If you were to choose a handful of songs that define British or American life, which songs would you choose?
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The Brits made their choice in the mid-2000s when Q Magazine published the top five tracks that were “the ultimate sonic rendition of what it means to be British,” as chosen by a panel of music experts, per the BBC. There were some expected faces on the list, including, unsurprisingly, The Beatles and The Kinks.
We explore the “most British” songs from that 2005 survey and throw in our own picks for tracks that are the “ultimate sonic rendition” of what it means to be American.
The Brits’ Top Picks For Songs That Define British Life
In 2005, Q Magazine conducted a survey asking respondents for songs they believed defined British life. At the top of the list were, as one might expect, The Beatles. The song in question, “A Day in the Life”, is a bit more surprising, but this writer will concede that the song’s many movements, feelings, and references to actual places in the U.K. make the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band track a fair pick. Coming in at second place was The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset”, followed by Oasis’ “Wonderwall”.
The Sex Pistols’ “God Save The Queen” took fourth, while Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” came in fifth. The survey’s results make sense, considering all five bands’ immense influence on the British music scene. Would we argue that “Bohemian Rhapsody” deserved a higher ranking than “Wonderwall”? Perhaps. But rather than get into the weeds debating what the Brits consider the most British, we opted to explore the top five tracks we’d use to define American life.
“Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry
There are plenty of songs that allude to the natural beauty of the United States, but few do so with as much emotional nostalgia as John Denver’s 1971 track, “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. From its geographically specific lyrics to the intense feelings of American pride the song conjures, this Denver tune was an easy addition to our officially unofficial list of American songs.
“Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey
Ask virtually any American to sing the first lines of the 1981 Journey track, “Don’t Stop Believin’”, and you’re likely to get a “jjjyust a small town girl” á la Steve Perry. The band’s signature track is beloved all around the world, but only the U.S. gets to claim being the home of the iconic San Francisco rock band.
“Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”. made our list of songs that define American life for multiple reasons. One, the song’s title and chorus have made it one of the most-used tracks for patriotic playlists since its 1984 release. Two, the song—much like the country itself—has a long history of hardship that is often overshadowed or overlooked by the flashy gaudiness of American pride.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana
Closing out our list of songs defining American life is the grunge classic, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, by Nirvana. The 1991 hit single captured the attitude of the States’ younger generation in the 1990s, combining feelings of restlessness, unworthiness, defiance, and agitation into one incredibly catchy guitar riff and chorus. How much more American can one get than the pressing demand: “I feel stupid and contagious. Here we are now. Entertain us.”
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