49. "America" by Neil Diamond
Somebody (not me) in my family owned "The Jazz Singer" album at some point in my youth. That's the only explanation I can think of for why I know some of the lyrics to so many songs from that album, including "America," "Hello Again," "Love on the Rocks," and, for some strange reason, "On the Robert E. Lee." Of course, the first three I could have learned off the radio because they got plenty of air time. But not "On the Robert E. Lee." So even though I don't have an explicit memory of listening to that album at home in Arimo, I had to have listened to at least parts of it dozens of times, and that means somebody owned it. And the truth be told, I probably listened to "On the Robert E. Lee" as much as I did because I liked the General Lee on the Dukes of Hazzard. (That sign up ahead says "Dip." Let's jump over something big in the road! Yeeeee-hah!)
The one memory that I do have of "America" is actually from Sweden. I was biking down a forest path, as one does in Sweden, when I just started thinking about how good it would feel to go back home to America. So I started kind of singing the song under my breath as I peddled, and I thought about how proud and lucky I was to be an American citizen. I even got a bit of a chill down my spine singing the lines, "Home, don't it seem so far away, but we're traveling light today, in the eye of the storm, in the eye of the storm."
The song can still give me chills today, especially the beginning part when the bass and drums come in and the audience starts to cheer at the sight of Neil's sparkly scarf.
Hey! Isn't that Lucy Ball's daughter?!" As a kid, I always thought she was cuter and funnier than Marie Osmond. But then again, I loved Lucy.
The other memory I have of this song is hearing it played over the radio while watching the Pocatello July 4th fireworks at Julie's parents house. Yes, this song is severely overplayed at July 4th celebrations. But I'll take it over Lee Greenwood's flag-waving patriotic pandering any day (especially on July 4th). Diamond's song somehow avoids that pandering element, I think mostly because he's not singing to Americans about how they're so awesome because they're Americans. He's singing about immigrants sacrificing so much to become Americans and experience liberty not available to them in their home country, which is a much more powerful idea. And this is how you really know it's not the same kind of song as Greenwood's "God Bless the USA." Imagine that Donald Trump finally gets his way and builds a gargantuan wall along the Mexican border. Now imagine what songs they're going to play at the rally where he dedicates the wall to himself. Greenwood's song is definitely on the I'm-the most-patriotic-person-you'll-ever-meet playlist. But Diamond's song would never ever be chosen to be blasted into the audience and over the wall, inviting everyone on the other side to come into the country and become citizens "TODAY!"
Oh, well. Regardless of who sits in the White House, I do at heart believe that America is and always will be the sweet land of Liberty...and of sparkly scarves.
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