This Is Not America
Encyclopedia
"This Is Not America" is a song from the soundtrack for the film The Falcon and the Snowman
.
The track is the result of a collaboration between the jazz fusion
Pat Metheny Group
and rock singer David Bowie
who provided the lyrics and vocals.
It was released as a single which reached #14 in the UK, and #32 in the US.
David Bowie: vocals and lyrics
The Falcon and the Snowman
The Falcon and the Snowman is a 1985 film directed by John Schlesinger about two young American men, Christopher Boyce and Daulton Lee , who sold U.S. security secrets to the Soviet Union...
.
The track is the result of a collaboration between the jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
Pat Metheny Group
Pat Metheny Group
The Pat Metheny Group is a jazz group founded in 1977. The core members of the group are guitarist and bandleader Pat Metheny, composer, keyboardist and pianist Lyle Mays , and bassist and producer Steve Rodby...
and rock singer David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
who provided the lyrics and vocals.
It was released as a single which reached #14 in the UK, and #32 in the US.
7": EMI America / EA 190 (UK)
- "This Is Not America" (Bowie, MethenyPat MethenyPatrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
, MaysLyle MaysLyle Mays is an American jazz pianist and composer from Wausaukee, Wisconsin. He is best known for his work with guitarist Pat Metheny as a member of the Pat Metheny Group...
) – 3:43 - "This Is Not America (Instrumental)" (Bowie, MethenyPat MethenyPatrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
, MaysLyle MaysLyle Mays is an American jazz pianist and composer from Wausaukee, Wisconsin. He is best known for his work with guitarist Pat Metheny as a member of the Pat Metheny Group...
) – 3:43
Personnel
Pat Metheny Group:- Pat MethenyPat MethenyPatrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
: electric guitar - Lyle MaysLyle MaysLyle Mays is an American jazz pianist and composer from Wausaukee, Wisconsin. He is best known for his work with guitarist Pat Metheny as a member of the Pat Metheny Group...
: keyboards - Steve RodbySteve RodbySteve Rodby is an American bassist.He joined the Pat Metheny Group in 1981. Prior to joining Metheny, he was a member of the Simon-Bard Group and the Fred Simon ensemble. Rodby continues to collaborate with Simon .Rodby studied bass at Northwestern University, a student of Warren Benfield of the...
: electric bass guitar - Paul WerticoPaul WerticoPaul Wertico is an American drummer. He gained recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 until 2001, leaving the group to spend more time with his family and to pursue other musical interests. Metheny heard the Simon Bard Group with Wertico and bassist Steve Rodby, and invited...
: drums
David Bowie: vocals and lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
Live versions
- An instrumental version of the song performed by Pat MethenyPat MethenyPatrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
and Lyle MaysLyle MaysLyle Mays is an American jazz pianist and composer from Wausaukee, Wisconsin. He is best known for his work with guitarist Pat Metheny as a member of the Pat Metheny Group...
appears on the Falcon and the Snowman soundtrack as the song "Chris." This version differs from the Bowie instrumental version that was the song's B-side. The Bowie version is based on his recording of the song, while "Chris" was specifically performed for the soundtrack album. - A version recorded at BBC Radio Theatre, London, June 27, 2000, was released on the bonus disc following the first release of Bowie at the BeebBowie at the BeebBowie at the Beeb is a compilation album by David Bowie, first released in 2000. Originally, it came in a three CD set, the third, bonus CD being a recording on at the Portland BBC Radio Theatre...
. - Pat Metheny Group recorded it live in the DVD We Live Here, with band members substituting for Bowie on vocals.
- Another version featuring Anna Maria JopekAnna Maria JopekAnna Maria Jopek is a Polish musician and singer. She represented her country in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Ale jestem" and finished 11th out of 25 participating acts; and in 2002, she collaborated on an album with jazz guitarist Pat Metheny...
and Pat Metheny was recorded live in Warsaw, 2002, included in an album called "Anna María Jopek and Pat Metheny Live In Warsaw 2002".
Other releases
- It was released on the single "I Can't ReadI Can't Read"I Can't Read" is a song written by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels for Tin Machine on their debut album in 1989.Bowie recorded a new version of the song in 1997 for the film The Ice Storm. This version was released as a single in Germany and Scandinavia by Velvel Records in December 1997...
" in December 1997. - It also appeared on the compilation The Singles CollectionThe Singles Collection (David Bowie album)The Singles Collection is a compilation album by David Bowie, released in 1993 in the UK and as The Singles 1969 to 1993 in the United States...
in 1993. - The Virgin Records release of the Tonight album in 1995 featured this song as a bonus track.
- Appears on the compilation Best of BowieBest of BowieBest of Bowie is a career-spanning greatest hits album by multi-platinum recording artist David Bowie. The songs range from his second album to 2002. It was released 35 years after his first album, David Bowie....
. - Bowie performs a variation of "This Is Not America" on the P. Diddy song "American Dream" for the soundtrackTraining Day (soundtrack)Training Day: The Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2001 crime film, Training Day. It was released on September 11, 2001, through Priority Records and contained mostly hip hop music...
to the 20012001 in filmThe year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
film Training DayTraining DayTraining Day is a 2001 crime drama film directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by David Ayer, starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. The film follows two LAPD narcotics detectives over a 24-hour period in the gang neighborhoods of South and East Los Angeles.The film was a box office success and...
.
Cover versions
- Lana LaneLana LaneLana Lane is a North American rock singer. She sings lead in her eponymous band, and has sung backing vocals for the band Rocket Scientists and guest sung on Ayreon and Erik Norlander albums....
with Rocket ScientistsRocket ScientistsRocket Scientists is a progressive rock band formed in the late 1980s by keyboardist Erik Norlander and vocalist / guitarist Mark McCrite. The band released their first CD, Earthbound, in 1993 joined by session bassist Don Schiff...
- Echoes from the Garden (1998) - Xavier NaidooXavier NaidooXavier Kurt Naidoo is a German singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actor. Born and raised in Mannheim, Naidoo worked in several jobs in the gastronomy and the musical industry before relocating to the United States in the early 1990s, where he released his first full-length English...
- Nicht von dieser Welt (1997) - Yellow Prophet - Ashes to Ashes: A Tribute to David Bowie (1998)
- Italian singer-songwriter AliceAlice (Italian singer)Alice , also known as Alice Visconti is an Italian singer-songwriter and pianist, active since 1971...
- Personal JukeboxPersonal Jukebox (Alice album)Personal Jukebox is a compilation album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in 2000 on WEA/Warner Music.In the Spring of 2000 Alice returned to the Sanremo music festival, nineteen years after the victory with "Per Elisa"...
(2000) - An instrumental version of "This Is Not America" performed by the "Ahn TrioAhn TrioThe Ahn Trio is a classical piano trio comprised of three sisters: Angella , Lucia and Maria . Lucia and Maria are twins. Born in Seoul, Korea, they moved to New York City in 1981 and began their training at the Juilliard School. The sisters decided to form a trio while they were earning their...
" (cello, piano and violin) featured on the 2001 album "Classical Chillout". - Kartagon - Natural Instincts (2003)
- Silje NergaardSilje NergaardSilje Nergaard is a Norwegian pop and jazz musician.While some of her old titles have a distinct pop feel, she has now almost completely given up making pop music, and virtually the entirety of her later releases consists of jazz...
- Nightwatch (2003) - ProtectionProtectionProtection may refer to:-Music:*Protection , by Massive Attack*"Protection" *"Protection" *"Protection," a song by Krokus from To You All...
- Protection EP (2005) - A German language version performed by Richard von der Schulenburg is featured on Quotenrocker (2005)
- Microsillon featuring Eugenie Alquezar - BowieMania: Mania, une collection obsessionelle de Beatrice Ardisson (2007)
- Liberation Music OrchestraLiberation Music OrchestraLiberation Music Orchestra is a jazz album by Charlie Haden, released in 1969 . It was Haden's first album as leader.The inspiration for the album came when Haden heard songs from the Spanish Civil War...
- Not in Our NameNot in Our Name (album)Not in Our Name is a jazz album by bassist Charlie Haden, recorded in 2004 and released by Verve Records in 2005.The album is the fourth by Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, the follow-up to 1990's Dream Keeper.-Track listing:...
(2005) - Bardo State - Mariposa (2008)
- Juliette Lewis - Hollywood, mon amour (2008)
- Laith Al-Deen - Laith Al-Deen: Session (2009)
- Amanda Lear - Brief Encounters (2009)
- Amanda Lear - Brief Encounters Reloaded (2010)
- Claudia Brücken & Paul Rutherford – Combined (2011)
Chart positions
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| The Netherlands Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
1 |
| Canada Singles Chart | 19 |
| Germany Singles Chart | 6 |
| Italy Singles Chart | 5 |
| Sweden | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart | 14 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 32 |
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |