Song of the Day 8/19: David Bowie and the Pat Metheny Group, “This Is Not America”

How many times have you thought this since Trump took office? When this song appeared in the 1985 spy movie “The Falcon and the Snowman,” it was meant literally – Sean Penn, the Snowman, was imprisoned in Mexico. Now it applies anywhere in the USA.

The odd pairing of Bowie with jazz guitarist Pat Metheny was the brainchild of the film’s director, John Schlesinger. He hired Metheny to score the film, and what became “This Is Not America” started out as an instrumental theme for Timothy Hutton’s character, dubbed the Falcon for his interest in falconry. Schlesinger suggested adding vocals and suggested Bowie for the job.

Metheny and Bowie first met to watch an early cut of the film together, Bowie making notes on a yellow legal pad of phrases he might be able to build a lyric around. They settled on “This is not America,” a line uttered by a prison guard. The odd-couple pairing turned out to be no problem – Metheny said he was struck by Bowie’s ability to fit into almost any musical environment. “David was a chameleon, but he was also deeply authentic. He immediately grasped the song’s mood and infused it with his magic,” he said.

The song reached the Top 10 in many countries, but topped out at No. 32 on Billboard’s Hot 100. The film was moderately successful, earning $17 million on a $12 million budget, but earned four stars from Roger Ebert.