american tune - paul simon - cover

Lyrics

Lyrically, the song is an evocation of weariness and confusion, as the narrator describes being far from home and "wonder[ing] what's gone wrong." The lyrics include a dream image of the Statue of Liberty "sailing away to sea" and mentions of the Mayflower and the Apollo program, before concluding "it's all right/You can't be forever blessed/Still tomorrow's going to be another working day/And I'm trying to get some rest."

[edit] Music

The tune is based on a melody line from Johann Sebastian Bach's chorale from "St. Matthew Passion," itself a reworking of an earlier secular song, "Mein Gmüth ist mir verwirret," composed by Hans Hassler.[citation needed] The melody used for American Tune can be heard quite distinctly in part 1, number 21 and number 23 and in part 2, number 53.

[edit] Live performances and covers

Eventually it 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. The song has also been covered by many artists, notably Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, Eva Cassidy, Ann Wilson, the Indigo Girls, the Starland Vocal Band, Keane, Glen Phillips and Darrell Scott.

Simon performed the song live on the November 18th, 2008 airing of The Colbert Report.

[edit] Cultural references

The song was also featured on at least one episode of the NBC television series Providence. It is included in an episode of The Wonder Years. The song is also alluded to in the lyrics of "Independence Day" by Ferron on the Driver CD: "There's a Paul Simon song that just tears me apart... about the Statue of Liberty and hole in a heart."

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.

Lyrics from the song are also used at the beginning of Book 2 of Stephen King's The Stand.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• american
• tune
• paul
• simon
• cover

[zmadecm]

hey mate, really love your cover, well done!

[tombirkland]

Wow. I thought this would be a really awful cover, but this is excellent! Thanks for posting this.

[shas1814]

Well done!

I haven't heard this song for years.

Your version is excellent.

*****

Shas

[projectoz88]

go singing man, i like how you strummed the song instead of finger picking it.