"America" is a song that is featured in the 1961 live-action feature film, West Side Story. In the song, Anita (Ariana DeBose) and the other girls express the view that New York is a better place to live than Puerto Rico, while the boys express the opposite view.
Lyrics[]
Anita:
Puerto Rico,
My heart's devotion—
Let it sink back in the ocean.
Always the hurricanes blowing,
Always the population growing,
And the money owing,
And the sunlight streaming,
And the natives steaming.
I like the island Manhattan!
Smoke on your pipe and put that in!
Shark Girls:
I like to be in America!
Okay by me in America!
Puerto Ricans:
Everything free in America!
Bernardo:
For a small fee in America
Anita:
Buying on credit is so nice!
Bernardo:
One look at us and they charge twice!
Rosalía:
I have my own washing machine!
Bernardo:
What will you have though to keep clean?
Anita, Rosalía and Luz:
Skyscrapers bloom in America!
Cadillacs zoom in America!
Industry boom in America!
Sharks:
Twelve in a room in America!
Anita:
Lots of new housing with more space
Community Activists:
Lots of doors slamming in our face!
Anita:
I'll get a terrace apartment
Bernardo:
Better get rid of your accent
Anita, Rosalía and Luz:
Life can be bright in America
Sharks:
If you can fight in America!
Anita:
Life is all right in America!
Bernardo:
If you're all white in America!
Bernardo and Quique:
La la la la la America!
Bernardo:
America!
Puerto Ricans:
La la la la la la, America!
Anita:
America!
Shark Girls:
Here you are free and you have pride!
Sharks:
Long as you stay on your own side
Shark Girls:
Free to do anything you choose!
Sharks:
Free to wait tables and shine shoes!
Bernardo:
Everywhere grime in America!
Organized crime in America!
Terrible time in America!
Anita:
You forget I'm in America
Bernardo:
I think I'll go back to San Juan
Anita:
I know a boat you can get on!
Bernardo:
Everyone there will give big cheer!
Anita:
Everyone there will have moved here
Notes[]
This version of the song had its lyrics changed to more closely resemble those used in the 1957 Broadway show rather than the 1961 film adaptation. This was due to the fact that the line "Puerto Rico, my heart's devotion, let it sink back in the ocean" was deemed too offensive and disrespectful towards Puerto Rican culture by the filmmakers.
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