In the original stage version, Anita - the girlfriend of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks, and the most important female character after Maria - praises America while a fellow Puerto Ricanimmigrant, Rosalia, supports Puerto Rico. This version of the song deprecates the island and highlights the positive qualities of American life. The irony of this supposedly pro-American number, however, is its vibrantly Hispanicmusical style, with Latin percussion, complex cross-rhythm and Spanish guitar. In the 1961 film version, Anita, played by Rita Moreno, still sings in favor of the United States while Bernardo, played by George Chakiris, replies with corresponding criticisms of America and American ethnic prejudice, especially against Puerto Ricans. Some of the original song’s disparagement was removed. In 2004, this version finished at No. 35 in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. The song employs a mixed meter: The alternating bars of with is a distinctive characteristic of the song. This rhythm has been called both a hemiola and a habanera but is not really either. The two bar-types alternate and are not superposed, as in a hemiola. The alternation is comparable with the “Habanera” from “Carmen”, but “America” lacks the distinctive characteristic underlying rhythm of the habanera form. The composer’s tempo instruction is “Tempo di Huapango”.
Cover versions
An instrumental version, with the signature rhythm reduced to a uniform, was released in 1963 by Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass on their album Volume 2. Trini Lopez covered "America" in 1963 for his first album Trini Lopez at PJ's. In 1968, The Nice, featuring Keith Emerson, covered an instrumental version of "America" as the band's second single. This version had the main theme playing against a straight beat, also including pieces of Dvořák's New World Symphony, then changing in the middle to for improvised guitar and organ solos. At a July 7, 1968, concert at the Royal Albert Hall, the band controversially burned an American flag after performing the song. Emerson later folded the melody into a great many of his jams including the finale medley on Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 1992-1993 tours, which also used musical themes from "Blue Rondo à la Turk", a jazz standard composed by Dave Brubeck. An example of this medley can be found on the album Live at the Royal Albert Hall. The English psychobilly band King Kurt covered this song on an EP called America, released in 1986. The heavy-metal band Metallica incorporated a few bars from the song in the opening riff from their song, "Don't Tread on Me". The "America" melody again featured prominently in a 1986 jam with Paul Shaffer on Late Night with David Letterman. Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem performed an instrumental rendition on a 1979 episode of The Muppet Show before being interrupted by various Muppets from other countries. A version of this song was performed by the in-house band and singers to introduce a 2012 episode of the Polish version of Name That Tune, Jaka to Melodia?, complete with a set of dancers. This song was also used in an episode of Glee, and sung by Naya Rivera in the role of Anita, and Mark Salling in the role of Bernardo. In the progressive rock band Yes' cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "America", bassist Chris Squire quotes the West Side Story song near the conclusion of their instrumental intro.
A theme from "America" was referenced by John Williams for his celebratory For New York, composed in 1988 for Bernstein's 70th birthday gala. In 2011, the song was covered by the cast of musical comedy television seriesGlee in the fifth episode of the third season, "The First Time", with character Santana Lopez on the lead. A minor controversy was caused over using the film version of the song, while a high school would normally use the stage version. In 2003, the song was used in advertisements for Admiral Insurance though with different lyrics. In 1994, the song was also the unofficial anthem at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States and was sung by the 3 Tenors at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles to an estimated global TV audience of 1.3 billion viewers. A version of the song with modified lyrics is used in the end credits of the 2018 film Vice. A version of the song, with the same rhythm but a slightly adjusted melody, appeared in the Simpsons in August 2019 - 'The Simpsons' Mock Trump With 'West Side Story' Parody Featuring "The Squad" The song is parodied during a medley of Broadway songs in Saturday Night Live’s 2020 sketch “Airport Sushi” about New York City’s LaGuardia airport, performed by John Mulaney, Cecily Strong, and Kenan Thompson.
