I mentioned last week that I had quite a few more songs up my sleeve that had the name of a country in their title, so I thought I’d play you a second set this week. You may notice a preponderance of one country among these: just the five out of eight! Kind of unavoidable, really, when you look at popular music as a whole. But at least it should ensure a good response from across the pond – assuming all of the videos work there, of course!

Starting as I mean to continue, with a favourite band of mine:

That was the closing track on the eponymous debut album of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in November 1976. It featured in many of their live performances and usually closed the show, as it did in what turned out to be their final appearance just before Tom died. For a new band the album did well, reaching #55 in the US and #24 in the UK. American Girl was the second single from it, in February 1977: it didn’t make the US chart but got to #40 in the UK. Anyone who has seen these posts will know that I’m a huge fan of his, and felt the loss very much when he was taken from us. His music lives on.

The next one is by an American, though he is singing about somewhere else:

Sorry about the audio-only clip. There were some live performances on YouTube but the sound quality wasn’t great, so I went with this to be sure. Mexico was the opening track on James Taylor’s sixth album, Gorilla, which was released in May 1975 and got to #6 in the US though it failed to make the UK charts. I probably didn’t notice it much at the time, as I was deeply involved in my final exams at uni! The song became a single in August of that year, making #49 in the US but again not reaching the UK charts. I’ve always liked it, though, and played it a lot when it was included on James’ first Greatest Hits album in November 1976 – another one that wasn’t a UK hit but I loved it!

I wouldn’t be surprised if just about everyone knows this one:

America was a track on Simon and Garfunkel’s fourth album, Bookends, which was released in April 1968 and was a #1 in both the US and the UK, selling more than 2m copies in the US alone. The song was also a single, though not until November 1972 when it was released to promote their Greatest Hits album, getting to #97 in the US but faring much better here in the UK, where it reached #25. I’ve always loved the song and the album, which I think showed a band at the peak of its powers. I’ve been advised that this video doesn’t work for some, which is a shame. Here is a link to the album version as a standby.

A slightly different take on America in this next one. Don’t be fooled by the title – it may not be what you expect:

Frank Turner released Make America Great Again as a single in May 2018, just ahead of the album on which it is included: Be More Kind. He was concerned about the way world politics were going at that time, and wrote this song to share that. It has been described as a “riposte to the invective of Trump,” in which he offers some tips on how the then-President could improve the US: by “making racists ashamed again” and making “compassion in fashion again.” He wrote the song during an extensive tour in 2016/7, and said when it was released: “This is obviously one of the more provocatively-titled songs I’ve released in recent years, but in a way, I’m not kidding. America is bloody great, one of my favourite countries in the world. Much like back at home, they’ve had a politically fraught time of late, and I wanted to say something about it. And for the video, I thought I’d make some new friends (in Texas!) to help out with the suggestions.” So now you know. The album reached #3 in the UK and #95 in the US, though it did get to #5 on their Folk chart and #8 on their Top Alternative Albums listing. As to whether either country is in better shape than it was five years ago, I’ll let you make up your own mind.

Another British take on America in this next one:

Breakfast In America was the title track on Supertramp’s sixth album, released in March 1979. It reached #3 in the UK and #1 in the US – still their highest placings in the two countries – and also made #1 in Australia, Canada and several European countries. They were a kind of midway band for us: my wife liked their more pop-based songs and I enjoyed their albums. Any band which has a song called Bloody Well Right in its back catalogue is OK by me! This track was released as a single in June of that year, peaking at #9 in the UK. It wasn’t a hit in the US, but a live version, from their album Paris, did make #62 over there in 1981. Guess where it was recorded!

I think it’s about time that I redressed the balance a little. Here’s a Brit singing about her own country:

Kirsty MacColl released A New England as a single in December 1984, and though it has since appeared on compilations it hasn’t been on any of her studio albums. It became her biggest hit (apart from THAT one with The Pogues), reaching #7 in the UK, #8 in Ireland and #18 in Sweden. The song was written and originally performed by Billy Bragg: the story goes that Kirsty went to see Billy in concert, liked the song, chatted about recording it but said she felt it was a little short. So he wrote another verse just for her. He has since incorporated this into his own performances following her untimely death in December 2000, by way of tribute to a very talented lady who was taken far too soon. She was always a down to earth type, and I love her take on this video: “I just wanted them to finish it – I was seven months pregnant and it was freezing cold!”

For a complete change, I’m now going thousands of miles to the east. One of last week’s tunes was about Japan, and here’s another:

Alphaville are a synth-pop band from Germany, originally formed in 1982. They are still going, though only one of the founder members is still in the band. Big In Japan was their first single, released in January 1984 and taken from their debut album Forever Young. It reached #8 in the UK – still their best chart entry here, but was of course #1 in Germany and also made #66 in the US. Despite its title the song isn’t about Japan, which may explain why it wasn’t a hit there. I’ve always liked it, though, as a little bit of German synth is good for you occasionally. The album’s title track was their only other UK success, staggering all the way up to #98. I mention that song because you may just remember it being covered by the beautiful voice of Andrea Von Kampen for one of the wonderful Hafod Hardware Christmas ads that I have featured in my Advent Calendars over the years. Big business then jumped on the idea, when an inferior version was used the following year by McDonalds and made the UK charts. We can be so wrong with our choices, sometimes!

For today’s closing song, where else could I go? You may well have seen this guy here before:

I’m ending as I began, with one of my all-time favourites. I’ve loved Jackson Browne’s music right since his first album, and he has been kind enough to give me the title for my blog. For America was a track on Lives In The Balance, his eighth album, which was released in February 1986, the month before my first daughter was born. I still have the memory of that time, when the only real chance I had to listen to music was under headphones or in the car, and I took the scenic route home one time so that I could hear the full album, arriving back to find my wife a little concerned that I had been gone longer than she expected for a simple shopping trip. I don’t think “blame Jackson Browne” carried much weight with her, to be honest. The album reached #23 in the US and #36 in the UK, so at least I’d done my bit! This song was released as a single to coincide with the album, peaking at #30 in the US but not making the UK chart.

That’s your lot for this week. Will there be more country songs next week? Will they mostly be about the same country again Who knows – I sure as hell don’t! I’ll be back in a couple of days, and then again for Song Lyric Sunday. Until then, have a good week 😊