"American Jesus" is a song by American punk rock band

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

. It was the first single from their 1993 album ''

Recipe for Hate ''Recipe for Hate'' is the seventh studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on June 4, 1993. It was their last album on Epitaph Records for nine years (until 2002's '' The Process of Belief'') and the band had switched to A ...

'' and their second all-time single, after signing to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

provides backing vocals on the track.

Explanation

"American Jesus" takes on the idea that God favors America, rather than other countries.

Greg Graffin Gregory Walter Graffin (born November 6, 1964) is an American singer and evolutionary biologist. He is most recognized as the lead vocalist and only constant member of punk rock band Bad Religion, which he co-founded in 1980. He embarked on a s ...

said "During the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

George Bush George Bush most commonly refers to: * George H. W. Bush (1924–2018), 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd president * George W. Bush (born 1946), 43rd president of the United States and son of the 41st president Georg ...

said, 'We'll win, because God is on our side!'. What an amazing statement!" The song touches on antisemitism, war, and religion as an excuse.

Music video

The video is entirely in sepia tone. It shows the band driving around in a car through Los Angeles, with various pedestrians carrying crosses around the city with blindfolds on. The video cuts to clips of the band performing in the desert as well as Graffin walking through the city. It ends with the civilians chanting "one nation, under God" while standing in a row.

Track listing

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

CD Promo #"American Jesus" (radio remix version)

Sympathy For The Record Industry Sympathy for the Record Industry (also known as Sympathy Records or Sympathy 4 the R.I.) is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by Long Gone John. The first Sympathy release was the Lazy Cowgirls' ''Radio Cowgirl'' LP ...

7" Single #"American Jesus" #"Stealth" Semaphore Records CD Promo #"American Jesus" #"Skyscraper"

References

External links

* {{authority control 1993 singles Bad Religion songs 1993 songs Epitaph Records singles Sympathy for the Record Industry singles Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Brett Gurewitz Songs written by Greg Graffin Songs about Jesus Songs critical of religion Protest songs

Explanation

Music video

Track listing

See also

References

External links