I Like America & America Likes Me

Album: A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, The 1975 lead singer Matthew Healy speaks out about the anxieties of modern life, especially gun violence in America.

    Kids don't want rifles, they want Supreme
    No gun required!
    Oh, will this help me lay down?
    We're scared of dying, it's fine
    What's a fiver?
    Being young in the city


    Matty Healy explained to Pitchfork that throughout the world people are the same, they may have different personalities, but everybody has similar worries. "Everyone's just scared of dying!," he said.
  • The song title is not included in the lyrics, Instead it comes from a piece of performance art by German conceptual artist Joseph Beuys. In 1974 he locked himself in a room in the René Block Gallery at 409 West Broadway with a wild coyote. Over a period of three days, the coyote, which was originally hostile, grew tolerant of Bueys and the pair learned to live with one another. At the end of the three days, Beuys hugged the coyote. He called his work "I Like America & America Likes Me."
  • Healy's voice is heavily Auto-Tuned, which he explained to Pitchfork was because he wanted to pay homage to the SoundCloud rap genre.

    "Not only does it tune your voice, it stops it, compresses it, punctuates it. It turns it into an instrument," Healy explained regarding the appeal of Auto-Tune. "But also, this song started out as an homage to SoundCloud rap. It's the sound of America to me at the moment. I was almost going to put it out with just mumble lyrics, to see how far I could take it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

Dr. John

Dr. JohnSongwriter Interviews

The good doctor shares some candid insights on recording with Phil Spector and The Black Keys.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.