American Dream – Bobby Womack

“American Dream” by Bobby Womack is a song that celebrates the American dream. He begins the song by stating that the American Dream is ” a dream of a land where men of all races.. can live together as brothers.” The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal”, this is one of the founding American documents that are held near and dear to each American. The inclusion of the idea of equality, the reason our country was founded was due to feeling they weren’t being treated equally or fair. I also believe that Womack is suggesting that no matter who you are or where you come from due to equality and equal opportunity you should be able to succeed. ” Hold on to me”, to what? The American dream? One might ask, which I believe is the correct answer Bobby Womack in my opinion is selling the American dream. ” If you just work hard enough”( bootstraps) then you can achieve the American dream. When realistically ‘buying ‘ into the American dream does not always guarantee success. Womack mentions that ” Children born free in the world of today”, I believe this is a tribute to his people who were once not free in America. He is acknowledging what the circumstances were before and how they are no longer under those conditions. I like how he recognizes that there is some element of faith or hope regarding achieving the American Dream. Bobby states that ” with this faith”, faith in whatever we will all be able to obtain the American dream. You have to believe that there is something desirable about being American or in America. Womack is expressing his admiration for the American Dream with this song. The song is very upbeat and has an extremely positive vibe. He includes words like “rainbows” and ” blue skies” to support the positive nature of the song. In general, I believe the purpose of this song is to establish hope and reinforce some of the American values we associate with the American Dream.