In this installment of BackStory, Menno of Canadian rock band Hollerado tells us the story behind their song “Americanarama,” which appears on their current release Record in a Bag. You can catch them live on tour NOW, and enjoy a taste of what they do right here…

Basically the song is part of this story i have been working on for like 10 years. the story takes place in the way way way distant future.  In the future all of the ice caps have melted and left most of the earth underwater. The story is set even further into the future after a great war has brought the planet into another ice age, thus leaving most of the once great American cities frozen under ice. Denver, which was once the mile high city is now one of the few cities from the past that still exists above the ice.  But Philadelphia is long gone. One part in song mentions how New Orleans disappeared first. Thats cause we wrote it right after Hurricane Katrina. The song might not make a whole lot of sense if you don’t know the context and, even if you do, it still might seem like a bit a of a stretch. Or maybe it does make sense to you. Either way is ok with us.

The story has lots of time travel and jet fighters and mad-scientists and ski-doos. We hope to be finished it soon. We actually are putting out a 10inch record in a few weeks and it has another song from the story on it. Its called Konstantine and its a song about one of the main characters and her insane father who invents a time machine and sends her into the future in an attempt to stop history from being rewritten by the winners of the war. (the time machine only goes forward in time, cause according to Stephen Hawking travel into the past is totally unrealistic…..duh) anyway, i guess that is what the song Americanarama is about. or its about the NHL hockey playoffs. or baseball or something.

AMERICANARAMA

Hey….Philadelphia…., you used to exist

As a city in the North-East where the Power used to sit

There’s no more….Chicago….,

She went down with the last of the buffalo

…. Poor weak….New Orleans….,

She went first and we didn’t even hear her scream, no

..Denver.. ….U.S.A…..you came down from the top of the mountain

Bet you didn’t count on becoming what you are today

Doot doot doo doot do doo, Doot doot doot doot do doo

Lord, I miss you

Doot doot doo doot do doo, Doot doot doot doot do doo

Lord, I miss you

Hey….Philadelphia…., where’d you go?

Oh….New York City….you’re so pretty in the dark

When all your lights are gone out

We’re camping in Battery Park

..Denver.. ….U.S.A…..you came down from the top of the mountain

Bet you didn’t count on becoming what you are today

Doot doot doo doot do doo, Doot doot doot doot do doo

Lord, I miss you

Hey….Philadelphia…., where’d you go?

Hey….Philadelphia….

Hey….Philadelphia….

Where’d you go