Sons of American fathers and British mothers, their fathers being military personnel stationed at the West Ruislip USAF base in London, all three attended London Central High in Bushey, Hertfordshire in the mid-60s where they met while playing in two different bands.
They eventually got together and formed the rock band America, honoring the name of the homeland they had hardly even seen during their several travels around the world. They played their first gigs in pubs and clubs in the London area, including some highlights at the Roundhouse, where Pink Floyd had been playing at the beginning of their own career.
Their first LP was recorded at Trident and Morgan studios in London and produced by Ian "Sammy" Samwell, who was known for the hits he had written for Cliff Richard, with the assistance of Jeff Dexter.
The album was initially released in Europe with only moderate success and without the breakout hit "A Horse With No Name." Samwell helped the group to record and persuaded the Warner Brothers label to release the new song on an EP which was highly popular in the United States as well as in Europe.
America the album was re-released with "Horse", and quickly went platinum with the other favorites "I Need You," "Sandman," and "Riverside." Their second album, appropriately named Homecoming, saw the band moving back to the United States to record. The most notable song was "Ventura Highway."
The group's fourth album Holiday had them with George Martin (former producer for The Beatles), who worked with them through Silent Letter in 1979 with much success. The next album, Hearts, featured "Sister Golden Hair" and "Daisy Jane."
Peek left the group after recording Harbor in 1977. The remaining duo produced many more albums and had one more significant radio hit, "You Can Do Magic," reaching #8 on the pop charts in 1982. Their last top-40 hit was "The Border," which went to #33 on the pop charts (and #4 on the adult contemporary charts) the next year.
America continued with consistent live work and sporadic recordings following their departure from Capitol Records in the mid-80s.
In 1982 America provided the soundtrack for the magical anime film The Last Unicorn. Although officially produced by an American company, the film is an important transitional work in the development of Japanese anime, since most of its animation was subcontracted to the Japanese company Topcraft. The music was composed by Jimmy Webb, though performed by America, and the title song was covered many times later on. The tone is wistful and the themes are of loss.
Beckley released a solo set - "Van Go Gan" - in 1999.
Later, in his post-America career, Peek became a born-again Christian and released some highly-successful Contemporary Christian albums. His autobiography "An American Band" chronicles America's most successful period and his own spiritual journey.
Members include:
Gerry Beckley (1970-present) - lead and backing vocals, keyboards, guitars, bass, harmonica
Dewey Bunnell (1970-present) - lead and backing vocals, guitars
Dan Peek (1970-1977) - lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, harmonica
Horse With No Name
America Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
And after three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
After nine days I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with it's life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
The song "A Horse With No Name" by America has often been interpreted as a journey of self-discovery through the desert. The first verse talks about the start of the journey and the various things seen while traveling through the desert such as plants, birds, rocks, and sand with no clouds in the sky. The singer meets a fly with a buzz and hears sounds in the air.
As the journey continues, the singer spends several days in the desert and starts to experience the harsh conditions such as the heat and dry ground. However, being in the desert also brings a sense of freedom and relief from the rain. The desert also allows for self-reflection and remembrance of one's name without any interference or pain from others.
Towards the end of the journey, the singer lets the horse run free as the desert has transformed into the sea. The ocean is compared to the desert with its underground life and disguise above. The song concludes with the notion that although humans reside in cities made of ground, they fail to give love.
Line by Line Meaning
On the first part of the journey
At the beginning of the journey
I was looking at all the life
Observing the surrounding nature and living things
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
The environment consisted of plants, birds, rocks, and other elements of nature
There was sand and hills and rings
The landscape included sand, hills, and circular formations
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
The first living creature encountered was a buzzing fly
And the sky with no clouds
The sky was devoid of clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
It was extremely hot and the ground was parched
But the air was full of sound
Despite the silence, there were many sounds in the air
I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
The singer has travelled through the desert on a nameless horse
It felt good to be out of the rain
Being out of the rain was refreshing and enjoyable
In the desert you can remember your name
The isolation of the desert makes it easy to remember one's own identity
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
Without anyone else around, there is no one to inflict emotional or physical pain
After two days in the desert sun
After spending two days under the hot desert sun
My skin began to turn red
The sunburn caused the singer's skin to redden
And after three days in the desert fun
After spending three days having fun in the desert
I was looking at a river bed
The singer was observing a dry river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
The dry river bed once had a flowing river
Made me sad to think it was dead
The realization that the river was now dead caused the singer to feel sad
After nine days I let the horse run free
After nine days, the singer let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
The desert had transformed into a sea
The ocean is a desert with it's life underground
The ocean is similar to a desert, but with life existing below the surface
And a perfect disguise above
The surface of the ocean looks perfect, but it disguises the lack of life above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
Beneath the cities, there is a heart made of earth
But the humans will give no love
However, humans do not show love or appreciation for this earth
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
Repeat of earlier line
It felt good to be out of the rain
Repeat of earlier line
In the desert you can remember your name
Repeat of earlier line
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
Repeat of earlier line
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Dewey Bunnell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sabrinapaulas
Lyrics
On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot, and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
I've been through the desert
On a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert, you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
After three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead
You see I've been through the desert
On a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert, you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
After nine days, I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with it's life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love
You see I've been through the desert
On a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert, you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
@owenc.0
This fits so well with someone that is driving a Pontiac Aztek 2003 car and singing alone that has no hair that so wearing M.E.C. Big Mens Sam Eyeglasses and has a goatee and driving in New Mexico
(This is Off topic but Thanks the nice and funny comments!)
@GYUUN
LYRICS BY Musixmatch :-
On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can't remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La la la la la la...
After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
And after three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can't remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La la la la la la...
After nine days I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with its life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can't remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La la la la la la...
Thank you all very much
Take care of yourselves, take care
@90PercentNerd
this is the kind of song you listen to before getting pulled over by the police because your windshield is broken but you still argue with the officer and end up getting pepper sprayed.
@abgp9410
And then your brother in law asks you to apologize to the officer who pulled you over
@melodica5407
That👏is👏just👏perfect!!
@andreusredloff2252
A hearty modern interpretation!😅
@Chignet
Haha so you searched this song after watching season 3 episode 2 of breaking bad
@90PercentNerd
@@Chignet Hmmmm
@SomeSkyrimFan
Breaking Bad, Bojack Horseman, or GTA, we can all agree this song is amazing.
@barnabyhuckleberry3103
Or just, on its own.
@AmericaMyDearist
hell yeah
@deandremckinney85
I just heard it on bojack too 😂