According to Burton, it’s generally about women on the US being more mature and faster. He preferred Canadian women because of that. No other reason. The words just rhyme.
Bachman was playing notes while tuning his guitar after replacing a broken string, and he realized he was playing a new riff that he wanted to remember. He continued playing it and the other band members returned to the stage and joined in, creating a jam session in which Cummings improvised the lyrics. They noticed a kid with a cassette recorder making a bootleg recording and asked him for the tape. They listened to the tape and noted down the words that Cummings had extemporized, and which he later revised
The woman Burt Cummings is talking about is the statue of liberty. A lot of American guys went to Canada to keep from being drafted and having to fight in Vietnam. Guess Who being a Canadian band was sending a message to the USA that they didn’t want any part of the war. It is a great song!!
they were actually quoted as just tired from a long American tour and wanted to get home to their 'preferred' Canadian women at home. Never heard your reason @nanalol4fun o.O
This is 💯 the original and Lenny actually covered it for the movie Austin Powers : The spy who shagged me! Randy Bachman is the lead guitarist who would later form Bachman Turner Overdrive with his two brothers! U should definitely check them out! You ain't seen nothing yet, Let it ride, Takin care of business, & Roll on down the highway are just a few of their bigger hits!
theyre good radio hits,but there best is,blue collar,gimme your money please,second hand,lookin out for #1,rock is my life.not fragile is a great start to finish record...
I think this song is actually not about a woman it's a Vietnam protest song. The band was Canadian and they were singing this rejecting America's involvement in Vietnam
They are from my home town of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The same city Neil Young grew up during his teen years and started his first band called The Squires.
The first time this was played was in front of a live audience, and was a completely improvised jam, including the lyrics. They literally wrote the song as they played it in front of an audience.
The Guess who was asked to perform at the white house for President Nixon and his family and were told specifically NOT to play this song. They did anyway.
The Guess Who - Another Amazing Canadian Band , from Winnipeg, Manitoba......My Town, went to my School, before my time but we all heard how the music teacher knew them and had Burton Cummings in the Class. You would see them hanging around the old neighborhood when they were back in town and at the bars drinking with the regulars!! Cheers!
This song came out in 1970 when I first started high school. I was a volunteer usher for rock concerts so I got to see them for free. They were awesome!
Here are few more of their songs you need to check out: Clap for the Wolfman, These Eyes. No Sugar Tonight and Laughing. The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965.
Great group, and my first live concert and I was happily right up front. At the end I went up and ask for a drumstick, the bass player was very sweet and said we’re all out of drumsticks, would you like my guitar pick, and of course I said yes please, lol, never forget it!
Such a rabbit hole to go down with The Guess Who\Burton Cummings! Some people think they were saying they didn't like "American women" in general but Burton has said its because they just came off an american tour and were just tired and wanted to get back to their Canadian women after such a long time away. thanks for sharing Black Pegasus :)
I feel ya about not knowing what was a remake. Back in the 80’s my mom would hear songs I was listening to and tell me it wasn’t the original. Blew me away every time. lol.
American Woman" is a song by Canadian rock band the Guess Who, released January 1970, from the album of the same name. It was later released in March 1970 as a single backed with "No Sugar Tonight", and it reached number one for three weeks commencing May 9 on both the United States' Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM magazine singles chart. The music and lyrics of the song were improvised on stage during a concert in Southern Ontario Canada (the guitarist, Randy Bachman, recalled it being at a concert in Kitchener Ontario, although Burton Cummings, the lead singer, said it was at the Broom and Stone, a curling rink in Scarborough Ontario). Bachman was playing notes while tuning his guitar after replacing a broken string, and he realized he was playing a new riff that he wanted to remember. He continued playing it and the other band members returned to the stage and joined in, creating a jam session in which Cummings improvised the lyrics. They noticed a kid with a cassette recorder making a bootleg recording and asked him for the tape. They listened to the tape and noted down the words that Cummings had extemporized, and which he later revised. The song's lyrics have been the matter of debate, often interpreted as an attack on U.S. politics (especially the draft). Cummings, who composed the lyrics, said in 2013 that they had nothing to do with politics. "What was on my mind was that girls in the States seemed to get older quicker than our girls and that made them, well, dangerous. When I said 'American woman, stay away from me,' I really meant 'Canadian woman, I prefer you.' It was all a happy accident." American singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz covered "American Woman" for the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. It was released as a single in May 1999 and was later included on the reissue of Kravitz's album 5. Kravitz's version is slower and softer than the original, without the signature guitar solo; he later said to Randy Bachman that the reason why he skipped the lead guitar part was "I couldn't get the sound. I couldn't get the tone." The cover reached the top 20 in Australia, Finland, Iceland, New Zealand, and Spain, as well as number 26 in Canada and number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The music video which featured actress Heather Graham (who starred in The Spy Who Shagged Me). In 1999, the Guess Who joined Kravitz and his band for a live performance of "American Woman" at the Canadian MuchMusic Video Awards. (like the MTV Awards but for the Canada tv channel MuchMusic). Must try video for...... (Lenny Kravitz join live by original Guess Who -- American Woman) video found on UA-cam Next you can do tons more of The Guess Who like........ - American Woman (do the live performance from their concert Running Back Thru Canada, this is the best performance you'll ever hear a little over 14 minutes. The first six and a half minutes they just improvise a whole new intro) - Heartbroken Bopper - Albert Flasher - Rain Dance - Follow Your Daughter Home - These Eyes - Clap for the Wolfman (look for the performance from The Midnight Special with Wolfman Jack) - Star Baby - No Sugar Tonight/ New Mother Nature (Plus any other song of theirs, look for live performances) - Solo Burton Cummings like these........ - Something Old, Something New - Heavenly Blue - I'll play a Rhapsody - My Own Way To Rock - Stand Tall - I'm Scared - You Saved My Soul - Take One Away (this is Burton's only actual music video, all other songs are only live performances) Randy Bachman from his other band Bachman Turner Overdrive (aka BTO) BTO songs to try.... - Takin' Care of Business - Let It Ride - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - Roll On Down the Highway (Look for live performances) Solo Randy Bachman song with 2 versions to try.... - Prairie Town 1992 with Randy Bachman, Neil Young and Margo Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies (A Canadian band) she provides backup vocals and also appears in the video slow version of song. There's also a rocking version of the song with a video as well with just Randy Bachman and Neil Young, the song is about the Prairie Town of Winnipeg Canada.
Was fortunate enough to see these fellow Canadians perform live and they have a fantastic sound many years after this song was recorded - the lead guitar player is Randy Bachman and he can still play like this at 81 :)
The American woman is a reference to the Statue of liberty. (the Government). This song was written just after they They turned back form a border crossing where the border guard told them that if they if they worked in the USA and had a green card the were subject to the draft. Also this group sold more albums than the Beatles in 1970.
IM A CHRISTIAN AMERICAN I USE TO LOVE AMERICA BUT NOT ANY MORE BIDEN IS THE MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT EVER Now im very ready to be with THE LORD JESUS CHRIST FOR EVER
I'll be seeing Burton Cummings on January 18th in Laughlin NV. I was 12 years old when this was a hit. Still have the album I purchased. This song was first released 55 years ago this month.
Randy Bachman the co-writer and guitarist also formed Bachman Turner Overdrive. Dude is a literal hit machine. He is also the best rock story teller alive. 80 some odd now and very on. Canada Rocks!
P.S. Although there have been so much speculation about what the song is really about, some saying the Statue of Liberty, some saying American politics, some saying America, but the truth is and this is from Burton Cummings himself: "Cummings, who composed the lyrics, said in 2013 that they had nothing to do with politics. "What was on my mind was that girls in the States seemed to get older quicker than our girls and that made them, well, dangerous. When I said 'American woman, stay away from me,' I really meant 'Canadian woman, I prefer you.' It was all a happy accident."
They tell two opposing stories. The one you shared was what they said when they released the song, but it was most likely a plea to keep getting airplay on American radio, which was what drove record sales. I saw an interview where Randy Bachman later said they were trying to get to a gig in the US, but couldn’t get through the border crossing from Canada. And they wrote this song out of frustration, throwing anything in, women, government, the Vietnam War, and this was the result. I’ll have to search for that interview now.
Cummings improvised the lyrics while playing at a curling rink in Toronto. The other band members have stated often that it was about the draft system in the US (which Canada didn't have).
I've heard so many different meanings of the song from guys in the band. All of them seem plausible but I don't care which, or if any, are right because it's just an awesome song.
Please read the history of this song - it's a song by MISTAKE! Burton was late getting to the stage, so the band was just repeating a riff - the opening riff to the song! History from there.
I got excited when I just saw your video in my recommended and saw it was the song by The Guess Who a favorite band of mine from the '70s. They're an amazing Canadian rock band and they also possessed the great vocals of lead singer Burton Cummings. The song is probably my favorite song by them. So thank you for covering it.❤️
Good catch, BP. I’ve listened to that song for nearly 50 years (holy crap, That’s a long time) and I never figured out that it was a Vietnam war protest song, about the Statue of Liberty. Really good, red pilled ears!
“What is the meaning behind the song American Woman? “It's basically an antiwar protest song saying, 'We don't want your war machines, we don't want your ghetto scenes, stay away from me,'” Bachman describes of the lyrics. “'American Woman' is not the woman on the street.” This is a Canadian band and it was around the time of the Vietnam war… American men were draft dodging into Canada
This came out the year I graduated from college-it was on the radio non stop all summer. It's a terrific banger. Great opening riff to the song-everyone recognizes it instantly.
Yes, the woman is representing lady Liberty, as a reflection of the whole USA scene at the time. The guess Who had green cards and were on their way to a gig in Texas. The attendant at a gas station near the boarder told them they are drafting people with green cards. So the guess Who turned around and went home. Get the whole story by watching Randy Bachmann's Vinyl Tap
So much great music came during such a terrible time in America. Many of the lyrics could have been written yesterday for what is going on today. The beat goes on. No DRAFT!✌🙏
They were driving from their hometown of Winnipeg to a gig in Minnesota. The border agent advised them to turn around and avoid visiting the US at all because they could get drafted just by being inside the US. So back they went to Winnipeg, and at their next gig in Thunder Bay they "wrote" this song on stage during a mid-show break. Randy Bachman had broken a guitar string so he was messing around with chords after he re-stringed it. The rest of the musicians joined in. Lead singer Burton Cummings came on stage when the locals were telling him his band had already started up again. He asked WTF are you guys doing? Bachman told him to just sing something. He had just been talking to the locals about the border incident during the break, so American Woman just popped into his mind.
Record in 1969, there was a huge anti war, anti draft, and civil rights fight. Wasn’t release until 1970. Women were fighting for equal rights to have a checking account, unmarried to the BC pill, right to get a credit card, and equal pay for job
@ I’m sorry, we thought it was settled and Congress refused to pass a law to codify it. Only 9 more states are needed to pass ERA. However since it failed in red states, states refuse to schedule a new vote.
I was lucky enough to see them reunited in Toronto in 03 for Sarstock and 500,000 crazy Canadians 🤪 The place was freaking hopping when the Guess Who played. BTO taking care of business. Great reaction and Peace out 🙏 ☮️ ✌️BTW he said he wasn't so much putting down American women as he was propping up Canadian women 😉 Gun's Gun's Gun's is written towards America..from the Guess Who
Yes- Lenny Kravitz did a cover...you should try "Undun" or "These Eyes"....the first about a woman who goes mad doing psychedelics and the latter a love song- both with haunting lyrics and singling by Burton Cummings
American Woman is the Statue of Liberty. They were a Canadian band who came to America to play music and went back so they wouldn’t get drafted. The guitarist broke a string and as hewas trying to fix it he came up with the first riff and had the lead singer to sing anything and that’s how it started
Yes this is their song. From what I hear it was written during Vietnam when a lot of the draft dodgers were flinging to Canada. The Guess WHO I believe are from there. American Woman is actually America the country not a particular woman.
I saw the Guess Who as a teen in the mid 90s! I was super hyped because I’d been listening to them for years, but the friends with me had NO clue why I was wilding about a bunch of aged out hippies, with the singer at least half a dozen ball caps stacked on his head. 🤣 STILL love em! 🔥💃
I heard Burton Cummings say in an interview it's about the Statue of Liberty and the States wanting to draft them, he later changed his story, so who knows, also after a breakup with some female he said he didn't like women and denied it later, great reaction
Yes, most of the band members have said this was an anti draft song. They are Canadian and had been touring the US during the draft and were thankful when they returned to Canada where we don't have a draft. They said while the were in North Dakota near the Canadian/US border, someone approached and tried to draft them.
I worked with the producer/engineer of these early Guess Who records, Jack Richardson in the 1990’s. Jack is an absolute legend in Canadian and world recording industry (RIP Jack) Jack gave me my “ear” for studio production. Peace
This album was only a few months old when the Kent State murders occurred. Four bystanders were killed at a university anti-war protest against the carpet bombing of Cambodia. They were shot by the National Guard like it was the battle of Gettysburg. Ten days later in Alberta it was my fifteenth birthday. I got the album American Woman and the Time Magazine issue with the cover picture that everyone has seen. It was the first I had heard of Kent State or The Guess Who. My first thought looking at the Time cover (and I never forgot it), was "America will shoot their own kids, on their own campuses for using their very own freedom of speech." Then I listened to American Woman for the first time. It is still my Favourite song. The Guess Who is from Canada and our Prime Minister was a hippie. His biggest crime was trying to distance Canada from American influence. Draft Dodgers from the Vietnam War were welcomed with open arms, especially after this album was released in the spring of 1970. Richard Nixon hated Pierre Elliot Trudeau. It's even on the Watergate Tapes. Called him a f**ker. Today, this very day, Trudeau's son, Justin RESIGNED as Prime Minister. His biggest crime has been in importing American influence. Wokeness, racism, gun and drug violence, mass migration and even terrorism and insurrection in the form of truck drivers. He has now resigned and his whole movement is in tatters. I'm afraid the next Prime Minister will want to join America or at least encourage Quebec. I wish our politicians had all listened to this album, not just Pierre Elliot.
I enjoy seeing people discover new music that I've known since childhood. Guess Who. I haven't listened to them in years! Burton Cummings has a great voice. Good songwriter as well. Another song of theirs is These Eyes. I used to sing the chorus to my little sister when she was being a brat! Drove her crazy. It got to where I just had to mouth the words and she's go crying to mom or dad that I was doing it again! Haha!
Okay, as per Burton Commings The they were coming back for a new set. Commings was late they started playing the riff. He came on stage and it was a complete improv in fact after the show they didn’t know what all went down, so sought out a person in the audience to get a copy of it! So the intent was just off the cuff!
If I rememger correctly, this song was improved live on stage. The guitarist had come up with the riff as a warm up. For some reason the singer couldn't come out on stage right away, so they kept playing the riff, and the crowd went wild. When the lead singer came out on stage, the rest of the song was made up on the spot.
The Guess Who is rock and roll royalty, with two era's of excellent musicians filled with ridiculous music minds, catchy riffs and fronted by, in my opinion, one of the greatest rock and roll voices there has EVER been. They also had plenty of their own dysfunction like so many greats too. Just listening to this track alone it is clear that Burton Cummings pipes were second to none back then, and one could consider still second to none today. He could literally sing anything in any style, and this band's recordings will demonstrate that too. I easily have him in my top 5 (male) rock and roll voices of all time. Loved them back then and still throw them on now. There "stuff" is simply just too catchy and every song can draw you in for one reason or another. Lyrically, they, like many bands of the "time" went down political rabbit holes (although this song, despite some of the comments stating otherwise in this thread... is ABSOLUTELY NOT one of those politically motivated songs whatsoever-- not even close. The origin of this song is QUITE awesome in rock and roll folklore) but American Woman to this day remains one of my favorite rock and roll songs of all time, has been covered by MANY artists and remains a fan favorite at any rock and roll concert who decides to sing it live. It rocks all the way through and still holds it own after 50+ years of just getting better. Love the longer version of this song myself, but it doesn't take away any of the punch if one doesn't hear it. AWESOME reaction choice!!!
The Guess Who was from Canada. They noticed a lot of draft dodgers coming to Canada from the US. The song was definitely an anti-war protest song regarding the Vietnam War at the time. I LOVE The Guess Who, and Burton Cummings's voice is amazing!!
The song is using a relationship with an American woman as a metaphor for what dealing with America was like during the 60s. The Guess Who were dissing America.
The Guess who and Lenny Kravitz are both Canadian. There is a live video on UA-cam of Lenny and his band sharing the stage with the original Guess Who playing American Woman.
Yes, The Guess Who were from CANADA, and the band The Who are from the United Kingdom. And yes they are the originals of this song, which if I am not mistaking, came out in the mid to late 60's. I was born in the Summer of 1967 and while growing up,I used to listen to this all the time.
The Guess Who were from Canada. All Canadian band. This song was written while Vietnam was still raging. The band toured in the US a lot, and it's their statement that they don't support or want to deal with America's issues. "American Woman" is the Statue of Liberty.
After Randy left the Guess Who he formed another GREAT band Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO) and continued to be successful. IMO Randy and BTO were very underrated
If I remember correctly, the guitarist on Kravitz cover of this song is the son of the Guess Who's guitarist. And yes, the song is about American woman. The Guess Who are Canadians.
Before Bachman formed BTO, he was in a band called Brave Belt who released 2 albums, both had some decent songs on them. " Another Way Out" is a great song and people should check it out.
Try listening to the Burt Cummins interview about the song I referenced in the previous post. It will clear the air on how the song was written. He should know, he created it.
I was fortunate to see the Guess Who with Randy Bachman play this live in Toronto at Sarsstock. The video of that performance is available right here on UA-cam.
I was a young teen when this song came out. I thought it was about an American woman he had a relationship with. A few years later, when I was still in high school, I realized it was a slam against the USA and that the "woman" was a reference to the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of the USA. No one told me that's what the song was about, but that's what it seemed to be saying to me.
Metaphoric reference to the Statue of Liberty and what it was supposed to represent: Freedom. Instead, thousands of young men were being drafted for a very dangerous and, to a degree, a very unpopular war. No disrespect meant to our military. My father volunteered for Vietnam. But young men were running for both borders, Mexico and Canada, to dodge the draft. This is how my veteran father explained the song to me as a kid.
I just recently watched a performance of Lenny and The Guess Who live. Was really cool to see 😊 You really should watch the Professor of Rock interview of the lead singer. He tells the story of how he wrote the song. It’s not an anti war song.
😊❤ Hi Black P! 😅 OK, I had to look it up!! LOL 😂 You should read about it actually! It's a crazy story! The song was written impromptu, on stage!! 😮🤯 Apparently Bachmann was on stage alone and after replacing a string on his guitar he was tuning it. He started to play the now famous opening riff and the early arriving audience all stopped and stared! So he kept playing it so he wouldn't forget the riff. When the other band members got onstage he yelled at Cummings, "Sing something!". And the rest is history! Oddly, Bachmann felt the lyrics were 'anti war protests'. But Cummings, on the spot author, said that they had been touring the US, and American girls were more mature than Canadian girls! 😉 And many people believe that 'The' American Woman is the Statue of Liberty! 😅 Luv ya! 😊❤❤
You made me feel old. You said "Did Lenny Kravitz cover this, is this the original?" I remember when the Kravitz cover came out I was thinking "Did the Guess Who get covered by this guy, Who is Lenny Kravitz?" I love both versions.
Yes, Kravitz released his cover in 1998 of the Guess Who's 1970 song. The Guess Who wrote it. Not everybody was anti-war (unfortunately; two-thirds of the troops America sent to fight in Vietnam were volunteers, not drafted young men), but many were anti-war. The song's composer, Burton Cummings, has said that the song was never meant to be political. He said that he was simply observing that American girls seemed to grow up faster than Canadian girls.
7:26 "Is This About The Government?" You're correct, Pegasus. It's a protest song protesting against the US participation in the Vietnam War and Draft Dodgers fleeing into Canada
The Guess Who, my first concert with my brother in 1971! Awesome! So many hits. We literally were next to the stage so I had to look up to see Burton Cummings playing the piano! Gail
I have heard this story two different ways. The Guess Who was on stage all except one member. The guitar was playing the get to stage riff. The lead singer looked out into the Canadian crowd. He noticed the Canadian girls wore less makeup than the American girls from the other night. The Canadian girls seemed more innocent. I believe because of the USA at the time was doing American things, It influenced the song he made up on the spot that started out to be about girls and it became more about war. It creeped into his subconscious as he just wanted the band member to get to the stage. They knew a kid in the crowd who had a recorder in one of his socks, they got a copy of the new song. Another version is a guitar string broke, one guy played that riff and Mr Cummings Stalled with his made up lyrics. It's always mind blowing to find out a song is a cover.
Winnipeg's finest EDIT: i have a funny guess who story. Was doing work for Burton cummings neighbor. The guy watching over Burt's house, said this house was purchased after lenny did a cover of "American Woman" and was referred to as "The House That Lenny Built" due to all the royalties Haha
the story behind this is the guess who were finished a set, the singer as late getting back so the band started the opeing riff to fill in time. the singer had had a arguement with a chick on his break. he sings about that chick when he comes back late and just starts singing., remember its a canadian band
This was written as a Canadian group protesting America and Vietnam. Also one of my favorite groups of all time. Love their music.
According to Burton, it’s generally about women on the US being more mature and faster. He preferred Canadian women because of that. No other reason. The words just rhyme.
One of my fav groups as well
Wrong
Bachman was playing notes while tuning his guitar after replacing a broken string, and he realized he was playing a new riff that he wanted to remember. He continued playing it and the other band members returned to the stage and joined in, creating a jam session in which Cummings improvised the lyrics. They noticed a kid with a cassette recorder making a bootleg recording and asked him for the tape. They listened to the tape and noted down the words that Cummings had extemporized, and which he later revised
Reading to much into it
The Guess Who are fantastic!!
1. These Eyes
2. No Sugar Tonight
3.Laughing
4.Share The Land
5.Undun
6.Hand Me Down World
7. No Time
@susanliltz3875 a different sound by them is Albert Flasher, a fun song
Also "No Time", which I would personally put ahead of Share the Land, but that's just my preference.
Pretty much the entire greatest hits album. :) they all fire.
All great in their own right.
The woman Burt Cummings is talking about is the statue of liberty. A lot of American guys went to Canada to keep from being drafted and having to fight in Vietnam. Guess Who being a Canadian band was sending a message to the USA that they didn’t want any part of the war. It is a great song!!
Wrong.
@@tedd8055 WRONG It was Burton Cummings way of saying he prefers Canadian women to American women.
This statement is 100% false. There is absolutely zero politics involved with this writing or meaning of this song. I would suggest better research.
they were actually quoted as just tired from a long American tour and wanted to get home to their 'preferred' Canadian women at home. Never heard your reason @nanalol4fun o.O
spot on
I would recommend listening to The Guess Who "No Sugar Tonight"/"New Mother Nature"
Yea that's agood one an amazing singer
That song totally deserves a reaction. Maybe one of their best!
❤❤❤
The “American Woman” in this song is “Lady Liberty”. A Canadian protest song against the USA involvement in Vietnam.
This is 💯 the original and Lenny actually covered it for the movie Austin Powers : The spy who shagged me! Randy Bachman is the lead guitarist who would later form Bachman Turner Overdrive with his two brothers! U should definitely check them out! You ain't seen nothing yet, Let it ride, Takin care of business, & Roll on down the highway are just a few of their bigger hits!
I Love those songs!
My Favorite of theirs is "Blue Collar" and NOBODY EVER reacts to it!! {Hint Hint}
theyre good radio hits,but there best is,blue collar,gimme your money please,second hand,lookin out for #1,rock is my life.not fragile is a great start to finish record...
I think this song is actually not about a woman it's a Vietnam protest song. The band was Canadian and they were singing this rejecting America's involvement in Vietnam
The late 60's and 70's were the absolute BEST!!🎵🎼🎶🤘🤘🤘🤘
these eyes. are. one of their best hits
Sooooooooo good
Absolutely‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
I'm kinda partial to no sugar tonight myself
This is also the short version of the song. The long version starts with a very slow intro where he spells out American Woman
That is THE best version, and it just builds up more tension then gets to that groove, you never forget it once you hear it.
Black P American woman came out in 1970 the start of 70s ROCK AND ROLL BABY
They are from my home town of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The same city Neil Young grew up during his teen years and started his first band called The Squires.
Same home town as the real Winnie the Pooh!!! :)
The first time this was played was in front of a live audience, and was a completely improvised jam, including the lyrics. They literally wrote the song as they played it in front of an audience.
and someone in the audience had a tape recorder, which was new technology at the time.
They were a Canadian band! Their popularity in the USA was amazingly huge.
Many people of draft age were heading to Canada. So...
American Orange.... Stay away from meeeee. American Orange, let Canada beeeeee....
Now you can dive into The Guess Who, Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO) and Burton Cummings rabbit holes.
That's a good rabbit hole....
Yes!
YES!!!
BTO for sure.
The Guess who was asked to perform at the white house for President Nixon and his family and were told specifically NOT to play this song. They did anyway.
Good. Glad they did. Cant tell us what to do, at least gen x, we don't ride like that.
@@JamesBrendon-h4r pretty sure the band members were boomers technically
@@TheDopekittyYep. They started in the 60s.
According wiki, this is a myth
I believe the boomers did exactly as they were told to do. Music played in the 60s, late 60s is gen x even though boomers crested some of it.
The Guess Who - Another Amazing Canadian Band , from Winnipeg, Manitoba......My Town, went to my School, before my time but we all heard how the music teacher knew them and had Burton Cummings in the Class. You would see them hanging around the old neighborhood when they were back in town and at the bars drinking with the regulars!! Cheers!
This song came out in 1970 when I first started high school. I was a volunteer usher for rock concerts so I got to see them for free. They were awesome!
Here are few more of their songs you need to check out: Clap for the Wolfman, These Eyes. No Sugar Tonight and Laughing. The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965.
Great group, and my first live concert and I was happily right up front. At the end I went up and ask for a drumstick, the bass player was very sweet and said we’re all out of drumsticks, would you like my guitar pick, and of course I said yes please, lol, never forget it!
Yes, all of these, first Clap for the Wolfman!! 👏👏👏
These eyes
Such a rabbit hole to go down with The Guess Who\Burton Cummings! Some people think they were saying they didn't like "American women" in general but Burton has said its because they just came off an american tour and were just tired and wanted to get back to their Canadian women after such a long time away. thanks for sharing Black Pegasus :)
I like this group, no bad songs at all. I love these tunes!
I feel ya about not knowing what was a remake. Back in the 80’s my mom would hear songs I was listening to and tell me it wasn’t the original. Blew me away every time. lol.
American Woman" is a song by Canadian rock band the Guess Who, released January 1970, from the album of the same name. It was later released in March 1970 as a single backed with "No Sugar Tonight", and it reached number one for three weeks commencing May 9 on both the United States' Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM magazine singles chart.
The music and lyrics of the song were improvised on stage during a concert in Southern Ontario Canada (the guitarist, Randy Bachman, recalled it being at a concert in Kitchener Ontario, although Burton Cummings, the lead singer, said it was at the Broom and Stone, a curling rink in Scarborough Ontario). Bachman was playing notes while tuning his guitar after replacing a broken string, and he realized he was playing a new riff that he wanted to remember. He continued playing it and the other band members returned to the stage and joined in, creating a jam session in which Cummings improvised the lyrics. They noticed a kid with a cassette recorder making a bootleg recording and asked him for the tape. They listened to the tape and noted down the words that Cummings had extemporized, and which he later revised.
The song's lyrics have been the matter of debate, often interpreted as an attack on U.S. politics (especially the draft). Cummings, who composed the lyrics, said in 2013 that they had nothing to do with politics. "What was on my mind was that girls in the States seemed to get older quicker than our girls and that made them, well, dangerous. When I said 'American woman, stay away from me,' I really meant 'Canadian woman, I prefer you.' It was all a happy accident."
American singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz covered "American Woman" for the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. It was released as a single in May 1999 and was later included on the reissue of Kravitz's album 5. Kravitz's version is slower and softer than the original, without the signature guitar solo; he later said to Randy Bachman that the reason why he skipped the lead guitar part was "I couldn't get the sound. I couldn't get the tone."
The cover reached the top 20 in Australia, Finland, Iceland, New Zealand, and Spain, as well as number 26 in Canada and number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The music video which featured actress Heather Graham (who starred in The Spy Who Shagged Me). In 1999, the Guess Who joined Kravitz and his band for a live performance of "American Woman" at the Canadian MuchMusic Video Awards. (like the MTV Awards but for the Canada tv channel MuchMusic).
Must try video for...... (Lenny Kravitz join live by original Guess Who -- American Woman) video found on UA-cam
Next you can do tons more of The Guess Who like........
- American Woman (do the live performance from their concert Running Back Thru Canada, this is the best performance you'll ever hear a little over 14 minutes. The first six and a half minutes they just improvise a whole new intro)
- Heartbroken Bopper
- Albert Flasher
- Rain Dance
- Follow Your Daughter Home
- These Eyes
- Clap for the Wolfman (look for the performance from The Midnight Special with Wolfman Jack)
- Star Baby
- No Sugar Tonight/ New Mother Nature
(Plus any other song of theirs, look for live performances)
- Solo Burton Cummings like these........
- Something Old, Something New
- Heavenly Blue
- I'll play a Rhapsody
- My Own Way To Rock
- Stand Tall
- I'm Scared
- You Saved My Soul
- Take One Away (this is Burton's only actual music video, all other songs are only live performances)
Randy Bachman from his other band Bachman Turner Overdrive (aka BTO)
BTO songs to try....
- Takin' Care of Business
- Let It Ride
- You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
- Roll On Down the Highway
(Look for live performances)
Solo Randy Bachman song with 2 versions to try....
- Prairie Town 1992 with Randy Bachman, Neil Young and Margo Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies (A Canadian band) she provides backup vocals and also appears in the video slow version of song. There's also a rocking version of the song with a video as well with just Randy Bachman and Neil Young, the song is about the Prairie Town of Winnipeg Canada.
You're absolutely right. It was more a tribute to Canadian women than it was negativity toward American women.
The only one in the world with access to the fake news of wiki has been heard from.
Was fortunate enough to see these fellow Canadians perform live and they have a fantastic sound many years after this song was recorded - the lead guitar player is Randy Bachman and he can still play like this at 81 :)
The American woman is a reference to the Statue of liberty. (the Government). This song was written just after they They turned back form a border crossing where the border guard told them that if they if they worked in the USA and had a green card the were subject to the draft. Also this group sold more albums than the Beatles in 1970.
The song is Canada telling the US to leave them alone. American woman is the Statue of Liberty.
It was an anti-war anthem back in the Vietnam days...
IM A CHRISTIAN AMERICAN I USE TO LOVE AMERICA BUT NOT ANY MORE BIDEN IS THE MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT EVER Now im very ready to be with THE LORD JESUS CHRIST FOR EVER
This statement is 100% false. There is absolutely zero politics involved with this writing or meaning of this song. I would suggest better research.
And here we are today saying the same thing!
@@FrankenstratAssassin You're trying to tell Western Canadians that have been listening to the band for 60 years, and know the guys what the song is?
I'll be seeing Burton Cummings on January 18th in Laughlin NV. I was 12 years old when this was a hit. Still have the album I purchased. This song was first released 55 years ago this month.
Me too...Penns Peak in the Poconos...can't wait
Lucky you! Have fun
Randy Bachman the co-writer and guitarist also formed Bachman Turner Overdrive. Dude is a literal hit machine. He is also the best rock story teller alive. 80 some odd now and very on. Canada Rocks!
He really was, wasn’t he!
Yes sir, another one of our GREAT Canadian bands 🍁
P.S. Although there have been so much speculation about what the song is really about, some saying the Statue of Liberty, some saying American politics, some saying America, but the truth is and this is from Burton Cummings himself:
"Cummings, who composed the lyrics, said in 2013 that they had nothing to do with politics. "What was on my mind was that girls in the States seemed to get older quicker than our girls and that made them, well, dangerous. When I said 'American woman, stay away from me,' I really meant 'Canadian woman, I prefer you.' It was all a happy accident."
They tell two opposing stories. The one you shared was what they said when they released the song, but it was most likely a plea to keep getting airplay on American radio, which was what drove record sales. I saw an interview where Randy Bachman later said they were trying to get to a gig in the US, but couldn’t get through the border crossing from Canada. And they wrote this song out of frustration, throwing anything in, women, government, the Vietnam War, and this was the result. I’ll have to search for that interview now.
I could go along with that until the last verse. No matter what he said this is dissing the States, from the Canadian point of view.
He lives in the US ... of course he won't upset the hand that feeds him.
Even more poignant now than 50 years ago, with Trump baiting us.
Cummings improvised the lyrics while playing at a curling rink in Toronto. The other band members have stated often that it was about the draft system in the US (which Canada didn't have).
I've heard so many different meanings of the song from guys in the band. All of them seem plausible but I don't care which, or if any, are right because it's just an awesome song.
My favourite meaning I heard was that it was about promiscuous American groupies trying to corrupt the innocent Canadian boys in the band.
Please read the history of this song - it's a song by MISTAKE! Burton was late getting to the stage, so the band was just repeating a riff - the opening riff to the song! History from there.
Absolutely... made up on the fly~!
I got excited when I just saw your video in my recommended and saw it was the song by The Guess Who a favorite band of mine from the '70s. They're an amazing Canadian rock band and they also possessed the great vocals of lead singer Burton Cummings. The song is probably my favorite song by them. So thank you for covering it.❤️
Good catch, BP. I’ve listened to that song for nearly 50 years (holy crap, That’s a long time) and I never figured out that it was a Vietnam war protest song, about the Statue of Liberty. Really good, red pilled ears!
You bet! Burton is an amazing artist He's a book with many chapters.Worth a read. Break It To Them Gently.
“What is the meaning behind the song American Woman?
“It's basically an antiwar protest song saying, 'We don't want your war machines, we don't want your ghetto scenes, stay away from me,'” Bachman describes of the lyrics. “'American Woman' is not the woman on the street.”
This is a Canadian band and it was around the time of the Vietnam war… American men were draft dodging into Canada
That whole album is great!!! So much good stuff from this band..
This came out the year I graduated from college-it was on the radio non stop all summer. It's a terrific banger. Great opening riff to the song-everyone recognizes it instantly.
Yes, the woman is representing lady Liberty, as a reflection of the whole USA scene at the time. The guess Who had green cards and were on their way to a gig in Texas. The attendant at a gas station near the boarder told them they are drafting people with green cards. So the guess Who turned around and went home.
Get the whole story by watching Randy Bachmann's Vinyl Tap
They are a Canadian band. Many hits them, and the lead singer went solo and had hits. Some hits, These Eyes, Share the Land, No Sugar Tonight.
This song isn’t even about women. It’s a statement about the
U. S. and the Vietnam war. ✌🏼😎🇺🇸
So much great music came during such a terrible time in America. Many of the lyrics could have been written yesterday for what is going on today. The beat goes on. No DRAFT!✌🙏
Well dang I never knew that and I am old as hell, thank you for putting that in here
No its Burtons Cummings way of saying he prefers Canadian women to American women.
@ NO, it’s definitely not!
Wrong.
Yep; this was the original. Part of the soundtrack to my teenage years. And you definitely had the right take on it toward the end.
What he was saying it to was the US over all. The song was written during the height of th Vietnam war and anti war protests.
"No Time" is a really good song by them. Enjoyed your reaction!
They were driving from their hometown of Winnipeg to a gig in Minnesota. The border agent advised them to turn around and avoid visiting the US at all because they could get drafted just by being inside the US. So back they went to Winnipeg, and at their next gig in Thunder Bay they "wrote" this song on stage during a mid-show break. Randy Bachman had broken a guitar string so he was messing around with chords after he re-stringed it. The rest of the musicians joined in. Lead singer Burton Cummings came on stage when the locals were telling him his band had already started up again. He asked WTF are you guys doing? Bachman told him to just sing something. He had just been talking to the locals about the border incident during the break, so American Woman just popped into his mind.
Record in 1969, there was a huge anti war, anti draft, and civil rights fight. Wasn’t release until 1970. Women were fighting for equal rights to have a checking account, unmarried to the BC pill, right to get a credit card, and equal pay for job
Yes. We’re still fighting for equal pay, and access to women’s health care.
@ I’m sorry, we thought it was settled and Congress refused to pass a law to codify it. Only 9 more states are needed to pass ERA. However since it failed in red states, states refuse to schedule a new vote.
I was lucky enough to see them reunited in Toronto in 03 for Sarstock and 500,000 crazy Canadians 🤪 The place was freaking hopping when the Guess Who played. BTO taking care of business. Great reaction and Peace out 🙏 ☮️ ✌️BTW he said he wasn't so much putting down American women as he was propping up Canadian women 😉 Gun's Gun's Gun's is written towards America..from the Guess Who
❤❤❤❤❤❤
I just love your face and revelations to our music in time🤣🤣
Yes- Lenny Kravitz did a cover...you should try "Undun" or "These Eyes"....the first about a woman who goes mad doing psychedelics and the latter a love song- both with haunting lyrics and singling by Burton Cummings
Undun is a great song
This song live (especially from Winnipeg) is incredible. A must see!!!
American Woman is the Statue of Liberty. They were a Canadian band who came to America to play music and went back so they wouldn’t get drafted.
The guitarist broke a string and as hewas trying to fix it he came up with the first riff and had the lead singer to sing anything and that’s how it started
Yes this is their song. From what I hear it was written during Vietnam when a lot of the draft dodgers were flinging to Canada. The Guess WHO I believe are from there. American Woman is actually America the country not a particular woman.
American woman is a metaphor. Speaking about the American government that the Statue of Liberty represents now.
This statement is 100% false. There is absolutely zero politics involved with this writing or meaning of this song. I would suggest better research.
I saw the Guess Who as a teen in the mid 90s! I was super hyped because I’d been listening to them for years, but the friends with me had NO clue why I was wilding about a bunch of aged out hippies, with the singer at least half a dozen ball caps stacked on his head. 🤣
STILL love em! 🔥💃
The Guess Who are a Canadian band , so it was a statement about the Vietnam War from their perspective.
I heard Burton Cummings say in an interview it's about the Statue of Liberty and the States wanting to draft them, he later changed his story, so who knows, also after a breakup with some female he said he didn't like women and denied it later, great reaction
Yes, most of the band members have said this was an anti draft song. They are Canadian and had been touring the US during the draft and were thankful when they returned to Canada where we don't have a draft. They said while the were in North Dakota near the Canadian/US border, someone approached and tried to draft them.
I worked with the producer/engineer of these early Guess Who records, Jack Richardson in the 1990’s. Jack is an absolute legend in Canadian and world recording industry (RIP Jack)
Jack gave me my “ear” for studio production.
Peace
This album was only a few months old when the Kent State murders occurred. Four bystanders were killed at a university anti-war protest against the carpet bombing of Cambodia. They were shot by the National Guard like it was the battle of Gettysburg.
Ten days later in Alberta it was my fifteenth birthday. I got the album American Woman and the Time Magazine issue with the cover picture that everyone has seen. It was the first I had heard of Kent State or The Guess Who. My first thought looking at the Time cover (and I never forgot it), was "America will shoot their own kids, on their own campuses for using their very own freedom of speech."
Then I listened to American Woman for the first time. It is still my Favourite song.
The Guess Who is from Canada and our Prime Minister was a hippie. His biggest crime was trying to distance Canada from American influence. Draft Dodgers from the Vietnam War were welcomed with open arms, especially after this album was released in the spring of 1970. Richard Nixon hated Pierre Elliot Trudeau. It's even on the Watergate Tapes. Called him a f**ker.
Today, this very day, Trudeau's son, Justin RESIGNED as Prime Minister. His biggest crime has been in importing American influence. Wokeness, racism, gun and drug violence, mass migration and even terrorism and insurrection in the form of truck drivers. He has now resigned and his whole movement is in tatters. I'm afraid the next Prime Minister will want to join America or at least encourage Quebec.
I wish our politicians had all listened to this album, not just Pierre Elliot.
Professor of Rock has an interview with Burton Cummings (singer) that is fantastic. I won't give it away.
Love Professor of Rock. He doesn't hold back. PB, I would goad you to check him out, but then we wouldn't have your first reaction.
I enjoy seeing people discover new music that I've known since childhood. Guess Who. I haven't listened to them in years! Burton Cummings has a great voice. Good songwriter as well. Another song of theirs is These Eyes. I used to sing the chorus to my little sister when she was being a brat! Drove her crazy. It got to where I just had to mouth the words and she's go crying to mom or dad that I was doing it again! Haha!
Okay, as per Burton Commings
The they were coming back for a new set. Commings was late they started playing the riff. He came on stage and it was a complete improv in fact after the show they didn’t know what all went down, so sought out a person in the audience to get a copy of it! So the intent was just off the cuff!
No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature is an awesome track by the guess who.
If I rememger correctly, this song was improved live on stage. The guitarist had come up with the riff as a warm up. For some reason the singer couldn't come out on stage right away, so they kept playing the riff, and the crowd went wild. When the lead singer came out on stage, the rest of the song was made up on the spot.
The Guess Who is rock and roll royalty, with two era's of excellent musicians filled with ridiculous music minds, catchy riffs and fronted by, in my opinion, one of the greatest rock and roll voices there has EVER been. They also had plenty of their own dysfunction like so many greats too. Just listening to this track alone it is clear that Burton Cummings pipes were second to none back then, and one could consider still second to none today. He could literally sing anything in any style, and this band's recordings will demonstrate that too. I easily have him in my top 5 (male) rock and roll voices of all time. Loved them back then and still throw them on now. There "stuff" is simply just too catchy and every song can draw you in for one reason or another. Lyrically, they, like many bands of the "time" went down political rabbit holes (although this song, despite some of the comments stating otherwise in this thread... is ABSOLUTELY NOT one of those politically motivated songs whatsoever-- not even close. The origin of this song is QUITE awesome in rock and roll folklore) but American Woman to this day remains one of my favorite rock and roll songs of all time, has been covered by MANY artists and remains a fan favorite at any rock and roll concert who decides to sing it live. It rocks all the way through and still holds it own after 50+ years of just getting better. Love the longer version of this song myself, but it doesn't take away any of the punch if one doesn't hear it. AWESOME reaction choice!!!
As a amateur musician I love your face when my guitar get salty low down dirty!😂😂😂
The Guess Who was from Canada. They noticed a lot of draft dodgers coming to Canada from the US. The song was definitely an anti-war protest song regarding the Vietnam War at the time. I LOVE The Guess Who, and Burton Cummings's voice is amazing!!
Styx also has a couple of song about America disguised as talking about a person called Suite Madam Blue and Miss America.
You hit it right on the juggler You hit it head on.
The song is using a relationship with an American woman as a metaphor for what dealing with America was like during the 60s. The Guess Who were dissing America.
The Guess who and Lenny Kravitz are both Canadian. There is a live video on UA-cam of Lenny and his band sharing the stage with the original Guess Who playing American Woman.
Lenny Kravitz was born in New York City to American parents. He is most definitely not Canadian.
Lenny Kravitz is not Canadian.
Remember that the Guess Who is a Canadian band. In the song, they are representing their country talking to our country.
When you go back and listen, check out the album/extended version. This is the radio edit version.
Yes, The Guess Who were from CANADA, and the band The Who are from the United Kingdom. And yes they are the originals of this song, which if I am not mistaking, came out in the mid to late 60's. I was born in the Summer of 1967 and while growing up,I used to listen to this all the time.
The Guess Who were from Canada. All Canadian band. This song was written while Vietnam was still raging. The band toured in the US a lot, and it's their statement that they don't support or want to deal with America's issues. "American Woman" is the Statue of Liberty.
Canadian Rockers! Randy Bachman’s guitar is incredible!
After Randy left the Guess Who he formed another GREAT band Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO) and continued to be successful.
IMO Randy and BTO were very underrated
If I remember correctly, the guitarist on Kravitz cover of this song is the son of the Guess Who's guitarist. And yes, the song is about American woman. The Guess Who are Canadians.
Before Bachman formed BTO, he was in a band called Brave Belt who released 2 albums, both had some decent songs on them. " Another Way Out" is a great song and people should check it out.
You missed the longer version. I suggest you listen again but find the long version.
And it is about Vietnam, the draft, the American government.
Try listening to the Burt Cummins interview about the song I referenced in the previous post. It will clear the air on how the song was written. He should know, he created it.
I was fortunate to see the Guess Who with Randy Bachman play this live in Toronto at Sarsstock. The video of that performance is available right here on UA-cam.
You should look up how the this song was written, it was improvised on stage and they had to get a bootleg copy of the show and write it down
I was a young teen when this song came out. I thought it was about an American woman he had a relationship with. A few years later, when I was still in high school, I realized it was a slam against the USA and that the "woman" was a reference to the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of the USA. No one told me that's what the song was about, but that's what it seemed to be saying to me.
Yes they are a Canadian band and he was singing about the woman called America. Anti American song but we still love it because it's badass
Metaphoric reference to the Statue of Liberty and what it was supposed to represent: Freedom. Instead, thousands of young men were being drafted for a very dangerous and, to a degree, a very unpopular war. No disrespect meant to our military. My father volunteered for Vietnam. But young men were running for both borders, Mexico and Canada, to dodge the draft. This is how my veteran father explained the song to me as a kid.
I just recently watched a performance of Lenny and The Guess Who live. Was really cool to see 😊
You really should watch the Professor of Rock interview of the lead singer. He tells the story of how he wrote the song. It’s not an anti war song.
When you get invested that makes some of the best reaction videos! 40!
The co-writers: Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman both still tour to this day. Got tickets to see BTO this spring.
😊❤ Hi Black P! 😅 OK, I had to look it up!! LOL 😂 You should read about it actually! It's a crazy story! The song was written impromptu, on stage!! 😮🤯 Apparently Bachmann was on stage alone and after replacing a string on his guitar he was tuning it. He started to play the now famous opening riff and the early arriving audience all stopped and stared! So he kept playing it so he wouldn't forget the riff. When the other band members got onstage he yelled at Cummings, "Sing something!". And the rest is history! Oddly, Bachmann felt the lyrics were 'anti war protests'. But Cummings, on the spot author, said that they had been touring the US, and American girls were more mature than Canadian girls! 😉 And many people believe that 'The' American Woman is the Statue of Liberty! 😅 Luv ya! 😊❤❤
Can't wait for your dive in the Guess Who
You made me feel old. You said "Did Lenny Kravitz cover this, is this the original?" I remember when the Kravitz cover came out I was thinking "Did the Guess Who get covered by this guy, Who is Lenny Kravitz?" I love both versions.
Yes, Kravitz released his cover in 1998 of the Guess Who's 1970 song.
The Guess Who wrote it.
Not everybody was anti-war (unfortunately; two-thirds of the troops America sent to fight in Vietnam were volunteers, not drafted young men), but many were anti-war.
The song's composer, Burton Cummings, has said that the song was never meant to be political. He said that he was simply observing that American girls seemed to grow up faster than Canadian girls.
Two thirds sounds awfully high, I remember the draft.
@@bkm2797 Google it.
That surprised me, too.
They are the best ! Hugs and love Pegasus!❤😊❤
No Sugar Tonight is a great song by the Guess Who. Burton Cummings has an awesome voice.
Just another fantastic Canadian rock band. ❤️🇨🇦
7:26
"Is This About The Government?"
You're correct, Pegasus. It's a protest song protesting against the US participation in the Vietnam War and Draft Dodgers fleeing into Canada
The Guess Who, my first concert with my brother in 1971! Awesome! So many hits. We literally were next to the stage so I had to look up to see Burton Cummings playing the piano! Gail
Bought this CD for this song and New Mother Nature. Did a vid of the Men of the WB to Raining men. It's on here.
Remember these guys are from Canada
I have heard this story two different ways. The Guess Who was on stage all except one member. The guitar was playing the get to stage riff. The lead singer looked out into the Canadian crowd. He noticed the Canadian girls wore less makeup than the American girls from the other night. The Canadian girls seemed more innocent. I believe because of the USA at the time was doing American things, It influenced the song he made up on the spot that started out to be about girls and it became more about war. It creeped into his subconscious as he just wanted the band member to get to the stage. They knew a kid in the crowd who had a recorder in one of his socks, they got a copy of the new song. Another version is a guitar string broke, one guy played that riff and Mr Cummings Stalled with his made up lyrics. It's always mind blowing to find out a song is a cover.
Number 4! Woot! Great song.
Winnipeg's finest
EDIT: i have a funny guess who story. Was doing work for Burton cummings neighbor. The guy watching over Burt's house, said this house was purchased after lenny did a cover of "American Woman" and was referred to as "The House That Lenny Built" due to all the royalties Haha
I remember playing this on the jukebox when I was a little kid
the story behind this is the guess who were finished a set, the singer as late getting back so the band started the opeing riff to fill in time. the singer had had a arguement with a chick on his break. he sings about that chick when he comes back late and just starts singing., remember its a canadian band