America

Album: The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack (Re-issue) (1967)
Charted: 21
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This hard-driving, Hammond pumping version of Leonard Bernstein's classic West Side Story show tune was described by keyboardist Keith Emerson as an instrumental protest song against the Vietnam War.
  • Bernstein was so incensed when Emerson burnt the Stars and Stripes at one of The Nice's concerts that he prevented the band putting "America" out as a single in the US.
  • Classical fans will probably recognize that Nice's arrangement includes fragments of Dvorák's "New World Symphony."
  • According to Emerson's biography, the child who can be heard speaking the "America is pregnant with promises and anticipation" lines at the end of the single version, was P. P. Arnold's three-year old son.

Comments: 1

  • Adam from West Palm Beach, FlWhat a great group this was...this has to have been Keith Emerson at his most dynamic in terms of live showmanship...
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.