Imagery of the American "Girl"

Being Canadian, it makes looking at mythic side of America a tad bit easier. I grew up approximately one mile away from the centre of America's tenth largest city, Detroit. Like much of the expansiveness of the United States it dwarfed my side of mythology. As Canadians we were always smaller, and looked towards America as vehicle to exploring ourselves. Most interesting of these aspects was that of the American Girl. Why? Well for one major point that legal age for the consumption of alchohol beverages was such lowered on our side of the Detroit River. As such we would have a massive influx of Americans into our downtown core for weekends of Dionysus debauchery. American girls were always, and always of interest for us. We always considered them beautiful, generally speaking "less jaded" (aka innocent) than women of Canadian linage. Perhaps we all lost our innocence with the death of Tom Thompson in Algonquin Park, or the FLQ attacks in the 1970s, regardless that innocence we lost, we perhaps looked for in those girls from across the border. My first experience with an American, was women of a decidely Hawaiian name and of personality quite parrellel to Miss Miller. It ended rather poorly, but without death by malarial fever. In short, the image of the American girl forever seemed shrouded in the mythic search for beauty and innocence. I recall when I first moved to the United States (perhaps as an aspect of that great Hunt), the Counting Crows released an album with a song entitled "American Girls". What follows are the lyrics from that song:

"She comes out on Fridays every time

Stands out in a line

I could have been anyone she'd seen

She waits another week to fall apart

She couldn't make another day

I wish it was anyone but me

I could have been anyone you see

She had something breakable just under her skin

American girls are weather and noise

Playing the changes for all of the boys

Holding a candle right up to my hands

Making me feel so incredible

She comes out of closets every night

But then she locks herself away

Where she could keep everything from me

I could have been anyone you see

She's nothing but porcelain underneath her skin

American girls are weather and noise

Playing the changes for all of the boys

Holding a candle right up to my hand

Making me feel so incredible

Little shiver shaking me everyday

But I could get this same thing anywhere

So if she goes away

Well, it's alright and I'm ok

Hey, she said come back again tonight

And I said, I might, I might, I might

She said, well that's alright

If it's alright, it's alright with you

If it's alright, if it's alright with me

I waited for an hour last Friday night

She never came aroundShe took almost everything from me

I'm going through my closets

Trying on her clothes, almost everyday

I could have been anyone you see

I wish it was anyone but me

Nothing but pills and ashes under my skin

American girls are weather and noise

Playing the changes for all of the boys

Holding a candle right up to my hand

Making me feel so incredible

If I make you cry, you tell me why

I'll try again, if you'll let me try

American girls are feathers and cream

Coming to bed so edible"

- "American Girls" by Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows