American Saturday Night

Album: American Saturday Night (2009)
Charted: 67
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was the title track of Country singer Brad Paisley's eighth studio album.
  • Paisley told Billboard magazine that this sing-along anthem "is a song about what happens on a weekend in our country, under the guise of the melting pot and how really nothing is original here."
  • This was one of the first songs written for American Saturday Night, and Paisley said in interviews that it served as the basis for the entire album.
  • The song was written by Ashley Gorley and Kelley Lovelace, and co-written by Brad Paisley. It was released as the third single from American Saturday Night.
  • Gorley told AOL's The Boot about the story behind the lyrics: "Kelley and I knew, with this album, Brad was leaning away from the comedic songs and looking to record things that were less funny. He wanted good, uptempo songs that weren't necessarily funny. That was one of the targets. Kelley and I spent many hours brainstorming. We found the groove and the overall idea of the song. We started throwing around ideas and mentioned some things Saturday Night Live, but we couldn't really settle on an idea.
    After a few hours, Brad had to run back to his house [for dinner]. Right after he left, he calls us back on the cell phone, and Kelley and I were thinking, 'Oh no, maybe he has to quit.' Brad says, 'I think I've got it!' That's when he said the chorus -- 'It's a French kiss, Italian ice, Spanish moss in the moonlight, just another American Saturday Night.' We talked about what a good idea it was.
    All the things that are borrowed from other countries and traditions that make America great -- how we can have a melting pot of that on a typical American Saturday night. The scene was set, and we spent the next few hours and a couple of days coming up with that scenario. It was tricky to try to cover every country without it being a stretch. We worked on the song all the way up to when it was recorded. It's a hard thing to get a song with cleverness."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Edwin McCain

Edwin McCainSongwriter Interviews

"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."

Wang Chung Pick The Top Songs Of The '80s

Wang Chung Pick The Top Songs Of The '80sSongwriter Interviews

'80s music ambassadors Wang Chung pick their top tracks of the decade, explaining what makes each one so special.

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."