America is sung by Anita and Rosalia and featuring the Shark girlfriend chorus. This song explains the benefits and problems associated with America. The song takes the form of a debate between Anita and Rosalia with Anita (and later the chorus) defending America and what it has to offer and Rosalia defending Puerto Rico. Anita and Rosalia's respective positions in the choral debate reveal much about their character, but their debate also has larger implications, which help explain the Sharks as a group.

In America Rosalia takes a critical view of America and American culture. The song begins with Rosalia's nostalgia for Puerto Rico the "lovely island, island of tropical breezes." Throughout the entire piece Rosalia romanticizes Puerto Rico, which on an explicit level indicates that she is unhappy with the decision to immigrate to the United States.

On a more implicit level it reveals that Rosalia is a romantic who is driven by nostalgia. When looking at Rosalia's position in this song through a wider lens she is speaking for the members of the Sharks who are unhappy with their lot in America, such as the poor living conditions, the mistreatment they receive, and their longing to return home.

Anita and the other Shark Girlfriends represent the opposition to Rosalia and mount a defence of America. Instead of classifying Puerto Rico as a lovely island of tropical breezes, Anita argues that it is an "ugly island, island of tropic diseases." She also counters every point that Rosalia produces as a benefit of Puerto Rico. For example, when Rosalia sings, "I'll drive a Buick through San Juan" Anita responds "If there's a road you can drive on."

Anita's quick and witty retorts reveal her intelligence and humour. Additionally, her defence of America exposes her as a realistic optimist. She's a realist because of her willingness to debunk the nostalgia that Rosalia feels, but still an optimist because even in the face of extreme racism and poor living conditions she can still see the advantages of America and comes to its defence. On a broader level Anita speaks for the Sharks who are complacent with life in America.

This song also speaks to the disagreement and tension between the Sharks in general. They are forced to choose between a society that acts discriminatorily against them and Puerto Rico which the play classifies as underdeveloped and providing few opportunities.

Instrumentally, America utilizes instruments that produce a traditionally Latin sound. This included the Spanish guitar, claves, bongos, trumpets, and guiro. This facilitated the use of traditional Latin choreography and gives the song a deceptively authentic feel.

America’s structure contains an introduction and three main components:

Section A:    recurring main melody      

Section B:    brief solos by Rosalia followed by Anita’s sarcastic comments

Section C:    dance interludes

The song is sung with both solos and ensemble participation. The song begins with Rosalia and Anita singing back and forth alone. Yet, as the song continues the chorus joins Anita in agreement. This produces an effect where it is as if the women are all ganging up on Rosalia.

The song is also structured so that each time after the chorus joins Anita in defending America there is a period of instrumental music when no one is singing and the script instructs the girls to whistle and dance. This allows Jerome Robbins’ brilliant choreography to take center stage and for the women to express themselves through dance that included exaggerated hand movements and traditional Latin movement.

Rhythmically, America employs the fast and sharply rhythmic patterns of the huapango (a Mexican dance). Although the huapango is traditionally Mexican, Bernstein was not particularly concerned with cultural authenticity and rather sought a "Latin" style that American audiences would recognize. This is ultimately successful and feels authentic to the average American audience. The rhythmic patterns used are similar to many folk dances, alternating between 6/8 and 3/4 time to produce a solid dance rhythm which an audience would recognize as Latin. Overall the song’s rhythm produces a feeling of excitement and energy.