Rick attempting to perform The American Girl in Milwaukee, 5/12/07

 

 THE AMERICAN GIRL         
 (Music & Lyrics by Rick Springfield) 

You can see her walking down on the city street
The American Girl
She's got the passion in her eyes
She's got the blush on her cheeks
The American Girl

I love to watch her move, her body sways
She whispers then she laughs
Did you hear what she says
I wanna know if she's talking 'bout me
Doing things her daddy can't see

The American Girl, out in the dark
She's looking for love, oh oh
The American Girl, she breaks hearts
But that's not enough
She's such a mystery to me

Love is full of intrigue and full of Bogart mystique
The American Girl
She's got the promise in the night
The romance in the back seat
The American Girl

I love to watch her move, her body sways
She whispers then she laughs
Did you hear what she says
I wanna know if she's talking 'bout me
Doing things her daddy can't see

The American Girl, out in the dark
She's looking for love, oh oh
The American Girl, she breaks hearts
But that's not enough
She's such a mystery to me

And she stares at herself
In the harsh white light
And she draws in her cheeks just like the model
So unsure of herself in the big wide world

The American Girl, out in the dark
She's looking for love, oh oh
The American Girl, she breaks hearts
But that's not enough
She's such a mystery

The American Girl, out in the dark
She's looking for love, oh oh
The American Girl, she breaks hearts
But that's not enough

The American Girl, out in the dark
She's looking for love, oh oh
The American Girl
(total playing time 3:09)

SONG FACTS:

This song appears on the following releases:
Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet and The Best of Rick Springfield (Japan).  This song can also be heard in the movie Private School.  Rick attempted to perform part of this song in Milwaukee on 5/12/07

Rick says: It came from my infatuation as a foreigner of American Women. - Eric Blair Special.

Footnote - the background picture is of Rick and his wife Barbara , captured from the VH1 behind the music special.  After all, she is THE American Girl for him!

According to US

Ok, God Bless his Soul for having such a fascination for America. I feel like we stole him from Australia. Just imagine how different our lives would have been had he remained in his birth land (especially his).

However flattering this song is to us as American Girls, I just never have liked this song very much. - rlh 

This is a groovy little number. It starts out with a funky rhythm, and Rick's voice breaks in---crystal clear. "You can see her walking down on the city street. The American Girl. She's got the passion in her eyes she's got the blush on her cheeks. The American Girl." Were we really that different, `us' American Girls? I guess so! 

I do like the next verse---"I love to watch her move. Her body sways. She whispers then she laughs, did you hear what she said? I wanna know if she talks about me. Doing things her daddy can't see, The American Girl." So Rick was absolutely infatuated with the `American girl' when he hit the country. America was his `land of dreams,' and as an added bonus, there were all these women/girls! LOL So I wonder if he wrote this song in retrospect around the time of WCD and SHSMY, or if this was a song he'd written many years earlier and then pulled out of the stack in the 80`s? It's hard to say. 

I like this song, but I don't rank it high in my favorites of Rick songs. It's just about mid-way for me on the Rickter scale! It has a catchy beat and seems to be another of those that you can't get out of your head, no matter what. His voice sounds smooth and clear as it always did back then, and I feel he meant well with the sentiment. It feels to me like it was written right after coming here, and in the midst of his fascination with the U.S. (I keep guessing!) 

I also love the verse that says---"Love is full of intrigue and full of Bogart mystique. The American Girl. She's got the promise in the night, the romance in the back seat. The American Girl." That is such a clever lyric in my opinion. Especially the "Bogart mystique" verse. He felt `we' were mysterious, maybe unapproachable? 

I believe the last verse deals with what a lot of women, American or otherwise, deal with in today's society---"And she draws in her cheeks just like the model. So unsure of herself in the big wide world. The American Girl." We are taught that appearance is what's important. Then there are the normal insecurities of going out on your own into the world, maybe for the first time. 

Rick's insight into the female psyche has always amazed me! In fact, it's one of the best aspects of his writings for me. I don't know how he does it. 

Well, Rick's love for the American girl was obvious in this song. Luckily for Rick he DID find his American girl and has built a long life with her. It seems that a lot of his dreams for a better life really did come true over here…and for that I am glad! - 
Kelley Pearson

Right from the first notes, before Rick even starts to sing, I have a skip in my heart because I love this song so. To me, that little guitar lick sounds like a little girl walking. I don't know how I came up with that one, but that is what I have always pictured in my mind. Maybe it's the first line, "You can see her walking down the city street" (which Rick sounds like he is saying city straight..love that accent there). If you've ever watched a toddler do that drunken sailor stagger, it is to the tune of this guitar lick.

"I love to watch her move - her body sways" The first time I heard this line, I stopped mid-stride (walking around in my teenage room here) and looked behind me and thought "my body sways? Guys like that?" Thanks Rick, here come the hormones! Seriously, I suddenly became more conscious of how I walked, especially through my school.

"..and she draws in her cheeks, just like model". Yep, he know us girls, doesn't he? I still have a habit of at least turning my head side-to-side when I do the final once over before coming out of the bathroom. "So unsure of herself, in the big wide world" That line totally wraps up my whole high school experience, thank you very much Rick for saying it so eloquently. Suddenly this song has turned into being about me! I love it.

I love the simplicity of the sound of the music in this one. It just doesn't need anything more to it. I was so thrilled when this showed up in the movie "Private School" and yet so bummed that they cut the hell out of it, so basically all we got was a little bit of the beginning and the chorus. Such a shame to do that to such a sweet song.  - Michelle P.

The music, the lyrics, the passion in which he sings this song.........ALL wonderful! I just love to turn this one up LOUD!!!! In a way, it's almost 'Sexy'.....with a capital S.....I can't put my finger on it, but it just drips with sexy-ness to me. One of my faves from this CD.... Amy L.

This is Rick's homage to us- The American Girls. I think he had an image in his head of what an American girl was. It makes me wonder if Australian girls were so different from us. The whole song just makes me think that he was very caught up in what he perceived as the classic American girl. I like the music. It's almost like an anthem. It's a real feel good song. I think he should sing this song to us in concert. - Elizabeth S.