"America" is a song from the 1957

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

''.

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

wrote the lyrics and

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

composed the music.

Content

In the original stage version, Anita – the

girlfriend A girlfriend is a woman who is a friend, acquaintance or partner to the speaker, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed r ...

of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks, and the most important female character after Maria – praises

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

while a fellow Puerto Rican, Rosalia, supports Puerto Rico. This version of the song deprecates the island and highlights the positive qualities of American life ("I'll drive a

Buick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...

through

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

/If there's a road you can drive on"). The irony of this supposedly pro-American number, however, is its vibrantly

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

musical style, with

Latin percussion {{for, the company, Latin Percussion Latin percussion is a family of percussion, membranophone, lamellophone and idiophone instruments used in Latin music. Instruments Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican styles Folkloric and Santeria * Trap drums * Abaku ...

, complex

cross-rhythm In music, a cross-beat or cross-rhythm is a specific form of polyrhythm. The term ''cross rhythm '' was introduced in 1934 by the Musicology, musicologist Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980). It refers to a situation where the rhythmic conflict fou ...

and Spanish guitar. In the 1961 film version, Anita, played by

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning eight decades she is known for her roles on stage and screen, and is one of the last remaining stars from t ...

, still sings in favor of the United States while Bernardo, played by

George Chakiris George Chakiris (born September 16, 1932) is an American actor and dancer. He is best known for his appearance in the 1961 film version of ''West Side Story'' as Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks gang, for which he won both the Academy Award fo ...

, replies with corresponding criticisms of America and American ethnic

prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...

, especially against Puerto Ricans ("Life is alright in America/If you're all White in America"). Some of the original song's disparagement was removed. In 2004, this version finished at No. 35 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. The 2021 film version of the song, sung by

Ariana DeBose Ariana DeBose (; born January 25, 1991) is an American actress and singer. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Ariana DeBose, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe ...

as Anita, David Alvarez as Bernardo,

Ana Isabelle Ana Isabel Acevedo Avilés is a Puerto Rican singer, actress, dancer, and entrepreneur. In December 2007, she released her first album, ''Por El Amor'' and in 2009, she won Univision's ''Viva el Sueño''. Career Her professional experience ran ...

as Rosalia and Ilda Mason as Luz, is a hybrid of both the stage and 1961 film versions, except now taking place the morning after the dance at the gym, and in the streets of the Puerto Rican community's area of the city. This film's version of the song was nominated for Best Scene at the 2021 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards and for Best Musical Moment at the

2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards The 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards were an awards presentation that was held on June 5, 2022 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. It was the 30th edition of the MTV Movie & TV Awards and the fifth to jointly honor movies and television ...

. The song employs a

mixed meter A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

: The alternating bars of (six eighth-notes in two groups of three) with (three quarter-notes) (similar to a guajira) is a distinctive characteristic of the song. This rhythm has been called both a

hemiola In music, hemiola (also hemiolia) is the ratio 3:2. The equivalent Latin term is sesquialtera. In rhythm, ''hemiola'' refers to three beats of equal value in the time normally occupied by two beats. In pitch, ''hemiola'' refers to the interval of ...

and a habanera but is not really either. The two bar types alternate and are not superposed, as in a hemiola. The alternation is comparable with the " Habanera" from "

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

", but "America" lacks the distinctive characteristic underlying rhythm of the habanera form.

claims that Bernstein returned from a holiday in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and told him he had come across a wonderful dance rhythm called Huapango which gave him the idea for the song. Many years later, a friend of Sondheim's found, in a box of Bernstein's papers, an unproduced ballet called Conch Town which contained the tune. Sondheim concludes that Bernstein had invented the story of finding the rhythm on holiday simply so he could reuse an old tune. The composer's tempo instruction is "Tempo di

Huapango is a family of Mexican music styles. The word likely derives from the Nahuatl word that literally means 'on top of the wood', alluding to a wooden platform on which dancers perform dance steps. It is interpreted in different forms, the most ...

Cover versions

*An instrumental version, with the signature rhythm reduced to a uniform , was released in 1963 by Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass on their album '' Volume 2''. *

Trini Lopez Trinidad López III (May 15, 1937 – August 11, 2020), known as Trini Lopez, was an American singer and guitarist. His first album included a cover version of Pete Seeger's " If I Had a Hammer", which earned a gold disc for him. His other ...

covered "America" in 1963 for his first album '' Trini Lopez at PJ's''. *In 1968,

The Nice The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music. Keyboardist Keith Emerson, bassist Lee Jackson (bassist), Lee Jackson, guitarist David O'List, and drummer Ian Hague ori ...

, featuring

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 194411 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He be ...

, covered an instrumental version of "America" as the band's second single. This version had the main theme playing against a straight beat, also including pieces of Dvořák's ''

New World Symphony New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

'', then changing in the middle to for improvised guitar and organ solos. At a July 7, 1968, concert at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, the band controversially burned an American flag after performing the song. Emerson later folded the melody into a great many of his jams including the finale medley on

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of The Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, producer) ...

's 1992-1993 tours, which also used musical themes from "

Blue Rondo à la Turk Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term ''blue'' generally d ...

", a jazz standard composed by

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

. An example of this medley can be found on the album '' Live at the Royal Albert Hall''. *The English psychobilly band

King Kurt King Kurt are a rock-n-roll band from the UK. They formed in 1981 and split up in 1988, although they have reformed sporadically and played a reunion concert in 2010. They are best known for their hit single, "Destination Zululand" (1983). Fo ...

covered this song on an EP called ''America'', released in 1986. *

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, or simply The Electric Mayhem, are an American Muppet rock group that debuted in 1975 on the pilot for the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show''. They are the house band for ''The Muppet Show'' ...

performed an instrumental rendition on a 1979 episode of ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

'' before being interrupted by various Muppets from other countries. *A version of this song was performed by the in-house band and singers to introduce a 2012 episode of the Polish version of

Name That Tune ''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...

, ''Jaka to Melodia?'', complete with a set of dancers. *This song was also used in an episode of ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'' (season 3 episode 5: " The First Time"), and sung by

Naya Rivera Naya Marie Rivera ( ; January 12, 1987July 8, 2020) was an American actress, singer, and model. Recognized for her work on the popular musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. She began her career as a child actress and model, first appearing in ...

(as

Santana Lopez Santana Lopez is a fictional character from the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee (TV series), Glee''. The character was portrayed by Naya Rivera, and appeared in ''Glee'' from its Pilot (Glee), pilot episode, first ...

) in the role of Anita, and

Mark Salling Mark Wayne Salling (; August 17, 1982 – January 30, 2018) was an American actor and musician known for his role as Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the television series ''Glee''. Salling studied at the Los Angeles College of Music before work ...

(as Noah "Puck" Puckerman) in the role of Bernardo. *The

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

's "

", bassist

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having r ...

quotes the ''West Side Story'' song near the conclusion of their instrumental intro.

Usage in popular culture

*A theme from "America" was referenced by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

for his celebratory '' For New York'', composed in 1988 for Bernstein's 70th birthday gala. *In 1989, a verse of the song was sampled in

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist), Mick Jones, former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of th ...

's single "

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

" with a 4/4 beat underneath. *In 2003, the song was used in advertisements for

Admiral Insurance Admiral Group plc is a British financial services company headquartered in Cardiff, Wales. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, and markets the ''Admiral'', ''Bell'', ''Elephant'', ''Diamond'' and ''Vey ...

though with different lyrics. *In 1994, the song was the unofficial anthem at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

in the United States and was sung by the

Three Tenors The Three Tenors were an operatic singing trio, active between 1990 and 2003, and termed a supergroup (a title normally reserved for rock and pop groups) consisting of Italian Luciano Pavarotti and Spaniards Plácido Domingo and José Carreras ...

(Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti) at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles to an estimated global TV audience of 1.3 billion viewers. The BBC also used it as its theme for its coverage of the World Cup. *A version of the song with truncated lyrics is used in the end credits of the 2018 film ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

''. *In 1991,

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

interpolated the chorus as the intro of their song ' Don't Tread On Me". The "America" melody again featured prominently in a 1986 jam with

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and comedian who served as David Letterman's musical director, bandleader, and sidekick on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1993) and ''Late Show with D ...

on ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...

''. *''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' released a short titled "West Wing Story" that featured a parody of the song performed by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and The Squad. *The song is parodied during a medley of Broadway songs in ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''’s 2020 sketch “Airport Sushi” about New York City's

LaGuardia airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

, performed by

John Mulaney John Edmund Mulaney (born August 26, 1982) is an American Stand up comedian, stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Mulaney first rose to prominence for his work as a writer for the NBC sketch comedy ...

Cecily Strong Cecily Legler Strong (born February 8, 1984) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2022. She is the longest-tenured female cast member in the show's histor ...

, and

Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since Saturday Night Live season 29, 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the ...

References

External links

Song lyric (stage version)
*

{{authority control 1957 songs Patter songs Songs about Puerto Rico Songs about the United States Songs from West Side Story Songs with music by Leonard Bernstein Immediate Records singles Songs written by Stephen Sondheim Trini Lopez songs