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American Tune

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For the Eva Cassidy album of the same name, see American Tune (album).
"American Tune"
Single by Paul Simon
from the album There Goes Rhymin' Simon
B-side"One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor"
ReleasedNovember 9, 1973 (1973-11-09)
Recorded1972
StudioMorgan Studios, London
Genre
Length3:45
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Paul Simon
  • Paul Samwell-Smith (co-producer)
Paul Simon singles chronology
"Loves Me Like a Rock"
(1973) 		"American Tune"
(1973) 		"Take Me to the Mardi Gras"
(1974)

"American Tune" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the third single from his third studio album, There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973), released on Columbia Records. The song, a meditation on the American experience, is based on the melody of the hymn "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" and bears a striking resemblance to JS Bach’s “Erkenne mich, mein Hüter“. The song reached number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]

Lyrics

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In an interview with Tom Moon in 2011, Paul Simon was asked about political references in his songs, and he said: "I don’t write overtly political songs, although 'American Tune' comes pretty close, as it was written just after Nixon was elected."[3]

Reception

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Billboard described it as a "discourse on inner security while being far from home."[4] Cash Box called it a "gorgeous, haunting, highly lyrical track" and said that the "soft vocal performance is heightened by sweet string section."[5] Record World said that it "should touch the hearts and ears of many Americans" with a "beautiful melody wrapped around meaningful lyrics."[6]

It is ranked number 262 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[7]

Years after the song's release, the Los Angeles Times wrote "It does not ring with the loud anger that runs through our time. It is mournful, as if unspooling in the candlelight of a day’s end," and praised the song for its tender, timeless nature, noting it as a "visceral [reminder] of our history."[8]

Music

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The tune is based on the melody of the hymn "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" (German: "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden," text by Paul Gerhardt). The common name for this hymn tune is "Passion Chorale." The well-known hymn is itself a reworking of an earlier secular song, "Mein G'müt ist mir verwirret," composed by Hans Leo Hassler.[9]

Personnel

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Live performances

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"American Tune" became a concert favorite, both for Simon and in reunion concerts with Simon's former singing partner, Art Garfunkel. The song appears on several of Simon's solo live albums and on Simon and Garfunkel's post-breakup live albums, most famously The Concert in Central Park. A live version with a string quartet appeared on Simon's 1977 album Greatest Hits, Etc. Simon performed the song live on November 18, 2008, during the airing of The Colbert Report,[10] and on September 11, 2015, to close out the last show of the first week of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[11] In his surprise appearance at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival, Simon introduced Rhiannon Giddens to sing the song, with lyrics adjusted to include the lines, "We didn't come here on the Mayflower / We came on a ship in a blood red moon". Giddens backed the song with banjo, while Simon accompanied on guitar. [12]

Cover versions

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The song has been covered by many artists, notably Rhiannon Giddens, Willie Nelson, Eva Cassidy, Ann Wilson, Shawn Colvin, Allen Toussaint, Gretchen Peters, Indigo Girls, Starland Vocal Band, Dave Matthews, Trey Anastasio, Keane, Glen Phillips, Jerry Douglas, Kurt Elling, Curtis Stigers, Darrell Scott, Storyhill, and Stacey Kent.[13] Mandy Patinkin covered the song in Yiddish on his 1998 album Mamaloshen.

In 2017, Elvis Costello released a non-album single version under the pseudonym "The Imposter". In 2020, Dave Matthews performed "American Tune" for Jimmy Kimmel Live! during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Rufus Wainwright performed "American Tune" on his tour with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta through the Netherlands.[14]

Simon's own unfinished demo recording, with incomplete lyrics, was released as a bonus track on the 2004 CD reissue of There Goes Rhymin' Simon.

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The song has been featured in the television series The Wonder Years,[15] and used as the opening and closing song to Ken Burns' documentary The Statue of Liberty.[16] A cover version by Crooked Still was used for the closing credits of the final episode of the 2022 series The English.[17]

Simon performed the song at the pre-inaugural concert for Jimmy Carter, held at the Kennedy Center in Washington on January 19, 1977, the evening before Carter's swearing-in as president.[18]

In late October 2008, the progressive advocacy group Progressive Future produced a 60-second television ad featuring "American Tune" in support of Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign. The "what's gone wrong" line underscored a photo of President George W. Bush and Obama's opponent John McCain standing close together.[19]

Charts

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Chart (1973–74) Peak
position
Canada (RPM)[20] 35
Canada Pop Music Playlist (RPM)[21] 5
US Easy Listening (Billboard)[22] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[23] 35

References

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  1. ^ a b "200 greatest Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songs of the 1970s". Cleveland. February 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications).
  3. ^ "Paul Simon Discusses Political References In Songs". The Paul Simon Official Site. October 17, 2011. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
  4. ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. November 24, 1973. p. 54. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  5. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 17, 1973. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  6. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. November 17, 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  7. ^ "American Tune ranked #262 on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs List". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Why Paul Simon's 'American Tune' is the anthem for our troubled nation. Again". Los Angeles Times. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  9. ^ Bennighof, James (2007). The words and music of Paul Simon. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-275-99163-0.
  10. ^ Paul Simon on Colbert Report. Colbert Nation. Archived September 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-09.
  12. ^ "Paul Simon and Rhiannon Giddens "American Tune" Live at Newport Folk Festival, July 23, 2022". YouTube. 24 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Cover versions of American Tune by Paul Simon | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  14. ^ "Rufus Wainwright singing American Tune in Utrecht | Youtube". YouTube. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  15. ^ "Music from The Wonder Years (1988) S3E09". Tunefind. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  16. ^ Edgerton, Gary R. (February 18, 2002). Ken Burns's America. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 66. ISBN 978-0312236465.
  17. ^ "The English soundtrack: Every song featured in the BBC drama". radiotimes.com. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  18. ^ Wilkening, Matthew; Reed, Ryan (2021-01-03). "Jimmy Carter's 10 Biggest Rock Star Connections". Ultimate Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  19. ^ Martin, Brad (2008-11-02). "Progressive Future Ad - Nov. 2008". www.p2008.org. Archived from the original on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  20. ^ "RPM100: Singles" (PDF). RPM. 20 (24). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. January 26, 1974. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  21. ^ "The Programmers' Pop Music Playlist" (PDF). RPM. 21 (3). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. March 2, 1974. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  22. ^ "Paul Simon - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  23. ^ "Paul Simon Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
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