America (West Side Story song) America (West Side Story song) “America” is a song from the musical "West Side Story". Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics and Leonard Bernstein composed the music. In the original stage version, Anita – the most important female character after Maria and the girlfriend of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks – praises America while a fellow Puerto Rican immigrant, Rosalia, supports Puerto Rico. This version of the song deprecates the island and highlights the positive qualities of American life ("I’ll drive a Buick through San Juan/If there’s a road you can drive on"). The irony of this supposedly pro-American number,
Walk on the Wild Side (David and Bernstein song) Walk on the Wild Side (David and Bernstein song) "Walk on the Wild Side" originated as the title song of the 1962 film as performed by Brook Benton over the film's coda and closing credits. Lyrics were written by Mack David and music was by Elmer Bernstein. The two earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. The song evokes the jazz and gospel music musical styles of the film's New Orleans setting, and the reputation of its Storyville district. It addresses an unnamed straying Christian — or perhaps all who and seems to threaten them in terms understood within