The band evolved out of "Chad Allan and the Expressions" (often shortened to The Expressions), which was a pop rock group with a British Invasion feel fronted by Chad Allan and featuring guitarist Randy Bachman. Both of them had great potential as singer-songwriters. After their cover of "Shakin' All Over" sold well as a single, their record label released the band's album with "Guess Who?" written on the cover, hoping to mislead unsuspecting buyers into thinking it was a British group. The name stuck, however, and from then on they were 'The Guess Who'. The Who musician Pete Townshend later jokingly said that he allowed the Canadian group to take both their style and name, calling himself a fan.
Singer and keyboardist Burton Cummings joined upon Allan's departure in 1966, and the band's classic line-up was born. The guys mixed some jazz-inspired sounds such as flute and electric piano playing into their sound, and they scored hits in Canada with tracks such as "These Eyes", "Undun", and "Laughing". Yet it was when they turned to psychedelic-influenced rock and rock with 'American Woman' (the third album with the Bachman/Cummings line-up) that they broke through in the U.S. The anti-war title cut (a song ironically embraced by some Americans as a patriotic anthem despite the cynical lyrics, though the band didn't complain as the record royalties came in) has received airplay on classic rock radio for years and years now. The Guess Who's success after that album came out proved to be hit and miss, however, and they would have members go in and out.
After the release of 'Share the Land', their second album of 1970, Bachman left to form Bachman-Turner Overdrive, leaving Cummings as the band's leader and main songwriter. Though Bachman and his band-mates had achieved huge commercial success, the singer-songwriter felt like he wanted to go off into a whole other muscial direction. Afterwards, the Guess Who experimented in various styles through the 70s, including blues, down-home bluegrass, jazz fusion, and Cummings's trademark piano-based rock ballads. The novelty pop single "Clap for the Wolfman", a 1974 track made for the popular DJ Wolfman Jack that the band members were fans of, ended up being the Guess Who's last chart appearance.
Various combinations of former members of the band have reunited at various times since their breakup in 1975. The Guess Who's classic songs remain radio staples, even into the new millennium. Various greatest hits and multi-artist collections featuring their music have also been released.
See Guess Who for the Romanian rapper Laurentiu Mocanu.
American Woman
The Guess Who Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
American woman, you gonna mess your mind
American woman, I'm gonna mess your mind
American woman, I'm gonna mess your mind
Say A, say M, say E
Say R, say I, C
Say A, N
American woman, I'm gonna mess your mind
American woman, you gonna mess your mind
American woman, I'm gonna mess your mind
American woman, stay away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don't come a hangin' around my door
I don't want to 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 away
American woman, listen what I say
American woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don't come a knockin' around my door
Don't want to see your shadow no more
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else's eyes
Now woman, I said get away
American woman, listen what I say-ay-ay-ay
American woman, said get away
American woman, listen what I say
Don't come a hangin' around my door
Don't want to see your face no more
I don't need your war machines
I don't need your ghetto scenes
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else's eyes
Now woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Go, gotta get away, gotta get away now go, go, go
I'm gonna leave you woman
Gonna leave you woman
Bye-bye bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye
You're no good for me
I'm no good for you
Gonna look you right in the eye
Tell you what I'm gonna do
You know I'm gonna leave
You know I'm gonna go
You know I'm gonna leave
You know I'm gonna go-o, woman
I'm gonna leave you woman
Goodbye American woman
The lyrics to The Guess Who's "American Woman" represent a rejection of American values by a male protagonist who addresses an American woman in the song. The lyrics are directed towards an American woman who has the potential to corrupt the male protagonist's values with her American ideals. The song expresses an anti-American sentiment and critiques the United States' values and institutions, using a woman as a symbol of them. The repetition of the phrase "American woman, I'm gonna mess your mind" is a warning that the singer will not allow the woman to influence or corrupt his values.
In the second verse, the singer tells the woman to stay away from him and uses the phrase "mama let me be" to emphasize that he is not interested in a relationship with her. He further repeats the phrase "Don't come a hangin' around my door" to emphasize his desire to not have any interaction with her. The third verse represents a rejection of American culture, specifically the use of war machines and the ghetto culture. The singer finds these concepts to be distasteful and does not want to associate with them. The song ends with the singer leaving the woman and expressing his desire to be free of the American values that she represents.
Line by Line Meaning
American woman, I'm gonna mess your mind
I intend to cause confusion and upset for American women
American woman, you gonna mess your mind
American woman, you will cause yourself mental conflict
Say A, say M, say E
Say R, say I, C
Say A, N
Spell out American, letter by letter
American woman, stay away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don't come a hangin' around my door
I don't want to 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 away
American woman, listen what I say
I don't want to be in a relationship with you, don't bother me anymore
American woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don't come a knockin' around my door
Don't want to see your shadow no more
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else's eyes
Now woman, I said get away
American woman, listen what I say-ay-ay-ay
You and the fancy things you have don't impress me, leave me alone
American woman, said get away
American woman, listen what I say
Don't come a hangin' around my door
Don't want to see your face no more
I don't need your war machines
I don't need your ghetto scenes
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else's eyes
Now woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be
I reject your material possessions and negative societal influences
Go, gotta get away, gotta get away now go, go, go
I'm gonna leave you woman
Gonna leave you woman
Bye-bye bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye
You're no good for me
I'm no good for you
Gonna look you right in the eye
Tell you what I'm gonna do
You know I'm gonna leave
You know I'm gonna go
You know I'm gonna leave
You know I'm gonna go-o, woman
I'm gonna leave you woman
Goodbye American woman
I need to escape this relationship now because it's not healthy for either of us
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Burton Cummings, Gary Peterson, Michael Kale, Randy Bachman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind