America is a rock band, most popular in the early and mid 1970s and now bes… Read Full Bio ↴America is a rock band, most popular in the early and mid 1970s and now best known for their #1 hits "A Horse With No Name" and "Sister Golden Hair." Comprised of Gerry Beckley (September 12, 1952 - ), Dewey Bunnell (January 19,1952 - ), and Dan Peek (November 1, 1950 - July 24, 2011), they were seldom a favorite with critics, but were exceptionally successful commercially selling both singles and albums. Despite the presence of other heavyweight acts like James Taylor and Rod Stewart on their roster, America was Warner Brothers Records' biggest selling act of the 1970s.

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

Your Move
America Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I don't understand it 'cause you won't say yes
But you don't say no
Sayin' no we shouldn't you keep holdin' out
But you don't let go

I'm givin' up on trying
To sell you things that you ain't buying

It's your move (your move)
I played all of mine
Time is runnin' out
Make a move (your move)
Or we can't go on
Till you understand
It's all in your hands
It's your move

You're giving me the business
With that old come-on
But you don't come across
You get me so excited
Don't you know you're such a tease
When I think you're gettin' hot, you're not

So what's the problem? What's wrong?
This kiss and miss, you know it can't go on

It's your move (your move)
I played all of mine
Time is runnin' out
Make a move (your move)
Or we can't go on
Till you understand
It's all in your hands
It's your move

(Know it can't go on)

I'm givin' up on tryin' now it's (your move)
Girl, if you ain't buyin' now it's (your move)
I gave it all I got now it's (your move)
I thought you were hot
But you're not so it's (your move, your move, your move)

It's your move
I played all of mine
Time is runnin' out
Make a move
Or we can't go on
Till you understand
It's all in your hands
It's your move

It's your move
I played all of mine
Time is runnin' out
Make a move (ah, oh)
Or we can't go on
Till you understand
It's all in your hands
It's your move

It's your move (your move)
I played all of mine
Time is runnin' out
Make a move (your move)
Or we can't go on

Till you understand
It's all in your hands

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to America's song Your Move are all about a romantic pursuit where one person is not giving a clear response to the other. The use of chess language in the lyrics is a metaphor for this ongoing game where the other person is holding back their feelings and intentions.

In the first verse, the singer is expressing their frustration at the lack of a clear response from their love interest. They are being given mixed signals as the other person is neither saying yes nor no, and they are holding out hope for something more. The singer has given up trying to sell themselves and their feelings to the other person, and now the ball is firmly in the other person's court.

The second verse sees the singer questioning what is holding the other person back. They are accusing the other person of being a tease, and not following through with their promises of being interested. The singer is upset as they believe that they are giving everything they have to the relationship, and they can't continue without some clarity from their love interest.

Overall, the lyrics are a plea for honesty and clarity in a relationship. The use of chess language is a creative way to describe a common situation in romantic relationships where one person may not be as invested as the other.

Line by Line Meaning

I don't understand it 'cause you won't say yes
I'm confused because you won't give me a clear answer

But you don't say no
But you're not saying no either

Sayin' no we shouldn't you keep holdin' out
You keep avoiding saying no, even though you should

But you don't let go
But you're also not letting go of this situation

I'm givin' up on trying
I'm giving up on trying to convince you

To sell you things that you ain't buying
To try to convince you to do something you clearly don't want to do

It's your move (your move)
It's up to you to make a decision

I played all of mine
I've done everything I can do

Time is runnin' out
We're running out of time to resolve this

Make a move (your move)
You need to make a decision now

Or we can't go on
If you don't make a decision, we can't continue