American Woman
American woman, an iconic protest song released in 1970 had Its beginnings as a jam, an improvised song that the Guess Who, a Canadian band was using to pump up the crowd at a concert at a curling rink in Kitchener Ontario. The lyrics were reworked through later performances. Eventually because of this song, the Guess who was denied visas to tour in the United States, even though they were invited to perform at state functions in the United States. Though on the surface, American woman by The guess who appears to be a song about a man asking prostitute to not “coming knocking at his door”, however through the techniques of a chauvinistic allegory, Dazzling Imagery, and a Rejecting Motif in order to show that the American, imperialistic whore is pushing an agenda which is unwanted.
On the surface, This song appears to be about a man trying to get an “American Woman” to leave him alone, however the song references Directly the issue which the song is about with the “war machines,” the nuclear missiles that the United states was trying to Install in Canada during the cold war which was at its peak with the Vietnam War occurring at the time of this song’s inception. This song is about the discontent of some Canadian citizens in this song and that they feel that the Canadian people should look America “right in the eye” and leave, or get out of Canada and stop meddling in their affairs. The use of the allegory of the "American woman" as the United States, wanting to break up with them. The use of a relationship in this song references the relationship between the United States and Canada. Another interpretation of this song is that is a song about draft dodging with recruiters and draft letters" hanging around at my door" and the government using "colored lights" or propaganda on television, and/or law enforcement to intimidate citizens into accepting their conscription, and the speaker of this song fleeing to Canada to escape the Vietnam War, and being forced into the armed services. This is especially evident in the line "You’re no good for me
I’m no good for you" and when the speaker says to "sparkle someone else's eyes" meaning to go and try and recruit someone else, because I refuse to serve.
A dazzling and destructive set of imagery compliments this allegory in portraying both the pushiness of the "American woman" and the destructive consequences of allowing a progression of these actions. If Canada were to receive more of America's "war machines, this would lead to "ghetto scenes" this could reference the life after a nuclear war which could result from America, or it could be a reference to the protests that were to inevitably come from a military mobilization, which had already occurred throughout the late 60's with the era of the Vietnam war, the assassination of JFK, and the resignation of LBJ, as well as the most active phase of the civil rights movement in America. “Ghetto scenes also references the horrific conditions in Vietnam, and in Canada with the people trying to escape the draft, which the people were forced to see because of the poverty that existed because of the existence of the war.
The Motif of Defiance which is prevalent throughout the song is perhaps the most famous and identifiable theme in this song. Common in many songs to this day it plays on the human need to affect the world around them and to become independent, especially among the young fan base which the who enjoyed in the late 1960's and early 70's. It is the most varied emotion in its expression, and powerful in it's identifiably, even when it is ineffectual
The vague meaning of this song due to its impromptu, ad-hoc construction is part of what made this song so famous. The use of specific, yet universal, themes and imagery allow for a broad number of interpretations, ranging from draft dodging, imperialism, and Defiance allow this song to be recognizable and identifiable, especially with it's repetitive nature both musically, and lyrically, and its use of devices applicable to all of these themes, makes it capable of representing a broad range of subjects. The fact that it originated as a riff is evident in its structure and unclear lyrics and shows the level of improvisation required by a successful musician
