"This Is Not America" is a song by English singer

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and American

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and ke ...

band

Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977. The core members of the group were guitarist, composer and bandleader Pat Metheny; and keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays, who was in the group at its inception. Other long-standi ...

, taken from the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

to the 1985 film ''

The Falcon and the Snowman ''The Falcon and the Snowman'' is a 1985 American spy drama film directed by John Schlesinger. The screenplay by Steven Zaillian is based on the 1979 book ''The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage'' by Robert Lin ...

''. It was released as a single in February 1985, reaching number 14 in the United Kingdom and number 32 in the United States.

Background and recording

Having finished his 1984 album ''

Tonight Tonight may refer to: Television * ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...

'' and being dissatisfied with it, Bowie began a series of soundtrack projects (''

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'', '' Absolute Beginners'', and '' When the Wind Blows'', all in 1986) that started with this collaboration with the

. Recorded in late 1984, "This Is Not America" was released as a single in early 1985 and on the soundtrack to the movie. Metheny had written an instrumental piece for the movie called "Chris" and wanted to turn that into a full-length song; "This Is Not America" was the result of their collaboration. Bowie watched an early screening of the movie and took notes on lines and themes that they might use; "This is not America" is a line said by one character to another, and both Bowie and Metheny agreed it was interesting. Despite Metheny being known as a jazz musician, the song was described by Bowie biographer Chris O'Leary as "hardly a jazz piece", as Metheny plays a simple rhythm guitar throughout the song, with no solos or improvisations. Metheny later noted that Bowie's lyrics were "profound and meaningful—and absolutely perfect for the film." Bowie does not appear in the corresponding music video for the single, as it was made up entirely of clips from the movie.

Other appearances

The song appeared on '' The Singles Collection'' (1993). The 1995 reissue of Bowie's 1984 album ''

'' includes "This Is Not America" as a bonus track. "This Is Not America" appears as a B-side to Bowie's 1997 single " I Can't Read". It was also released on ''

Best of Bowie ''Best of Bowie'' is a 2002 greatest hits album by English recording artist David Bowie. Released in October after the critical and commercial success of the ''Heathen'' album released four months earlier, the songs range from his second al ...

'' (2002), appearing on all but the Australian and Japanese pressings of that album, '' The Platinum Collection'' (2005), ''

The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987 ''The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987'' is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The CD was originally released by EMI as part of '' The Platinum Collection'' in 2005/2006. The 2007 release is part of EMI's two-disc ''Sight ...

'' (2007), ''

Nothing Has Changed ''Nothing Has Changed'' (stylised as ''Nothing has changed.'') is a compilation album by English musician David Bowie. It was released on 18 November 2014 through Parlophone in the United Kingdom, and Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings in ...

'' (2014; two-disc and three-disc editions), '' Bowie Legacy'' (2016; two-disc edition), and ''

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'' (2018; box set). A remix by

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was released on '' Club Bowie'' (2003), and the song was also performed in Bowie's musical " Lazarus" (2016). A cast recording from the musical, which also included a performance of the song, was released in October 2016.

Live versions

Pat Metheny Group recorded the song live for the 1995 DVD ''

We Live Here ''We Live Here'' is the seventh studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 1996. Track listing Personnel * Pat Metheny – guitars, guitar synthesizer * Lyle Mays – piano, keyboards * ...

'', with band members replacing Bowie on vocals. Bowie recorded a performance of the song at BBC Radio Theatre in London on 27 June 2000, and it was released on the bonus disc accompanying the first release of ''

Bowie at the Beeb ''Bowie at the Beeb'' is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, first released in 2000. Originally, it came in a three-CD set, the third, bonus CD being a live recording made on at the Portland BBC Radio Theatre. Later ...

''; a re-mastered and complete version of that show was re-released in 2021 as part of the Bowie box set '' Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001)''. Another version featuring

Anna Maria Jopek Anna Maria Jopek (born 14 December 1970) is a Polish vocalist, songwriter, and improviser. She represented Poland in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song " Ale jestem" and finished 11th out of 25 participating acts; and in 2002, she c ...

and Pat Metheny was recorded live in Warsaw in 2002, and is included on the album ''Anna Maria Jopek and Pat Metheny Live in Warsaw 2002''.

"American Dream"

Bowie performs a variation of "This Is Not America" on the

P. Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

song "American Dream" for the

to the 2001 film ''

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''. Bowie said, "This version's definitely got a menace. ... There's a fast techno flavour to it. It's got an aggression to it that really reflects the movie."

Track listing

*7-inch and 12-inch single :A. "This Is Not America" – 3:51 :B. "This Is Not America" (instrumental) – 3:51

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of '' The Falcon and the Snowman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''. *

– vocals, production, songwriting *

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progr ...

– production, songwriting *

Lyle Mays Lyle David Mays (November 27, 1953 – February 10, 2020) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and member of the Pat Metheny Group. Metheny and Mays composed and arranged nearly all of the group's music, for which Mays won eleven Grammy Awa ...

– songwriting *

Steve Rodby Steve Rodby (born December 9, 1954 in Joliet, Illinois) is an American jazz bassist and producer known for his time with the Pat Metheny Group. Biography Rodby was born in Joliet, Illinois, into a musical family. His father was a music teacher ...

– bass *

Paul Wertico Paul Wertico (born January 5, 1953 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American drummer. He gained recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 until 2001, leaving the group to spend more time with his family and to pursue other musical int ...

– drums, percussion *

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a ve ...

– mixing *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Que ...

– mastering engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Authority control 1980s ballads 1985 singles 1985 songs David Bowie songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles EMI Records singles Songs written by David Bowie Songs written for films