Well she was an American girl
Raised on promises
She couldn't help thinkin' that there
Was a little more to life
Somewhere else
After all it was a great big world
With lots of places to run to
Yeah, and if she had to die tryin'
She had one little promise
She was gonna keep
Oh yeah, alright
Take it easy baby
Make it last all night
She was an American girl
Well, it was kind of cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony
Yeah, she could hear the cars roll by
Out on 441
Like waves crashin' on the beach
And for one desperate moment there
He crept back in her memory
God it's so painful
Something that's so close
And still so far out of reach
Oh yeah, alright
Take it easy baby
Make it last all night
She was an American girl
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
Oh yeah
Raised on promises
She couldn't help thinkin' that there
Was a little more to life
Somewhere else
After all it was a great big world
With lots of places to run to
Yeah, and if she had to die tryin'
She had one little promise
She was gonna keep
Oh yeah, alright
Take it easy baby
Make it last all night
She was an American girl
Well, it was kind of cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony
Yeah, she could hear the cars roll by
Out on 441
Like waves crashin' on the beach
And for one desperate moment there
He crept back in her memory
God it's so painful
Something that's so close
And still so far out of reach
Oh yeah, alright
Take it easy baby
Make it last all night
She was an American girl
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
Oh yeah
Lyrics submitted by oofus, edited by greendreamer, Squirt_gun
American Girl Lyrics as written by Tom Petty
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Is still so far out of reach
Best line. I love it.
It's funny because in L.A. the ocean isn't that far away, but no one can see or hear or smell the ocean from their apartment unless they're part of the uber-rich. I like how Petty paints a picture of this, comparing the ocean of L.A. being so close but so far and replaced by concrete and cars as a reminder to anyone who's "trying to make it in this town" just how far they still have to go to acheive their dreams and have that ocean view. Just like this girl's dreams of making a name for herself, of finding a man who really loves her, and she's just sick of working at it, sick of all the empty promises.
Death was close...she could end it all by jumping into that ocean that wasn't really an ocean at all but just a mindless line of cars...but then for a second the man who broke her heart popped back into her mind and she remembered that she made a promise to herself to get revenge, follow her dreams, make something of herself even if it killed her...so she'll go on racing through life forcing herself to make promises about all that life has in store for her, and hopefully run across someone who will teach her what it means to relax and not fight so hard...
Everyone— this song was written about a girl who committed suicide at the University of Florida in the 80’s. I went to school there. Tom Petty grew up in Gainesville, Florida. He played concerts at UF 6-7 days in a row and this song always struck us as students. The school is very challenging and stressful for young students. Many can’t make it. Couple that with new and lost love.
The girl jumped off the building. The building was right off US441 which is the street that runs right along the university and where she committed suicide.
The song is about a young promising soul who couldn’t handle the stresses of life.
And now I read that it's supposed to be about suicide. Oh, well. I'll try not to let that ruin it for me.
"Yeah, she could hear the cars roll by
Out on 441 like waves crashin' on the beach"
"I remember writing the song about hearing the cars roll by because I was living in an apartment in Encino, CA by the freeway. The sound was really annoying and we used to jokingly pretend it was the ocean."
"It's so painful, something that's so close, and still so far out of reach" (my favorite line:) is something everyone feels about something, or a certain someone. Tom is wonderful.