American Woman

Annotation

American Woman (The Guess Who) Blues rock. Anti-war. Canadian group. Draft dodger. "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"."1Sources1Wikipedia: American Woman↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: 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

Notes

The pictures show the parent album, RCA Victor LSP-4266, stereo, "American Woman — The Guess Who". The front cover is a dark blue-tinted montage of the four band members set within a large face with an eye; the back shows the band seated around a café table under a bead curtain and lists the tracks: American Woman, No Time, Talisman, No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature, 969 (The Oldest Man) (instrumental), When Friends Fall Out, 8:15, Proper Stranger, Humpty's Blues / American Woman (Epilogue); © 1970 RCA Records. [From the record sleeve and labels]

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 [War Years]