American Woman

Last night the Washington Wizards won their 37th game of the 2013-2014 season, a wire to wire victory over the Indiana Pacers, the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference. It was just the latest confusing victory in a season that has seen the Wizards beat some of the best teams in the league and lose to some of the worst. And the victory will be considered somewhat wasted if the team loses to the Atlanta Hawks at home tonight, which is a distinct possibility considering how the team has played the last ten games or so.

The win put the Wizards with their highest victory total since the 2007-2008 season, the last season we made the playoffs. There are another ten games to go in the season so it's possible that we will equal or exceed the 43 wins in that season, although not a sure thing by any means. The team is probably days away from securing its first playoff berth since 2008, needing only two more wins or two New York Knicks losses to do so. I'll be happy when we get there, which may be as soon as tomorrow.

Last night's game was Military Appreciation Night, a time for the Wizards to deservedly shine the spotlight on American servicemen and servicewomen in our armed forces who keep this country safe for the rest of us who benefit so much from living here. During one break in the game action, the Wizards Girls, who were dressed in service uniform reminiscent outfits for the game, performed a dance routine to American Woman by Lenny Kravitz. Now I love this song, especially as played by the original artist The Guess Who, but this is decidedly not a song that belongs in the entertainment package for Military Appreciation Night.

Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Gary Peterson and Michael Kale of The Guess Who wrote the song in the late 1960s during a time when the United States was mired in what many saw as a senseless war in Vietnam while inner city decay was occurring seemingly unchecked in the country's major urban centers. The Guess Who, who were Canadian and didn't see the same kinds of things going on in their own country, poured a good amount of social commentary into this song. The lyrics, which have been interpreted, mis-interpreted and explained over and over again through the years read in part as follows:

American woman, stay away from me

American woman, mama let me be

Don't come a hanging around my door

I don't want to see your face no more 

I got more important things to do

Than spend my time growing old with you

Now woman, I said stay away

American woman, listen what I say 

American woman, get away from me

American woman, mama let me be

Don't come a knocking around my door

Don't want to see your shadow no more 

Colored lights can hypnotize

Sparkle someone else's eyes

Now woman, I said get away

American woman, listen what I say 

American woman, said get away

American woman, listen what I say

Don't come a hanging around my door

Don't want to see your face no more

I don't need your war machines

I don't need your ghetto scenes

I don't know about you, but a group of Canadian musicians telling an "American Woman" that they don't need her war machines and ghetto scenes rings pretty loudly that this is not a pro-American song. Jack Richardson, the producer for The Guess Who, had this to say in the liner notes of the band's 1988 anthology Track Record.

When the artwork for the album's promotional campaign was first designed in New York, it depicted "American Woman" as being a young gorgeous blonde, Coca-Cola poster type of girl, which was in fact the total antithesis of what the song lyric was actually about. Don Hunter (the manager) and I had some hot and heavy sessions before we were able to change the concept to the one eventually utilized, that of the Old Lady as the Statue of Liberty in a deserted, windblown Wall Street.

This is not the first time I've bristled at the choice of music during Wizards games. I remember one Celtics game where both Boston and Aerosmith (both bands are from Boston) were played over the PA system. I'm all for Military Appreciation Night but my opinion is this is not the song you choose to play that night. The next time we have one of these nights, I hope we get different music.

And if anyone at Wizards Game Entertainment reads this, please don't switch to Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. That song is a criticism of how the United States treated its war veterans after the Vietnam War. So please don't pick that song as the replacement.

Hawks up tonight. Let's go Wizards!