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,
Somewhere Down the Road (Barry Manilow song) Somewhere Down the Road (Barry Manilow song) "Somewhere Down the Road" is a popular song written by Cynthia Weil and Tom Snow and most famously recorded in 1981 by Barry Manilow. Weil wrote the song's lyrics and Snow wrote the melody. The song was chosen for Barry Manilow by Arista Records' then-president, Clive Davis, and recorded by Manilow on his album "If I Should Love Again". Released as the follow-up to the top 20 hit "The Old Songs", "Somewhere Down the Road" did moderately well as a single in early 1982, reaching #21 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. On February