A Greyhound bus route from Pittsburgh; the industrial city of Saginaw, Michigan; the New Jersey Turnpike; Mrs Wagner’s Pies. This is “America”,as evoked in Simon & Garfunkel’s beautiful, bittersweet folk hit released on their album, Bookends, in 1968.
The conceit behind the song — an interstate ride as a means of “discovering” America — came from a road trip Paul Simon had taken with his then-girlfriend Kathy Chitty (of “Kathy’s Song” fame) in 1964. The journey that the song follows over its three-and-a-half minutes is hardly Odyssean — the biggest obstacle the narrator encounters is a paucity of cigarettes — but it too is steeped in a kind of mythology; the swelling refrain of “all come to look for America” refers both to the “real” country and the ineffable, mythic America — the home of freedom and endless opportunity.
Initially the song may come across as being cloyingly patriotic. But the duo’s lilting harmonies belie the sorrow that quietly emerges as the track progresses. By the time the third verse arrives, the optimism of the opening lines gives way to some of the most arrestingly sad words Simon ever penned: “Kathy I’m lost I said, though I knew she was sleeping. I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why.”Suddenly the song becomes imbued with the unplaceable, restive malaise that characterised so much postwar literature. And though neither the words nor the tonality of the vocals change, the last repetition of the refrain takes on a new meaning. Looking for America no longer seems to be about dreams and possibilities, but about trying to fill a void.
The shifting mood of “America” means that it has been interpreted and adopted as both exaltation and elegy. Senator Bernie Sanders used the rousing, inclusive chorus to soundtrack a campaign video for his 2016 presidential election bid. Elsewhere, an urban artist in Saginaw showed the other side of “America” by spray-painting the song’s lyrics on the city’s many derelict buildings, drawing attention to how the area has been afflicted by the departure of thousands like the song’s narrator.
The song’s bifurcated nature as a meditation on both hope and anxiety has never been clearer than in its performance by David Bowie at the Concert for New York City in the month after the September 11 attacks. Sitting crossed-legged, dressed in muted beige and accompanied by a simple, waltz-like backing, Bowie gave a heartrending rendition. And though it sounds strange to hear a tune called “America” sung in a south London accent, the song was ideally suited for an occasion, and indeed nation, caught between despair and dreams of a better future.
Another unmistakably English singer, Sting, has covered “America” in several of his live shows, including during his joint tour with Paul Simon. Dexterously fingerpicking on a three quarter-sized guitar, Sting stays largely faithful to the original — his remarkable vocal range allowing him to commit to the final crescendo. In a preamble to one performance, he explained how the song spoke to the sense of “wonder and foreboding” he felt when first touring the US in the late 1970s with The Police.
Stadium rockers U2 made the chorus from “America” a staple of their live shows on their 2017 tour, often incorporating it as an interlude in their song “Bad”. Bono stands with arms stretched wide, repeatedly delivering the chorus like a homily, unlocking the lyrics’ anthemic potential by getting tens of thousands of spectators to join in.
In 1972, the prog-rock band Yes reimagined the song as a 10-minute aural assault. This bloated composition,with its electronic sound effects and indulgent guitar solos, is almost unrecognisable as “America” — the poignancy of the words lost amid the manic busyness.
From the ridiculous to the sublime: in 2012 the Swedish duo First Aid Kit gave an affecting rendition of “America” at the Polar Music Prize ceremony and received a standing ovation from a visibly moved Simon, who was in attendance. Their version— boasting a plaintive string arrangement and harmonisations that rival Simon & Garfunkel’s own — was released as an EP in 2014, bringing the song to a new generation of listeners.
That the song’s sentiments still resonate half a century on there is no doubt. In September Paul Simon took to the stage in New York for what is likely to be his final performance. “Strange times, huh? Don’t give up,” he commented at one point during the set. There was no need to add more. An emotionally charged final rendition of “America” had already said it all.
Do you have any personal memories of ‘America’? Let us know in the comments below.
‘The Life of a Song Volume 2: The stories behind 50 more of the world’s best-loved songs’, edited by David Cheal and Jan Dalley, is published by Brewer’s
Music credits: Columbia; Warner Music Group — X5 Music Group
Picture credit: Getty