"America" is a song written and originally recorded by

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

, released in 1980 on the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

of Diamond's film ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American part-talkie musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous ...

''. The song was a hit single in the United States in 1981, reaching number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was Diamond's sixth number one on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. ''Billboard'' also rated it the #62 pop single overall for 1981. Although the single version was a studio recording,

overdub Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more a ...

s of crowd cheering simulate the feel of a live performance. , the song had sold 634,440 downloads in the United States since Nielsen started tracking sales.

Background

The song's theme is a positive interpretation of the

history of immigration to the United States Throughout U.S. history, the country experienced successive waves of immigration, particularly from Europe and later on from Asia and from Latin America. Colonial-era immigrants often repaid the cost of transoceanic transportation by becomi ...

, during both the early 1900s and the present. Combining Diamond's powerful melody, dynamic arrangement, and bombastic vocal, it ends with an interpolation of the traditional patriotic song "

My Country, 'Tis of Thee "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", also known as "America", is an American patriotic song whose lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The song served as one of the ''de facto'' national anthems of the United States (along with songs like " Hai ...

". In Diamond's concerts, the song is a very popular number both at home and abroad, with a large

United States flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

often displayed from the rafters on cue to the lyric "Every time that flag's unfurled / They're coming to America." The song was featured at the Stone Mountain Laser Show near

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The song has been used in a number of contexts, including as a theme song for

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis ( ; born November 3, 1933) is an American politician and lawyer who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the s ...

' 1988 presidential campaign, the ending scene from '' Born in East L.A.'', and in promotion of the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. Diamond also sang it at the centennial re-dedication of the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

and at Ball Arena in Denver on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

1999. Shortly after the

September 11, 2001, attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Hijackers in the September 11 attacks#Hijackers, Nineteen terrorists hijacked four com ...

, Diamond modified the lyrics to "America" slightly during live performances. Instead of "They're comin' to America," toward the end it became "Stand up for America." It was included on a memorandum listing songs deemed inappropriate by

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

following the September 11 attacks.

Reception

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "Rumbling drums and Diamond's dramatic, upbeat vocal will incite waves of patriotic surges."

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover version

New-age pianist David Lanz performed a cover of this song for his album ''Finding Paradise''.

References

External links

Lyrics in Songfacts
{{DEFAULTSORT:America (Neil Diamond Song) 1981 singles Neil Diamond songs American patriotic songs Songs about the United States Songs written by Neil Diamond Song recordings produced by Bob Gaudio 1980 songs Capitol Records singles Works about immigration to the United States Songs written for films The Jazz Singer (play) Presidential campaign songs