Song · David Bowie
“This is Not America” by David Bowie with Pat Metheny and Pat Metheny Group
Released 1985 With Pat Metheny and Pat Metheny Group
“This is Not America” by David Bowie with Pat Metheny and Pat Metheny Group appears on 6 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1985 and 2023. It was first released in 1985. Its best result is #102 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #201 alternative song of 1985 and #4,222 alternative song of all time.
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"This Is Not America" teamed David Bowie with the Pat Metheny Group on a song for The Falcon and the Snowman, a 1985 film, and it came out as a single that February. Bowie had finished his 1984 album Tonight feeling let down by it, and this collaboration kicked off a run of film projects for him.
The song grew out of "Chris", an instrumental Metheny had written for the movie and wanted to make into something bigger. Bowie, Metheny and Lyle Mays share the writing credit. They cut it late in 1984. Bowie sat in on an early screening and jotted down lines and themes; the title is something one character says to another, and both men liked the ring of it. The single reached 14 in Britain and 32 in the States.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 102 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985 | 107 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 471 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 2002 | 819 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1451 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2021 | 652 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2023 | 504 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places | 800 |
Also listed as: This is not America; This Is Not America.
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