America (Prince song)
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| "America" | |||||
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| U.S. 7" single | |||||
| Single by Prince | |||||
| from the album Around the World in a Day | |||||
| B-side | "Girl" | ||||
| Released | 2 October 1985 | ||||
| Format | 7" single 12" single |
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| Recorded | The Warehouse, St. Louis Park; July 23, 1984 | ||||
| Genre | Pop, Rock | ||||
| Length | 7"/album: 3:40 12" single: 21:46 |
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| Label | Paisley Park Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Prince and the Revolution | ||||
| Producer | Prince and the Revolution | ||||
| Prince singles chronology | |||||
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| Prince (UK) chronology | |||||
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"America" was the final U.S. single off Prince and The Revolution's 1985 album, Around the World in a Day. The song is a sardonic attack on the mid-1980s United States, referencing Communism, and worrying about nuclear war (a common theme in Prince's lyrics since his 1981 album Controversy, and most famously in his song "1999", and previously ending 1980's Dirty Mind record with the chant "U're gonna have 2 fight your own damn war / Cuz we don't wanna fight no more!"[1]). The song "Paisley Park", also contains the lines "See the man cry as the city condemns where he lives / Memories die but taxes he'll still have 2 give / (Who?) Whoever said that elephants were stronger than mules?" which some fans[2] speculate may be in response to a quote of Prince's about Reagan which was often taken out of context:
"Thank God we got a better President now with bigger balls than Carter. I think Reagan's a lot better. Just for the power he represents if nothing else. Because that also means as far as other countries are concerned. He also has a big mouth, which is probably a good thing. His mouth is his one big asset." --Prince, NME, 1981[3]
Fans point out that this may be a mis-speaking or simply poor wording on Prince's part, stating that Prince has always been anti-war and viewed Reagan as very pro-war,[4] and pointing out that he could have seen his words as the general thoughts of US voters, as NME is a UK publication.
The song begins with the sound of a record starting and stopping, as if being cued by a DJ. This leads into a guitar solo and a rising flute line. The main tune is standard rock and roll and fades out at 3:40. The 12-inch single extended version is notable for being over 21 minutes and including various instrumental solos. The song even fades in this version; in the original extended version the listener can actually hear the audio tape run out, being that Prince and the Revolution had jammed the song out until there was no more room on the tape. The video for this song was shown on MTV during an entire segment dedicated to the single. Prince refused to speak during the interview, and, thus, bandmates spoke for him. He did appear playful, and introduced his use of the phrase "Good God!" (inherited from The Godfather of Soul James Brown), a phrase which would soon be adopted by his entire band and all of his protege's during this prolific era in his career.
The B-side of the track was "Girl", a light pop number which speaks of Prince's lust for a woman. Featuring a minimal drum loop and sparse synthesizer lines, Prince's lust is in such force that he declares that "all I have to do is think about you and I can have an orgasm" as he invites her to feel how sweaty his hands have gotten from their meeting. The full length version from the 12" features backmasking of Wendy Melvoin reciting the lyrics with the word "boy" replacing "girl".
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.dtt-lyrics.com/albums/dirty.html#partyup
- ^ http://prince.org/msg/7/270171
- ^ "The Wit & Wisdom Of Prince Rogers Nelson" by Bill Holdship, Creem, July 1985 http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=7009
- ^ http://prince.org/msg/7/270171
