Do I have to change my name
Will it get me far
Should I lose some weight
Am I gonna be a star

I tried to be a boy
I tried to be a girl
I tried to be a mess
I tried to be the best
I guess I did it wrong
That's why I wrote this song
This type of modern life
Is it for me
This type of modern life
Is it for free

So I went into a bar
Looking for sympathy
A little company
I tried to find a friend
It's more easily said
It's always been the same
This type of modern life
Is not for me
This type of modern life
Is not for free

American life (American life)
I live the American dream (American dream)
You are the best thing I've seen
You are not just a dream (American life)

I tried to stay ahead
I tried to stay on top
I tried to play the part
But somehow I forgot
Just what I did it for
And why I wanted more
This type of modern life
Is it for me
This type of modern life
Is it for free

Do I have to change my name
Will it get me far
Should I lose some weight
Am I gonna be a star

American life (American life)
I live the American dream (American dream)
You are the best thing I've seen
You are not just a dream (American life)

American life

I tried to be a boy
Tried to be a girl
Tried to be a mess
Tried to be the best
Tried to find a friend
Tried to stay ahead
I tried to stay on top

Do I have to change my name
Will it get me far
Should I lose some weight
Am I gonna be a star

Uh, uh, uh, uh

I'm drinkin' a soy latte
I get a double shotie
It goes right through my body
And you know I'm satisfied
I drive my mini cooper
And I'm feeling super-duper
Yo they tell me I'm a trooper
And you know I'm satisfied
I do yoga and Pilates
And the room is full of hotties
So I'm checking out their bodies
And you know I'm satisfied
I'm diggin' on the isotopes
This metaphysics shit is dope
And if all this can give me hope
You know I'm satisfied
I got a lawyer and a manager
An agent and a chef
Three nannies, an assistant
And a driver and a jet
A trainer and a butler
And a bodyguard or five
A gardener and a stylist
Do you think I'm satisfied

I'd like to express my extreme point-of-view
I'm not a Christian and I'm not a Jew
I'm just living out the American dream
And I just realized that nothing is what it seems

Do I have to change my name
Am I gonna be a star
Do I have to change my name
Am I gonna be a star
Do I have to change my name

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Lyrics submitted by ruben

American Life Lyrics as written by Madonna Louise Ciccone Mirwais Ahmadzai

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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American Life song meanings

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22 Comments

+2
General CommentI think most of you have the song meaning a little twisted.

She's saying, "Look at this lifestyle: it's materialistic, it spreads ignorance and it's selfish. Why did I get caught up in that? I'm glad I'm over it now. Since I've been released from the bonds that have once oppressed me, here's a song about my struggle and why you shouldn't make the same mistakes."

At least that's how I see it.
DeeperThanYouThinkon September 09, 2007 Link
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wow. thank you. that's how i see it too. i hate when people say, who is she to tell me all of these things are meaningless, she has it all. but really, who better to hear it from? everyone is so obsessed with all of the nonsense we have added to this world and they think that they can't be happy without it. without the status it provides. but she has it all and still isn't happy, or it isn't what makes her happy i should say. this whole album was very inspirational to me. it marked a turning point in my life. i'm not at all rich or famous but i am very familiar with selfishness and greed and caring about what people think of me and how the image i present can alter their perceptions. it all seems so stupid now looking back. but as stupid as it all is, it's so dangerous since it seems like reality. it's drilled into our heads for so long, from so many different sources that we can't even recognize what's right in front of us anymore. it all becomes distorted by our own twisted perceptions of what we think is important. and then something comes along. a message, i guess. actually they come along quite often, but you're so self absorbed that you don't even notice, but sometimes something happens and it's like, what am i doing? why am i so unhappy? what is really important to me?

um, yeah. it's just nice to read that someone gets what she's talking about, like the message, rather than the literal words. even though the literal words are how she's sending the message, they can't fully explain what she means. i think, i mean how can i even say that i fully understand what she means? i can't.
mark902on January 24, 2009
+1
General Commentthis song is about how she tried to be something that she's not. then, she realized that what she was trying to be isn't all that great anyway. oh, and non-Madonna fans need to quit commenting on her pages, because you will never covert Madonna fans over to your evil ways.
alex_0203on December 23, 2005 Link
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+1
General CommentAmerican Life is the reaction to everything she saw after 911, even though she was in England all of the recording of American Life. She had to re-think to herself whether everything she had done was worth it and wonder if she can go on.
zeplinsong89on February 12, 2006 Link
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@zeplinsong89
+1
My InterpretationI heard this song on the radio again today. As I see it, Madonna is telling us that she has all these wonderful things and yet she's not satisfied. "And you know I'm satisfied" basically means that the narrator believes that we as listeners share a materialistic view of the world, and the repetition of the phrase in the rap tries to trick us into believing the hype.

Finally, she tells us to stop and think whether the high life is so wonderful after all - "Do you think I'm satisfied?". She goes on to say that the "modern" American dream is not as wonderful as the media makes it out to be.
chrwlon May 19, 2012 Link
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@chrwl
0
General CommentAh, Madonna. I love her outlook on everything.
clarissaon May 21, 2004 Link
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@clarissa
0
General CommentNot too many American Life songs here...I think it is her most personal album yet!
mmbson February 21, 2005 Link
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@mmbs
0
General CommentAmerican Life. Basically its her view on what the U.S has become, the way of life, expectations, etc.
KillMeFasteron December 11, 2005 Link
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@KillMeFaster
0
General CommentI'm drinkin' a soy latte
I get a double shotie
It goes right through my body
And you know I'm satisfied
I drive my mini cooper
And I'm feeling super-duper
Yo they tell me I'm a trooper
And you know I'm satisfied
I do yoga and pilates
And the room is full of hotties
So I'm checking out their bodies
And you know I'm satisfied
I'm diggin' on the isotopes
This metaphysics shit is dope
And if all this can give me hope
You know I'm satisfied
I got a lawyer and a manager
An agent and a chef
Three nannies, an assistant
And a driver and a jet
A trainer and a butler
And a bodyguard or five
A gardener and a stylist
Do you think I'm satisfied

This Shit Is For Reels Music?
D4MVPon February 13, 2006 Link
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@D4MVP
0
General Commentthanks for postin that, and after reading it, i think i'll go take a listen!
alex_0203on February 24, 2006 Link
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@alex_0203
0
General Commentobviously no one understands what this song really means

it's 50% sarcasm (especially the 'rap')

and 50% what america has become
yaywhooweeon August 05, 2006 Link
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@yaywhoowee

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American Life

Madonna

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