Paul Simon wrote his haunting “American Tune” and released it on his 1973 album There Goes Rhymin’ Simon. In an interview in 2011, Simon was asked about political references in his songs, and he said: “I don’t write overtly political songs, although ‘American Tune’ comes pretty close, as it was written just after Nixon was elected.” /There’s much to be said about this song, but I’ll just offer that it has been included on most lists of top American songs, and in June 2026, CBS News included the song in its list of the 250 essential American songs of the past 250 years.