Song for the 4th

I’ve been looking at Jim’s blog for a little while now because I like his Song Lyric Sunday prompt. I can’t say why I haven’t taken part before; I guess I was maybe just waiting for the right time to join the dance.

This week’s theme, in honor of the Independence Day holiday, is “American music”.

Where to start? I thought first of something by the Grateful Dead because they were pioneers of Americana music (and because I like them a lot), but I saw that someone had beaten me to them. Other ideas came and went. I wanted to go with something folky and was about to settle on either Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger when I decided to go with Don McLean’s American Pie instead. But as I was searching for a video of American Pie I thought, wait, if I’m going to share a song about American music by an American band then what song is better than an American band singing an iconic song about what it’s like to be an American band traveling across America.

Here’s We’re an American Band by Grand Funk Railroad

Out on the road for forty days
Last night in Little Rock put me in a haze
Sweet, sweet Connie, doin’ her act
She had the whole show and that’s a natural fact
Up all night with Freddie King
I got to tell you, poker’s his thing
Booze and ladies, keep me right
As long as we can make it to the show tonight

We’re an American band
We’re an American band
We’re comin’ to your town
We’ll help you party it down
We’re an American band

Four young chiquitas in Omaha
Waitin’ for the band to return from the show
Feelin’ good, feelin’ right, it’s Saturday night
The hotel detective, he was outta sight
Now these fine ladies, they had a plan
They was out to meet the boys in the band
They said, “Come on dudes, let’s get it on”
And we proceeded to tear that hotel down

We’re an American band
We’re an American band
We’re comin’ to your town
We’ll help you party it down
We’re an American band

We’re an American band
We’re an American band
We’re comin’ to your town
We’ll help you party it down
We’re an American band

We’re an American band
We’re an American band
We’re comin’ to your town
We’ll help you party it down
We’re an American band

We’re an American band
We’re an American band
We’re comin’ to your town
We’ll help you party it down
We’re an American band

We’re an American band, woo
We’re an American band, woo
We’re an American band, woo

Written by Don Brewer