American woman, gonna mess your mind.
American woman, she gonna mess your mind.
Mmmm, American woman gonna mess your mind.
MM, American woman gonna mess your mind.
Say A, unh,
Say M, unh,
Say E,
Say R,
Say I,
And C,
Say A,
Say N,
Mmm, American woman gonna mess your mind.
Mmm, American woman gonna mess your mind.
Unh! American woman gonna mess your mind.
Unh!
American woman, stay away from me.
American woman, mama, let me be.
Don’t come hangin’ around my door,
I don’t wanna see your face no more.
I got more important things to do,
Than spend my time growin’ old with you.
Now woman, I said stay away,
American woman, listen what I say.
[Short instrumental break.]
American woman, get away from me.
American woman, mama, let me be.
Don’t come knockin’ around my door.
Don’t wanna see your shadow no more.
Coloured lights can hypnotize.
Sparkle someone else’s eyes.
Now woman, I said get away.
American woman, listen what I say.
Hey, hey.
[Instrumental break.]
American woman, said get away.
American woman, listen what I say.
Don’t come 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.
Go, gotta get away, gotta get away.
Now go go go.
I'm gonna leave you, woman.
Gonna leave you, woman.
Bye-bye-hy.
Bye-bye-hy.
Bye-bye-hy.
Bye-bye-hy.
You’re no good for me.
I’m no good for you.
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.
You know I’m gonna leave.
[Fades.]
You know I’m gonna go, woman.
I’m gonna leave, woman.
Goodbye, American woman.
Goodbye, American chick.
Goodbye, American broad...
[AMERICAN WOMAN
Written by: Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Jim Kale &
Gary Peterson Performed by: The Guess Who
Appears on: American Woman-1970, The Greatest of the Guess Who-1977,
At Their Best-1993, Greatest Hits-1999,
The Best of the Guess Who (Bonus Tracks)-2006, et al.]
The lyrics on the most recent version are sanctioned by the composer, or owner of the rights to the lyrics, however, there may be lyrics that are more complete on the prior version(s) that have been submitted by a contributor to mp3lyrics.org
See this song in a different language (automatic translation)
The Guess Who American Woman Lyrics Information:
SOMETIMES THE LYRICS ON PREVIOUS VERSIONS ARE MORE ACCURATE THAN THE
ONESDISPLAYED BY GRACENOTE AS THE CURRENT VERSION. YOU MAY VIEW THESE
LYRICSBY CLICKING ON THE LINK "SEE OTHER VERSIONS" IN THE ORANGE BOX
ABOVE.
AMERICAN WOMAN1a1b
Written by: Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Jim Kale & Gary Peterson
Produced by: Jack Richardson
Performed by: The Guess Who 23
First Released: 4
Single: March 1970 (U.S.) (Length: 3:51)
Album: January 1970 (U.S.) (Length: 5:10)
1a "American Woman" spent three weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, where
it was credited as a double sided hit, along with its B-side, "No Sugar Tonight." It was
voted Best Canadian Single of All Time by Chart Magazine in both the 2000 and 2005
polls of readers, music industry professionals, and musicians throughout Canada. In
2000, it won a Grammy for Best Male Rock Performance. The song's origins took the form
of a live jam in Kitchener, Ontario. The group was rushing into the second set and began
improvising a rhythm to liven up the crowd. Burton Cummings, the lead singer, began
improvising lyrics to fit the music. The lyrics have been the matter of some debate,
often interpreted as an attack on U.S. politics (especially the draft). Jim Kale,
the group's bassist and the song's co-author, explained his take on the lyrics, "The
popular misconception was that it was a chauvinistic tune, which was anything but the
case... Also, the war (Viet Nam) was going on, and it was terribly unpopular. We didn't
have a draft system in Canada... but a lot of people called it the song anti-American,
but it wasn't really. We weren't anti-anything..." Randy Bachman once claimed that the
American woman referred to in the song is in fact the Statue of Liberty.
1b Pop usuage and trivia:
* It was used in commercials for Tommy Hilfiger and Castrol motor oil.
* It was featured in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
* It was sung by Kevin Spacey in the movie American Beauty (1999).
* Shortly after its release The Guess Who were invited to play at the White
House. Because of its supposed anti-American lyrics, Pat Nixon asked that they not play
"American Woman."
* Although the 1:15 intro is included on all releases of the song, it is rarely played
on the radio.
2 Personnel performing on this recording:
* Randy Bachman (vocals, guitar)
* Burton Cummings (lead vocals)
* Jim Kale (vocals, bass)
* Garry Peterson (vocals, drums)
3 Covered by:
Randy Bachman (solo)
Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Butthole Surfers
Jaymz Bee & the Royal Jelly Orchestra
Jello Biafra
Birds 'N' Brass
Celebrity All Star Jam
The Countdown Singers
Joe Ferry
The Hit Crew
Eddie Kirkland
Lenny Kravitz
Krokus
The Marcarlo Brothers
Prince
Ringo Starr
Bob Rivers (parodied as "Inflatable Woman") 5
Studio 99
Texas Chainsaw Orchestra
et al.
4 Released on: *
SINGLE(s):
(1)The Guess Who
A-side: "American Woman"
B-side: "No Sugar Tonight"
(a) RCA Victor, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm Single, #Unknown, Canada-1970.
(b) RCA Victor, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm Single, #74-0325, US-1970.
(c) RCA Victor, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm Single, #Unknown, France-1970.
(d) RCA Victor, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm Single, #74-0325, Germany-1970.
(e) RCA Victor, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm Single, #447-0835, US-1972.
* The album(s) and record(s) listed here may have different versions of the song
than the one that was transcribed. Also, this list is not intended to be the
complete discography on which this song appears.
