The Guess Who

American Woman

1970 · RCA Victor 74-0325 · Winnipeg, Canada

Artist
The Guess Who
Title
American Woman
Release
American Woman / No Sugar Tonight
Year
1970
Label
RCA Victor # 74-0325
Format
7" · Single
Language
English
Country
Winnipeg, Canada
Genre
Rock · Blues Rock
Primary theme
Peace, Protest & Anti-War

Annotation

American Woman (The Guess Who) Blues rock. Anti-war. Canadian group. Draft dodger. "American woman, said get away / American woman, listen what I say / Don't come a-hangin' around my door / Don't wanna see your face no more / I don't need your war machines / I don't need your ghetto scenes / Coloured lights can hypnotize / Sparkle someone else's eyes / Now woman, get away from me / American woman, mama, let me be.... / Gonna look you right in the eye / Tell you what I'm gonna do / You know I'm gonna leave / You know I'm gonna go" "In an interview with Randy Bachman in Songfacts he elaborated further, calling this "an anti-war protest song," explaining that when they came up with it on stage, the band and the audience had a problem with the Vietnam War. Said Bachman: "We had been touring the States. This was the late '60s, one time at the US/Canada border they tried to draft us and send us to Vietnam. We were back in Canada, playing in the safety of Canada where the dance is full of draft dodgers who've all left the States"." (1)

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

About the artist

Formed 1965, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Themes

Anti-War · Draft Dodger · Canada Border · Draft

In collections

Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs