Oklahoma_U.S.A.

Oklahoma U.S.A.

Oklahoma U.S.A.

1971 song by The Kinks

Oklahoma U.S.A. is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by British rock band The Kinks on their 1971 LP Muswell Hillbillies.[1]

Quick Facts Song by The Kinks, from the album Muswell Hillbillies ...

Synopsis

The lyrics describe a young woman who leads a monotonous working class life, and imagines in her dreams she is in various Hollywood films, such as Oklahoma! ("But in her dreams she is far away/ In Oklahoma U.S.A./ With Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae").[2][3] As the song progresses and she goes on with life she continues to dream of Oklahoma and Hollywood ("She walks to work but she's still in a daze/ She's Rita Hayworth or Doris Day/ And Errol Flynn's gonna take her away/ To Oklahoma U.S.A."). The song opens and closes with the lyrics "All life we work, but work is a bore./ If life's for livin', then what's livin' for?"[2][3]

Instrumentation

The piece differs from the other songs on Muswell Hillbillies in the fact that it features a much quieter sound and overall feel. Mick Avory's drums are absent, and the only instruments used are an acoustic guitar, accordion, and keyboards (piano/organ).

Cover versions

Indie rock group Yo La Tengo covered it on their 1990 album Fakebook.[4] Country artist Lauren Adams covered it on her album Secret Heart,[5] and Leigh Harris recorded a version on the album House of Secrets.[6]

References

General

In-Line Citations

  1. [1]
    Muswell Hillbillies on Rolling Stone
  2. [2]
    Paper On Muswell Hillbillies
  3. [3]
    Lyrics
  4. [4]
    Amazon.com listing for Fakebook
  5. [5]
    Info on "Secret Heart"
  6. [6]
    Listing For House of Secrets."
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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Oklahoma_U.S.A., and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.