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Livin' in America
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What if I was a Jamaican immigrant?
reggae comedy
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We specialize in real live rock & roll, genuine blues, imitation reggae and serious comedy.
I began my musical life on clarinet and sax in 1963. I grabbed a guitar when the Monkees first came on TV (I was a kid, forgive me).
Song Info
Genre
World • Reggae
Charts
#10,854 today Peak #6
#2,575 in subgenre Peak #1
Author
Neal Bernard
Rights
2000 Neal Bernard
Uploaded
April 18, 2004
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.4 MB • 128 kbps • 0:00
Story behind the song
One day a friend asked me what inspired me to write. I said "it could be anything I suppose". He asked if I could write reggae and I said I'd never tried that and asked what he'd like it to be about. He asked me to write a reggae song called Livin' in America about being a Jamaican immigrant who couldn't find a decent job, ended up drinking too much and eventually wound up with a band and doing well. It took about 7 minutes. The chanting at the beginning of the song is really the vocals from the final chorus isolated and played backwards.
Lyrics
Oh, livin in America isnt too ecstatical to me Oh, how am I supposed to know and where am I supposed to go Wont you please tell me? (chorus) Im livin in America, livin in America, on the edge of town Im livin in America, livin in America, on the edge of town So I think I take a walk downtown just to see whats goin down See who there that I know Next thing I know Im standin in a liquor store and I dont even know what for And I dont understand Chorus Once I work in the factory, but now Im in this band you see I play the reggae song (I love my job) At night the people come to hear us play They pay & pay & pay & pay and we just say okay Chorus
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