Americana
by Ray Davies (featuring The Jayhawks)

Album: Americana (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Ray Davies recalls during this song how he grew up dreaming of "my baby brother and me, in the land of the free." But when Ray and younger brother Dave eventually made it to the States after the Kinks hit it big with their early hit singles "You Really Got Me" and "All Day And All Of The Night," their illusions were shattered from the moment an immigration official mockingly asked Davies if he was a boy or a girl.

    "That was just the beginning," he recalled to The London Times. "I remember people with guns coming backstage, trying to intimidate us. It was the same thing with the Sex Pistols ten years later. I did a gig in Atlanta where the promoter told me, 'We've got the Sex Pistols coming and we're gonna kick their asses.' And that ended up with Sid Vicious dying. There is an element of America that accepts foreign invaders, but they can only deal with so many. The fear of the outsider has always been there."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.