America (West Side Story song)
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"America" is a well-known song from the musical West Side Story. Leonard Bernstein composed the music; Stephen Sondheim wrote the song's lyrics. It is well known for using a mixed meter:
In the original stage version of the musical, Anita (a female member of the Sharks, and the musical's most important female character besides Maria) literally sings the praises of America, while a fellow Shark, Rosalia, sings in favor of Puerto Rico. This version of the song arguably provides an unfavorable caricature of the island, while only highlighting positive qualities of the United States ("I'll drive a Buick through San Juan," "if there's a road you can drive on").
In the 1961 film version of the musical, Anita still sings in favor of the United States, while Bernardo responds to her praises with corresponding criticisms satirizing latent racism in American society, especially towards Puerto Ricans ("Life is all right in America," "If you're all white in America"). Most of the song's original disparaging elements towards Puerto Rico have been removed.
From a technical standpoint, the song is also noteworthy for its use of hemiola meter, which the composer highlights during the song's bridge. The alternating of 3/4 (three groups of two eighth-notes) with 6/8 (two groups of three eighth-notes), while the value of the eight-note remains constant, is a distinctive characteristic of the song. This rhythm has been called both a hemiola and a habanera, although it is not really either. The "two" and "three" bars alternate, but they are not superposed, as in a hemiola. The alternating two and three is similar to the aria "Habanera" from Carmen, but "America" lacks the distinctive characteristic underlying rhythm of the "habanera" form. The composer's tempo instruction indicate "habañera".
In 1967, The Nice, featuring future Emerson, Lake & Palmer keyboardist, Keith Emerson, covered this song for their second single. This version featured extended improvisations and also included pieces of Dvořák's New World Symphony.
In 1994, the BBC used an instrumental version of the song as the theme to their coverage of the World Cup, which were being held in the United States.
Heavy metal band Metallica also sampled the tune in the song "Don't Tread on Me".
