Album: Sedaka's Back (1974)

Charted: 22

License This Song 

• Harbours open there doors to the young searching foreigner
  Come to live in the light of the big L of liberty
  Plains and open skies bill boards would advertise
  Was it anything like that when you arrived
  Dream boats carried the future to the heart of America
  People were waiting in line for a place by the river
  
  [Chorus]
  It was time when strangers were welcome here
  Music would play they tell me the days were sweet and clear
  It was a sweeter tune and there was so much room
  That people could come from everywhere
  
  Now he arrvies with hopes and his heart set on miracles
  Come to marry his fortune with a hand full of promises
  To find they've closed the door they don't want him anymore
  There isn't anymore to go around
  Turning away he remembers he once heard a legend
  That spoke of a mystical magical land called America
  
  It was time when strangers were welcome here
  Music would play they tell me the days were sweet and clear
  It was a sweeter tune and there was so much room
  That people could come from everywhere
  
  It was time when strangers were welcome here
  Music would play they tell me the days were sweet and clear
  It was a sweeter tune and there was so much room
  That people could come from everywhere Writer/s: NEIL SEDAKA, PHIL CODY
  Publisher: BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 3

• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 13th 1975, Neil Sedaka recorded "The Immigrant" at the Clover Recording Studios in Hollywood, California; the song was dedicated to John Lennon and his difficulties with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service...
  Two months later on March 23rd the song would enter Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #83; seven weeks later on May 11th it would peak at #22 {for 2 weeks} and it stayed on the chart for 10 weeks..
  And on May 4th, 1975 it reached #1 {for 1 week} on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
  On the day he recorded "The Immigrant" his preceding release, "Laughter in the Rain"*, was at #16 on the Top 100; just under three weeks earlier it had peaked at #1 {for 1 week}...
  "Laughter in the Rain" was the second of his three #1 records; the other two were "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" for 2 weeks in 1962 and "Bad Blood" for 3 weeks in 1975...
  * In the U.S., the B-side of "Laughter in the Rain" was "Endlessly".
• Adrian from Johor Bahru, MalaysiaThe musical accompaniment sounds like the introductionary accompanying tune of Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now". I wonder if Peter Cetera borrowed the mindset from this song.
• Camille from Toronto, OhI love the purity of Neil Sedaka's voice in this song. All of my grandparents immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s and this song puts me in the mind of what it may have been like for them back then, rough but adventurous.

More Songfacts:

HookBlues Traveler

The Blues Traveler song "Hook" is a Peter Pan reference, but also about the catchy hook of the song, which is what "brings you back."

Here I Go AgainWhitesnake

"Here I Go Again" was a #1 hit for Whitesnake in 1987, but it was first released in 1982 with the lyric, "Like a hobo I was born to walk alone."

LevonElton John

Elton John's classic "Levon" runs 5:22, and Elton wouldn't let his record company edit it down for the single. His next single was "Tiny Dancer," which is even longer, running 6:12.

Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of)Lou Bega

The party tune "Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of)" was the theme song for the 2000 Democratic Convention (the party of Bill Clinton), until someone noticed the line, "A little bit of Monica in my life."

KatmanduBob Seger

Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, was the archetype for faraway mysticism when Bob Seger wrote a song about it in 1975.

Only Wanna Be With YouHootie & the Blowfish

"Only Wanna Be With You" by Hootie & the Blowfish is a tribute to Bob Dylan, but Dylan sued them over it for using lyrics from his song "Idiot Wind."

Editor's Picks

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired MenSong Writing

Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.

Billy Joe ShaverSongwriter Interviews

The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.

Marvin GayeFact or Fiction

Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

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

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.