U! S! A!

I was in my car this morning, and the radio was playing "Little Pink Houses" by John Mellencamp. Then "American Woman" came on. And it got me wondering whether other countries have as many rock songs about their own country as the U.S. does. I mean, we have a lot. Granted, a few of them aren't necessarily complimentary to the country (e.g., "Born in the USA"), and some, like "American Woman", are anti-war and such. And what's interesting is that "American Woman" is by the Guess Who, who are Canadian.

Now, I'm not talking folk ("I'm Proud to Be an American", "God Bless the U.S.A.") or even country ("Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue"). No, I'm talking rock. Growing up, "America" by Neil Diamond was my favorite song. (I've always been cool!) I mean, there's "American Girl" by Tom Petty and "American Idiot" by Green Day and "The Hands That Built America" by U2.

I really don't have anything of substance to say on this; I just find it interesting. I find it really interesting that there are many rock songs about America by bands that are from other countries. I'm sure some U.S. bands have written songs about other countries, but right now, the only one springing to mind is "Blame Canada" from the South Park movie.