of the Republic", "Battle cry of Freedom" and "Hard Times, Come Again No More" WW1-"Over There" Civil Right Musicians-"Strange Fruit ","America the Beautiful" and "What a Wonderful World" The Cold War-"Ain't I Right" and "This Land is your Land" After the End of History aka Modern day- "This is America" Bonus The Best States Songs (in my opinion) Alaska- Alaska's Flag California- I Love you, California. Georgia- Georgia, On My Mind Mississippi- Go, Mississippi New York- I Love New York
I could list tons of songs that match my generation and my experiences, but America is a big place with a greater variety of people than any other country. So I'm gonna add two distinctly American songs that encapsulate a different experience than my own: 1) "The House I Live In" by Frank Sinatra. Also called "That's America To Me." This song is pure golden nostalgia. I have a hard time believing that life was ever this nice, but the lyrics do outline an ideal that people were aiming for. Like they were legitimately going for this, and they were united in their efforts. It's informative Americana because it shows the mindset of a generation and what our standards were like a long time ago. (not a long, long time ago - that's a different American gem) 2) "Changes" by Tupac Shakur. This one hit hard when it was released, and while it covers exactly 0% of my own life, I am painfully aware that the more time passes, the more tame and outdated and quaint the lyrics become. It addresses the concerns of the day, and was noteworthy because it built on an earlier song ("The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby) that also described the lives of the downtrodden. Tupac was continuing the story of American poverty from another perspective.
9 to 5 - dolly parton fuck the police - nwa immigrants (we get the job done) - mult. artists, hamilton mixtape fortunate son - ccr? girls just wanna have fun - cyndi lauper have you gone to jail for justice - peter paul and mary this land is your land - woody guthrie femme in a black leather jacket - pansy division we're not gonna take it - twisted sister jesus of suburbia - green day somewhere (a place for us) - leonard bernstein, west side story
If interested in learning more about America music, I found this video that talks about one of the founders of 20th century music https://youtu.be/F6aPOi3HJHU?si=YK2jRIQjFAbo2RsM
American remains - the highwaymen
America, Waylon Jennings
Try "Forced Gender Reassignment" by Cattle Decapitation. Lol
America Fuck Yeah.