Listen
American Girl started out life in 1991 as a bouncy little pop number, written with the lovely and talented Ted Perlman and was demoed with all the electronic bells and whistles that were current at the time. It was a recording fat with inappropriate percussion, syrupy synths and dispassionate and detached vocals. It was a mess and, two minutes after hearing it played back, I wanted to disown it . . . and I did. I walked away and forgot about it . . . for 19 years.
Then, this past summer, Ted and I decided, on a whim, to revisit the tune. We broke out a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, plugged in a guitar and switched on a microphone and, in about an hour, we had it down . . . and then we stopped. We resisted the urge to add drums, sampled strings, the Mormon Tabernacle choir . . . and that is the song that you have before you here . . . a much better song than I remember it being, way back in ’91 . . .
The song is about my daughter, Chelsea, who was all of six years old at the time of its writing. It was written out of a sense of parental pride and hope for a future where she would have the opportunity to, one day, be on top of the world!
Lyrics
She touches your heart when she comes through the door
Changes your life as she crosses the floor
And just for a moment you want to do more
Than watch her dance on by
Make her your friend and you’re never alone
Make her your lover and carry her home
Dream her into every dream you have known
And you know the reason why
GET OFF YOUR HEELS
PUT ON YOUR WHEELS
CATCH HER BEFORE SHE RUNS
SHE’S THE ESSENCE OF EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL
FROM MIAMI TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN
SHE COMES STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART
STATE OF THE ART
UNDISPUTED NUMBER ONE
SHE’S THE ENVY OF EVERYTHING NATURAL
SHE’S ON TOP OF THE WORLD
SHE’S AN AMERICAN GIRL
Try as you may you can never explain
The feelings you feel when she calls out your name
Try to be cool but you go up in flames
When she looks into your eyes
Reach out and touch her now don’t be afraid
She’s not gonna crumble that’s not how she’s made
Get on your feet boy it’s no time to fade
Don’t let her pass you by
GET OFF YOUR HEELS
PUT ON YOUR WHEELS
CATCH HER BEFORE SHE RUNS
SHE’S THE ESSENCE OF EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL
FROM MIAMI TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN
SHE COMES STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART
STATE OF THE ART
UNDISPUTED NUMBER ONE
SHE’S THE ENVY OF EVERYTHING NATURAL
SHE’S ON TOP OF THE WORLD
SHE’S AN AMERICAN GIRL
© 1991 Zookini Music/Terrod Music