Guess Who: American Woman Meaning

Song Released: 1970

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American Woman Lyrics

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American Woman, stay away from me
American Woman, mama let me be
Don't come a hangin' around my door
I don't wanna see your face no more
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time growin' old with you
Now Woman, I said stay...

1. 1TOP RATED

   undead_drummer

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   May 10th, 2006 5:02pm report

   
   

   This basically refers to the time of the cold and Vietnam wars when America tried to get Canada to adapt nuclear missles and join. When the singer refers to the American Woman, it is America.
   
   "Don't com hangin' around my door
   I don't wanna see your face nomore
   I got more important things to do
   then spendin my time growin old with you"
   
   This is basically saying that Canada has its own troubles that they have to deal with and they don't need to get into some wars over opinion with the US
   
   "I don't need your war machine" - nuclear weapons
   
   "I don't need your ghetto scenes" - the after math of the explosives
   
   "colored lights can hypnotize" - explosions of the bombs
   
   "sparkle someone esle's eyes" - basically piss off and bother someone else lol

   
   
   
   

2.  

   anonymous

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   Nov 14th, 11:15pm report

   
   

   All you America haters conveniently use the BS line handed you. The song is obvious and anyone stating otherwise is wrong and in denial. American women, for the most part, are spoiled princesses (what is the HRM doing for ya Canada?). The advent of oprah has only made that worse. American women will lie, cheat and steal and feel entitled to do so thanks to oprah's instruction. Just call it what it is: misandry. Not all American women are like this but a large slice of the population is. To all the US haters: grow up and take a look at yourself. No American said the US is perfect. America is a work in progress and it state it in the Constitution. All you envious US haters get to work and make something of your country now.

   
   
   
   

3.  

   anonymous

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   Oct 23rd, 10:04am report

   
   

   Anybody who is looking for esoteric or political meanings in this song obviously doesn't know a lot of American women. They were awful in the 1960s. They are worse now.

   
   
   
   

4.  

   anonymous

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   Oct 21st, 2018 10:46pm report

   
   

   Typical American arrogance. Live with the fact your misadventure in Southeast Asia was a failure and 58,000 didn’t come back. Your country has been dissing Canada constantly over the years! Maybe you should look at yourelf in the mirror America..You’re not great, songet over yourseles. Maybe you should go home! Canada doesn’t need or want you around anyway...so like the song goes... American women stay away from me! Don’t need your war machines, don’t need your ghetto scenes. You can stick the the statue of Liberty in a warm dark place.

   
   
   
   

5.  

   anonymous

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   Jun 17th, 2018 6:31pm report

   
   

   The American Woman in the song is the Statue of Liberty. This was the first thing on American soil that European immigrants saw when they reached New York.The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of American freedom, However during the Vietnam war they would draft anyone into the US Army.
   
   In 1969 the Guess Who were travelling into the USA to perform a gig when an American border patrol officer tried to draft the band into the US Army. The band turned around and hightailed it back across the border into Canada. They had no gig in Canada, but they managed to get a gg at a Curling Arena. During the gig Randy Bachman broke a string on his guitar, Randy didn't have a spare guitar so the band had a break while Randy restrung his guitar.
   
   After Randy replaced the string he started playing a riff on his guitar, he liked it and didn't want to forget it, he turned up his amp and said to Burton Cummings, "Sing anything". Burton sang "American woman, stay away from me", a new song was born.

   
   
   
   

6.  

   anonymous

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   May 8th, 2017 5:36pm report

   
   

   if is was not for America u would be living like some south America country

   
   
   
   

7.  

   anonymous

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   Apr 30th, 2017 4:47pm report

   
   

   When I first heard "American Woman" while serving in the U.S. Navy I believed and still believe the lyrics are anti-American. Yes, we have our faults, but many good people do good works to alleviate social injustice in this country.
   If an American band performed this song in Canada substituting "Canadian" for "American" in the lyrics they would be booed across the border. We don't need the Guess Who lecturing us. Go home Canucks!

   
   
   
   

8.  

   anonymous

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   Dec 5th, 2016 12:46pm report

   
   

   Nonsense. It's virulently anti-American. Nothing to do with nukes. It's a slap at the US in general, which is kind of funny because the band was willing to accept all the cash they got from Americans who bought the record. More Americans should have paid attention to the words. To this day I won't listen to anything by this group.

   
   
   
   

9.  

   anonymous

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   Apr 4th, 2016 4:49pm report

   
   

   Believe this song was not meant to be about ore against the average good decent AMERICAN WOMEN that they are. To me ''American Woman'' was basically about the downside brought by ''The Femenists'' movements that got into the acts of protests during the times of the Vietnam War. They were not necessarily against the war, but supposedly ran, walked and protest for power under the equal rights act to empower themselves against the establishment of men who held power in their guns. Mostly within their family, government and The Church that ''The Femenists'' wanted to break through and steal their guns, which ultimately gave more power to them, especially by having more so called lesbians,perverts and homo-sexuality that influenced more irresponsible sexual freedom that led to to many abortions. This on the overall has been coming and turning into the ''BAAL TEMPLE'' worshipers to party in orgies that '' unfortunately'' broke and still wanna brake families apart that left and will leave their children as a sacrifice to be raised by the streets of our cities that did and are still ''feeling the burn'' of what these Femenists caused and still wanna cause our children pain that are always hoping for a better future.

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10.  

    anonymous

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    Sep 6th, 2014 9:47pm report

    
    

    well iam dissappointed i thought there no connotation means behind the lyrics , i have seen a lot whining and complain about american women nowadays..

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11.  

    anonymous

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    Jun 4th, 2014 6:30pm report

    
    

    ghetto schemes- government approved slums

    
    
    
    

12.  

    sidewinder

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    May 3rd, 2013 5:15pm report

    
    

    DrWinston Oboogie should come up with a new name. It is not cool to rip off a dead man.
    John Lennon used that name throughout the 1970's till his murder.
    
    Also using this name while commenting on a song that has such implications as war and women, two things Lennon had problems with all his life, shows no taste. I have been a fan of Lennon's music all my life, but his physical bouts with fighting especially hitting women was terrible. He even confessed to his favorite guitarist Jessie Ed Davis that feared his fighting past would lead to a violent death,

    
    
    
    

13.  

    anonymous

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    Nov 30th, 2012 11:56am report

    
    

    The American Woman they are talking about is Don Henley's bubbleheaded bleach blonde who comes on at 5. Canadians on the border watched a lot of American news telling them about the war and the ghetto scenes. Guess Who wanted to push back against the American culture encroaching on Canada.

    
    
    
    

14.  

    anonymous

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    Jun 19th, 2012 6:10pm report

    
    

    But the meaning of a song changes with time and situation. Nowadays, it has a very anti-feminist meaning to it, and that's what I like about. :)

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
    
    
    
    

15.  

    anonymous

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    Mar 29th, 2012 3:08am report

    
    

    American Woman was a favorite of the Muslim students in the 1970's and 1980's. I'm glad they played it so much. It showed us what jerks they were and so many of us are still non-Muslim, proud, independent, alive, and American Women!

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16.  

    anonymous

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    Mar 20th, 2012 3:23am report

    
    

    I'm from overseas, and I always thought of American woman as America the Nation, and I always connected it in regards to war and all of it's ugliness that comes with it.
    My american friends never had a clue what the song was about. Apparentely I was not the only one who shared my opinion.
    God bless all of us