So American
Producers
So American Lyrics
If pain was a color to paint on you
Your heart would be the color blue
Be a gradient from there until your body met your hair
Which remained a silver hue
You are the one they call Jesus Christ
Who didn't know no rock n' roll
Just a mission an' a gun to paint rainbows in Vietnam
An' a heart that always told you
[Pre-Chorus]
There's a madness in us all
There's a madness in us all
So, who broke the rules?
Who broke the rules?
Who broke the rules?
[Chorus]
They said, every one of you will never try to lend a hand
When the policemen don't understand
Boys, all you boys, you think it's so American
Girls, all you girls, yeah, you're so American
[Verse 2]
He may not be born of this land
But he was born of this world
He was born of all the mothers an' the colors of our brothers
An' the love that was taught to
You by the one they call Jesus Christ
Who may not know no rock n' roll
An' there may not be a Heaven or a place of which to send you
But you know in the end
There's a madness in us all
There's a madness in us all
There's a madness in us all
There's a madness in us all
So, who broke the rules?
Who broke the rules?
Who broke the rules?
[Chorus]
They said, every one of you will never try to lend a hand
When the policemen don't understand
Boys, all you boys, you think it's so American
Girls, all you girls, yeah, you're so American
[Post-Chorus]
There's two eyes for every one of us
But somebody got there first an' took them all
There's two eyes for every one of us
But somebody got there first an' took them all
[Bridge]
Man, oh man, you think it's so American
Man, oh man, yeah, you're so American
Man, oh man, you think it's so American
Man, oh man, yeah, you're so American
About
Criticizing the patriotism of the United States of America, “So American” is 2011’s In The Mountain In The Cloud’s second and last single. After its release, the track became a permanent song on the band’s setlists at shows.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
It is. It is political in a sense. It’s really just more observational than anything. We have an amazing job. We get to travel around the world and experience different cultures, and just learn so many things. I learned more in the last six years in this band than I ever learned in school. It’s not to say that I didn’t learn anything in Alaska because I [did]. [Especially] from my mom and dad—their views on things are so different. We never really cared about money. We’re all hard workers, so the times when we didn’t have money, we would just work harder. [But as a band,] we just get to experience so many things. An album a year is not a crazy amount of music. We play music every time of day. We should be able to write songs for a new album every six months. If you think about it, it’s not a crazy amount of writing.
- 1.So American
- 4.Senseless
- 9.Once Was One
- 11.Sleep Forever