About America

"America" is a song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond, released in 1980 on the soundtrack album of Diamond's film The Jazz Singer. It was also played in another film called Born in East LA. The song was a hit single in the United States in 1981, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was Diamond's sixth number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. Billboard also rated it as the #62 pop single overall for 1981. Although the single version was a studio recording, crowd cheering overdubs simulate the feel of a live performance. The song has sold 634,440 downloads in United States since Nielsen started tracking sales.

The song's theme is a positive interpretation of the history of immigration to the United States, both during the early 1900s and the present. Combining Diamond's typically powerful melody, dynamic arrangement, and bombastic vocal, it ends with an interpolation of the traditional patriotic song "My Country, 'Tis of Thee". In Diamond's concerts, the song is a very popular number both home and abroad, with a large United States flag often displayed from the rafters on cue to the lyric, "Every time that flag's unfurled / They're coming to America."[citation needed] The song was featured at the Stone Mountain Laser Show near Atlanta, Georgia. The song has been used in a number of contexts, including as a theme song for Michael Dukakis' 1988 presidential campaign and in promotion of the 1996 Olympics. Diamond also sang it at the centennial re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty and at the Pepsi Center in Denver on 31 December 1999. Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Diamond modified the lyrics to "America" slightly during live performances. Instead of "They're comin' to America," towards the end, it became "Stand up for America." It was included on a memorandum listing songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel Communications following the September 11 attacks.