I'm Afraid of Americans

"I'm Afraid of Americans" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released as a single from his 1997 album Earthling. The song, co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno, was originally written during Bowie's studio sessions for the 1995 album Outside[1] but was not released until a rough mix appeared on the soundtrack to the film Showgirls, and was subsequently remade for Earthling. A top 20 hit in Canada, the rework also peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 16 weeks on that chart. This was the final Bowie single which charted on the Hot 100 until "Blackstar" and "Lazarus" following his death.

"I'm Afraid of Americans"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Earthling
A-side	Versions 1–4 (12")
B-side	Versions 5–6 (12")
Released	14 October 1997
Recorded	August 1996
Studio	Looking Glass, New York City
Genre	Industrial rock
Length	5:00 (album version) Various (single remixes)
Label	Virgin
Songwriter(s)	David Bowie Brian Eno
Producer(s)	David Bowie Reeves Gabrels Mark Plati (album version) Nine Inch Nails Photek (single remixes)
David Bowie singles chronology
"Seven Years in Tibet" (1997) "I'm Afraid of Americans" (1997) "I Can't Read" (1997)

Background

Bowie describes the feelings behind the song:

It's not as truly hostile about Americans as say "Born in the U.S.A.": it's merely sardonic. I was traveling in Java when [its] first McDonald's went up: it was like, "for fuck's sake." The invasion by any homogenized culture is so depressing, the erection of another Disney World in, say, Umbria, Italy, more so. It strangles the indigenous culture and narrows expression of life.[2]

Releases

"I'm Afraid of Americans" was originally engineered by David Richards and appeared as a rough mix on the soundtrack to the film Showgirls in 1995 (in which the chorus is "I'm afraid of the animals," instead of the later "I'm afraid of Americans"). It was subsequently remade for Earthling.

A CD single for "I'm Afraid of Americans" was released in the United States and Canada. The single did not include the album version of the song, but instead featured remixes of the track performed by Bowie's former tourmates, Nine Inch Nails, and drum and bass artist Photek. Nine Inch Nails' "V1" mix became more popular than the original version, in large part because of the accompanying video, leading to its appearance on some editions of the retrospectives Best of Bowie (2002), Nothing Has Changed (2014), and Bowie Legacy (2016).

The Showgirls version, as well as Nine Inch Nails' "V1" remix and Mark Plati's "Original Edit," were included on the bonus disc of the digibook expanded edition CD of Earthling in 2004.

Charts

Chart (1997–98)	Peak position
Lithuanian Singles Chart	5
Canadian Singles Chart	14[3]
US Billboard Hot 100	66
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)	27

Versions and remixes

Title	Mix and additional production	Duration	Additional credits
Showgirls Version	Dave Richards	5:12	Produced by David Bowie and Brian Eno.
Album Version	Mark Plati	4:59	Produced by David Bowie. Co-produced by Reeves Gabrels and Mark Plati.
Original Edit	Mark Plati	4:14	Produced by David Bowie. Co-produced by Reeves Gabrels and Mark Plati.
V1	Nine Inch Nails	5:31	Production and additional performances by Nine Inch Nails. Mixed by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie. Engineered by Brian Pollack at Nothing Studios.
V1 Edit	Nine Inch Nails	4:30	Production and additional performances by Nine Inch Nails. Mixed by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie. Engineered by Brian Pollack at Nothing Studios.
V1 Clean Edit	Nine Inch Nails	4:30	Production and additional performances by Nine Inch Nails. Mixed by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie. Engineered by Brian Pollack at Nothing Studios.
V2	Nine Inch Nails	5:51	Production and additional performances by Nine Inch Nails. Mixed by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie. Engineered by Brian Pollack at Nothing Studios.
V3	Nine Inch Nails	6:06	Production and additional performances by Nine Inch Nails. Mixed by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie. Engineered by Brian Pollack at Nothing Studios. Special guest: Ice Cube.
V4	Nine Inch Nails	5:25	Production and additional performances by Nine Inch Nails. Mixed by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie. Engineered by Brian Pollack at Nothing Studios.
V5	Photek	5:38
V6	Nine Inch Nails	11:18	Production and additional performances by Nine Inch Nails. Mixed by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie. Engineered by Brian Pollack at Nothing Studios.

Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor, Charlie Clouser, Keith Hillebrandt, Dave "Rave" Ogilvie, Danny Lohner

Track listing

CD and 12"

Virgin / 8 38618 2 (US)

A-side:

1. "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V1) – 5:31
2. "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V2) – 5:51
3. "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V3) (with Ice Cube)– 6:18
4. "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V4) – 5:25

B-side:

1. "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V5) – 5:38
2. "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V6) – 11:18

CD promo

Virgin / DPRO-12749 (US)

1. "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V1 Edit) – 4:30
2. "I'm Afraid of Americans" (Original Edit) – 4:12
3. "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V3) (with Ice Cube)– 6:06
4. "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V1 Clean Edit) – 4:30

Personnel (single)

• David Bowie – lead and backing vocals
• Brian Eno – synthesizers
• Trent Reznor – electric guitar, bass, drums, background vocals
• Lyrics by David Bowie, music by Bowie and Brian Eno
• All tracks – re-produced by Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor, Charlie Clouser, Keith Hillebrandt, Dave "Rave" Ogilvie, Danny Lohner)
• Except V5 – remix by Photek

Live versions

Sonic Youth performed the song together with Bowie at his fiftieth birthday bash in New York City in January 1997. A version performed in July 1997 during his Earthling Tour was released on Look at the Moon! (2021), and another live performance recorded at GQ Awards, New York City on 15 October 1997, was released on LiveAndWell.com in 2000 (re-released in 2021). Bowie performed the song again at the Howard Stern forty-fourth birthday bash in 1998. Bowie's 25 June 2000 performance of the song at the Glastonbury Festival was released in 2018 on Glastonbury 2000.[4] Another live version by Bowie, recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre, London on 27 June 2000, was released on the bonus disc accompanying the first releases of Bowie at the Beeb in 2000.[5] Performed during his 2003 A Reality Tour, a version was recorded in Dublin, Ireland in November 2003, was included on the DVD A Reality Tour, released in 2004, as well as the A Reality Tour album, released in 2010.[6]

References

1. "David Bowie: The FI Interview" by J.D. Considine, Fi magazine, October 1997, pp 36-41
2. "''Earthling'' press release". Teenagewildlife.com. 25 June 1999. Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
3. https://www.billboard.com/music/David-Bowie/chart-history/CNS/song/553564
4. Collins, Sean T. (5 December 2018). "David Bowie: Glastonbury 2000 Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68–72 – David Bowie". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
6. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "A Reality Tour – Davis Bowie". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics