When thinking of the best rock band in Canadian history one can never forget The Guess Who! I personally think they should definitely be in the Rock hall of fame but maybe someday! One of their most successful and amazing albums is American Woman.
The title track, which is also the first track on the album is arguably one of the best rock songs of all time! It’s also one of the most misunderstood songs ever. A lot of American listeners heard it as a sort of tribute to American women, but it’s not really about that. It is about something else, similar in theme, but not nearly as patriotic as some might have thought.
The Guess Who were, of course, a Canadian band, and this song wasn’t created as a celebration of American pride. Burton Cummings, the writer and lead singer, has said that when he wrote it, he had in mind that he liked Canadian girls a little bit better than American girls. He mentioned that American women seemed to get older quicker, while Canadian women aged a little more slowly. Not sure there’s any science behind that—I don’t think so—but that’s what he says.
In fact, Cummings told the Toronto Star in 2014 that, “When I said ‘American woman, stay away from me,’ I really meant Canadian women, I prefer you. It was all a happy accident.”
And speaking of accidents, the creation of this song is pretty cool too. It was essentially made on the fly. According to the band, it was improvised live on stage during a concert in southern Ontario. Guitarist Randy Bachman recalled that they were performing in Kitchener when Burton Cummings got distracted between sets. The crowd wanted more, so the band went back out and started playing a riff. Cummings ran on stage, began improvising lyrics, and sang the now-famous line: “American woman, stay away from me.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
