What is America?

[Sbassman Scratch]

A band from the 70s. They had a hit called "A Horse With No Name" which seemed to make sense at the time.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

Whats the band that played the song "Birth, School, Work, Death" sums it up real easy.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

The Americas - north and south - lands that were invaded by Europeans from many different countries about 500 years ago and possibly visited by Vikings about 500 years before that. Evidence of alien visits to the southern continent about 2500 years ago

Invaded?

 

[GregC]

A band from the 70s. They had a hit called "A Horse With No Name" which seemed to make sense at the time.

Maybe it's just me, but i never thought that song made sense.

 

[MJ5150]

Maybe it's just me, but i never thought that song made sense.

What part(s) of the song failed to make sense to you?

-Mike

 

[GregC]

What part(s) of the song failed to make sense to you?

-Mike

"In the desert, you can remember your name, cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain"

 

[MJ5150]

"In the desert, you can remember your name, cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain"

That's the beauty of music I suppose. I related to this one line right away. This is how I took it....
While I don't have trouble remembering my given name specifically, in the hustle and bustle of life, the 'pain' caused by the stressors that accompany that life make it challenging at times to 'remember my name' in the sense that I have lost track of who I am, what defines me, what I want to do, etc.
In August of 2024, the wife and I did a hike in the desert. While it was indeed hot, it was nice being away from everything. We've had the same experience hiking high in the mountains.

-Mike

 

[GregC]

That's the beauty of music I suppose. I related to this one line right away. This is how I took it....
While I don't have trouble remembering my given name specifically, in the hustle and bustle of life, the 'pain' caused by the stressors that accompany that life make it challenging at times to 'remember my name' in the sense that I have lost track of who I am, what defines me, what I want to do, etc.
In August of 2024, the wife and I did a hike in the desert. While it was indeed hot, it was nice being away from everything. We've had the same experience hiking high in the mountains.

-Mike

I get that. But practically speaking, if you're out in the desert on your own like the narrator, it's harder to remember your name if no one is saying it. I think the band could have expressed it better. Admittedly, the lyrics aren't as abstract as i remember. Tin Man is more stream of consciousness.

 

[MJ5150]

I get that. But practically speaking, if you're out in the desert on your own like the narrator, it's harder to remember your name if no one is saying it. I think the band could have expressed it better. Admittedly, the lyrics aren't as abstract as i remember. Tin Man is more stream of consciousness.

I didn't think of it that way, but it does make sense. I wonder how long I'd have to do without hearing my name or saying it before I forget it. Nine days?

-Mike

 

[Heiwa]

"In the desert, you can remember your name, cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain"

This made me curious, so I looked for the song to listen to it. I really liked it, but I also think it doesn't make sense. The part about the nameless horse is fine, but the part after that isn't.

 

[Nedmundo]

Gotta be something with monster trucks, which I think say a lot about the U.S. This one is pretty good.

 

[Winslow]

For everybody confused or befuddled by the no-name horse, it may be possible one's appreciation could be deepened in a mindset and/or atmosphere more amenable to, shall we say, a certain flexibility of perspective...?


Or, to put it another way...


"If you have to ask, you're not high enough."

 

[MrClassicMetal]

A country made from immigrants.

Unless your family's roots include men who hunted buffalo, riding bareback with bow and arrow, your family came here from somewhere else, whether a100 or even 200 years ago, or last month, to join this imperfect union, and the giant stew of absorbing all those cultures is America.

I worked with a naturalized Indonesian guy who'd become a citizen, and a visiting German tech could not understand how my friend was utterly equal as a citizen, and my Mexican born supervisor (also naturalized) got as few big a laugh out of it as we did.

Well, the ancestors of Native Americans migrated from Asia via Berengia thousands of years ago. People are always on the move.

 

[S-Bigbottom]

Dangol, truck nuts and truck nut like accessories.

 

[embellisher]

I didn't think of it that way, but it does make sense. I wonder how long I'd have to do without hearing my name or saying it before I forget it. Nine days?

-Mike

So if you didn't hear it for 10 days, and then somebody said "Step up to the mic", what would you do?

 

[MJ5150]

So if you didn't hear it for 10 days, and then somebody said "Step up to the mic", what would you do?

If said mic was within reasonable distance for me to step up to, I would.

-Mike

 

[embellisher]

Wienie thread gave me a thought. If an alien landed and you had to show them one video to illustrate what America is, what would it be?

Wienie race is good, but in the below video from years ago when visiting my Alma mater, I think Stephen Frye described it best.

I would show them this picture, assuming we're talking about the USA and not the continent.

 

[Parzival]

America is a collection of continents in the Western Hemisphere.

What is the United States of America? That is a different question.

I would show them this picture, assuming we're talking about the USA and not the continent.View attachment 7242358

That picture is way off.

We don’t need the toast.

 

[Parzival]

Well, the ancestors of Native Americans migrated from Asia via Berengia thousands of years ago. People are always on the move.

The only species that was native to North America were the dinosaurs.

Maybe.

A Horse With No Name? That’s my birthday song! Was the #1 hit in America (some have been confused in this thread, yes, I call the USA America) the week I was born. I learned how to play that song just for that reason. Sadly, I’ve not had the opportunity to play it live.

 

[darev]

Inspiring @Parzival. I am to now understand that “Light My Fire” was #1 in the USA the day I was born.

I did not learn that bass line