Subject: Re: McLean: American Pie Interpretation

From: mfw@musictrax.com (Marc Wielage)

Date: 4 Jan 1997 21:46:03 -0700

In article <852395159.12028@dejanews.com>, TheMitch7@aol.com wrote:

> Hi,

>

> Can anyone give me a solid interpretation (or even

> semi-solid) of Don McLean's American Pie and its

> references? And is the song a single or from an album?

>

> ---------------------------------------------------------------

The song was the title track from McLean's late-1971 album. Note that for

more than 25 years, singer/songwriter McLean has steadfastly refused to

comment on exactly what were the precise meaning of his lyrics. But he has

admitted that he was a paperboy, and that he did learn about the death of

his hero, Buddy Holly, when McLean was folding up the papers for his route

in early 1959.

Here's one interpretation of the lyrics (and I've misplaced Rich

Kulawiec's address, who compiled it; if Rich can contact me in E-Mail, I'd

like to get a more-complete version of the FAQ file, with all the

references and quotes attributed]:

--MFW

---------------------------------------------------------------

I would like to thank again the several people that sent me the analysis

of "American Pie". I have received a number of request to forward it on;

so putting my brain back it gear I realized I should post it for all who

may wish a copy....

This particularly enigmatic song has been discussed at least once a year

since Usenet had a newsgroup for discussing music. These discussions

frequently repeat themselves, but occasionally introduce new information

and new interpretations. Having tired of watching the same process repeat

itself for ten years, I've created this, the annotated "American Pie".

This posting consists of: the lyrics to the song (left-justified) with

comments (indented); the chords, for those who'd like to tackle it; some

miscellaneous notes; and references. Comments are most welcome; comments

backed up with references are *very* welcome. I have attempted to note

where the interpretation is questionable.

The roots of this posting are in the "Great American Pie" Usenet

discussion of 1983; much of it comes from wombat's (the original wombat,

not me) posting in net.music on June 16, 1985. As Robert Williams has

pointed out to me, the entire song can be viewed as one big projective

test, so interpretations vary quite a bit. I've tried to be inclusive

while also indicating which ones I buy into and which I don't; your

mileage may vary.

I must also tip my hat to Cecil Adams, whose "Straight Dope" columns and

books have been a source of joy and information to me since I discovered

them in the Chicago Reader years ago. If there is any merit in this

article's contents, credit Uncle Cecil for inspiring it. (And my thanks to

Ed Zotti for getting this article mentioned in the latest S.D. book, "The

Return of the Straight Dope".)

Incidentally, gentle reader, you'll find a revision history and credits at

the end of all this; I have a [large] number of pending updates to fold

in, and then I intend to make this a FAQ.

--- Rich Kulawiec 2/3/95

********************************************

AMERICAN PIE by Don McLean

The entire song is a tribute to Buddy Holly and a commentary on how

rock and roll changed in the years since his death. McLean seems to be

lamenting the lack of "danceable" music in rock and roll and (in part)

attributing that lack to the absence of Buddy Holly et. al.

(Verse 1) A long, long time ago...

"American Pie" reached #1 in the US in 1972, but the album containing

it was released in 1971. Buddy Holly died in 1959.

I can still remember how That music used to make me smile. And I knew if I

had my chance, That I could make those people dance, And maybe they'd be

happy for a while.

One of early rock and roll's functions was to provide dance music for

various social events. McLean recalls his desire to become a musician

playing that sort of music.

But February made me shiver,

Buddy Holly died on February 3, 1959 in a plane crash in Iowa during

a snowstorm.

With every paper I'd deliver,

Don McLean's only job besides being a full-time singer-songwriter was

being a paperboy.

Bad news on the doorstep... I couldn't take one more step. I can't

remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride

Holly's recent bride was pregnant when the crash took place; she had

a miscarriage shortly afterward.

But something touched me deep inside, The day the music died.

The same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly also took the lives of

Richie Valens ("La Bamba") and The Big Bopper ("Chantilly Lace"). Since

all three were so prominent at the time, February 3, 1959 became known as

"The Day The Music Died". So...

(Refrain)

Bye bye Miss American Pie,

Don McLean dated a Miss America candidate during the pageant. (unconfirmed)

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ol' boys were

drinkin whiskey and rye Singing "This'll be the day that I die, This'll be

the day that I die."

One of Holly's hits was "That'll be the Day"; the chorus contains the

line "That'll be the day that I die".

(Verse 2) Did you write the book of love,

"The Book of Love" by the Monotones; hit in 1958.

And do you have faith in God above, If the Bible tells you so?

In 1955, Don Cornell did a song entitled "The Bible Tells Me So".

Rick Schubert pointed this out, and mentioned that he hadn't heard the

song, so it was kinda difficult to tell if it was what McLean was

referencing. Anyone know for sure?

There's also an old Sunday School song which goes: "Jesus loves me

this I know, for the Bible tells me so"

Now do you believe in rock 'n roll?

The Lovin' Spoonful had a hit in 1965 with John Sebastian's "Do you

Believe in Magic?". The song has the lines: "Do you believe in magic"

and "It's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock and roll."

Can music save your mortal soul? And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Dancing slow was an important part of early rock and roll dance

events -- but declined in importance through the 60's as things like

psychedelia and the 10-minute guitar solo gained prominence.

Well I know you're in love with him 'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym

Back then, dancing was an expression of love, and carried a

connotation of committment. Dance partners were not so readily exchanged

as they would be later.

You both kicked off your shoes

A reference to the beloved "sock hop". (Street shoes tear up wooden

basketball floors, so dancers had to take off their shoes.)

Man, I dig those rhythm 'n' blues

Some history. Before the popularity of rock and roll, music, like

much else in the U. S., was highly segregated. The popular music of black

performers for largely black audiences was called, first, "race music",

later softened to rhythm and blues. In the early 50s, as they were

exposed to it through radio personalities such as Allan Freed, white

teenagers began listening, too. Starting around 1954, a number of songs

from the rhythm and blues charts began appearing on the overall popular

charts as well, but usually in cover versions by established white

artists, (e. g. "Shake Rattle and Roll", Joe Turner, covered by Bill

Haley; "Sh-Boom", the Chords, covered by the Crew-Cuts; "Sincerely", the

Moonglows, covered by the Mc Guire Sisters; Tweedle Dee, LaVerne Baker,

covered by Georgia Gibbs). By 1955, some of the rhythm and blues

artists, like Fats Domino and Little Richard were able to get records on

the overall pop charts. In 1956 Sun records added elements of country and

western to produce the kind of rock and roll tradition that produced

Buddy Holly. (Thanks to Barry Schlesinger for this historical note.

---Rsk)

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck With a pink carnation and a pickup truck

"A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)", was a hit for Marty

Robbins in 1957. The pickup truck has endured as a symbol of sexual

independence and potency, especially in a Texas context. (Also, Jimmy

Buffet does a song about "a white sport coat and a pink crustacean". :-)

)

But I knew that I was out of luck The day the music died I started singing...

Refrain

(Verse 3) Now for ten years we've been on our own

McLean was writing this song in the late 60's, about ten years after

the crash.

And moss grows fat on a rolling stone

It's unclear who the "rolling stone" is supposed to be. It could be

Dylan, since "Like a Rolling Stone" (1965) was his first major hit; and

since he was busy writing songs extolling the virtues of simple love,

family and contentment while staying at home (he didn't tour from '66 to

'74) and raking in the royalties. This was quite a change from the

earlier, angrier Dylan.

The "rolling stone" could also be Elvis, although I don't think he'd

started to pork out by the late sixties.

It could refer to rock and rollers in general, and the changes that

had taken place in the business in the 60's, especially the huge amounts

of cash some of them were beginning to make, and the relative stagnation

that entered the music at the same time.

Or, perhaps it's a reference to the stagnation in rock and roll.

Or, finally, it could refer to the Rolling Stones themselves; a lot

of musicians were angry at the Stones for "selling out". Howard Landman

points out that John Foxx of Ultravox was sufficiently miffed to write a

song titled "Life At Rainbow's End (For All The Tax Exiles On Main

Street)". The Stones at one point became citizens of some other country

merely to save taxes.

But that's not how it used to be When the jester sang for the King and Queen

The jester is Bob Dylan, as will become clear later. There are

several interpretations of king and queen: some think that Elvis Presley

is the king, which seems pretty obvious. The queen is said to be either

Connie Francis or Little Richard. But see the next note.

An alternate interpretation is that this refers to the Kennedys --

the king and queen of "Camelot" -- who were present at a Washington DC

civil rights rally featuring Martin Luther King. (There's a recording of

Dylan performing at this rally.)

In a coat he borrowed from James Dean

In the movie "Rebel Without a Cause", James Dean has a red

windbreaker that holds symbolic meaning throughout the film (see note at

end). In one particularly intense scene, Dean lends his coat to a guy

who is shot and killed; Dean's father arrives, sees the coat on the dead

man, thinks it's Dean, and loses it.

On the cover of "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan", Dylan is wearing just

such as red windbreaker, and is posed in a street scene similar to one

shown in a well-known picture of James Dean.

Bob Dylan played a command performance for the Queen of England. He

was *not* properly attired, so perhaps this is a reference to his

apparel.

And a voice that came from you and me

Bob Dylan's roots are in American folk music, with people like Pete

Seeger and Woody Guthrie. Folk music is by definition the music of the

masses, hence the "...came from you and me". Oh, and while the King was

looking down The jester stole his thorny crown

This could be a reference to Elvis's decline and Dylan's ascendance.

(i.e. Presley is looking down from a height as Dylan takes his place.)

The thorny crown might be a reference to the price of fame. Dylan has

said that he wanted to be as famous as Elvis, one of his early idols.

The courtroom was adjourned, No verdict was returned.

This could be the trial of the Chicago Seven. And while Lennon read

a book on Marx,

Literally, John Lennon reading about Karl Marx; figuratively, the

introduction of radical politics into the music of the Beatles. (Of

course, he could be referring to Groucho Marx, but that doesn't seem

quite consistent with McLean's overall tone. On the other hand, some of

the wordplay in Lennon's lyrics and books is reminiscint of Groucho.) The

"Marx-Lennon" wordplay has also been used by others, most notably the

Firesign Theatre on the cover of their album "How Can You Be In Two

Places At Once When You're Not Anywhere At All?". Also, a famous French

witticism was "Je suis Marxiste, tendance Groucho."; "I'm a Marxist of

the Groucho variety".

The quartet practiced in the park

There are two schools of thought about this; the obvious one is the

Beatles playing in Shea Stadium, but note that the previous line has John

Lennon *doing something else at the same time*. This tends to support the

theory that this is a reference to the Weavers, who were blacklisted

during the McCarthy era. McLean had become friends with Lee Hays of the

Weavers in the early 60's while performing in coffeehouses and clubs in

upstate New York and New York City. He was also well-acquainted with Pete

Seeger; in fact, McLean, Seeger, and others took a trip on the Hudson

river singing anti-pollution songs at one point. Seeger's LP "God Bless

the Grass" contains many of these songs.

And we sang dirges in the dark

A "dirge" is a funeral or mourning song, so perhaps this is meant

literally...or, perhaps, this is a reference to some of the new "art

rock" groups which played long pieces not meant for dancing.

The day the music died. We were singing...

Refrain

(Verse 4) Helter Skelter in a summer swelter

"Helter Skelter" is a Beatles song which appears on the "white"

album. Charles Manson, claiming to have been "inspired" by the song

(through which he thought God and/or the devil were taking to him) led

his followers in the Tate-LaBianca murders.

Is "summer swelter" a reference to the "Summer of Love" or perhaps to

the "long hot summer" of Watts?

The birds flew off with the fallout shelter Eight miles high and falling fast

The Byrd's "Eight Miles High" was on their late 1966 release "Fifth

Dimension". It was one of the first records to be widely banned because

of supposedly drug-oriented lyrics.

It landed foul on the grass

One of the Byrds was busted for possesion of marijuana.

The players tried for a forward pass

Obviously a football metaphor, but about what? It could be the

Rolling Stones, i.e. they were waiting for an opening which really didn't

happen until the Beatles broke up. With the jester on the sidelines in

a cast

On July 29, 1966, Dylan crashed his Triumph 55 motorcycle while

riding near his home in Woodstock, New York. He spent nine months in

seclusion while recuperating from the accident.

Now the halftime air was sweet perfume

Drugs, man.

Well, now, wait a minute; that's probably too obvious. It's possible

that this line and the next few refer to the 1968 Democratic National

Convention. The "sweet perfume" is probably tear gas.

While sergeants played a marching tune

Following from the thought above, the sergeants would be the Chicago

Police and the Illinois National Guard, who marched the protestors out of

the park and into jail.

Alternatively, this could refer to the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely

Hearts Club Band". Or, perhaps McLean refers to the Beatles' music in

general as "marching" because it's not music for dancing. Or, finally,

the "marching tune" could be the draft.

We all got up to dance Oh, but we never got the chance

The Beatles' 1966 Candlestick Park concert only lasted 35 minutes.

Or, following on from the previous comment, perhaps he meant that

there wasn't any music to dance to.

'Cause the players tried to take the field, The marching band refused to yield.

Following on from the Chicago reference above, this could be another

comment on protests. If the players are the protestors at Kent State, and

the marching band the Ohio National Guard...

This could be a reference to the dominance of the Beatles on the rock

and roll scene. For instance, the Beach Boys released "Pet Sounds" in

1966 -- an album which featured some of the same sort of studio and

electronic experimentation as "Sgt. Pepper" (1967) -- but the album sold

poorly.

Some folks think this refers to either the 1968 Deomcratic Convention

or Kent State.

This might also be a comment about how the dominance of the Beatles

in the rock world led to more "pop art" music, leading in turn to a

dearth of traditional rock and roll.

Or finally, this might be a comment which follows up on the earlier

reference to the draft: the government/military-industrial-complex

establishment refused to accede to the demands of the peace movement.

Do you recall what was revealed, The day the music died? We started singing

Refrain

(Verse 5) And there we were all in one place

Woodstock.

A generation lost in space

Some people think this is a reference to the US space program, which

it might be; but that seems a bit too literal. Perhaps this is a

reference to hippies, who were sometimes known as the "lost generation",

partially because of their particularly acute alientation from their

parents, and partially because of their presumed preoccupation with

drugs.

It could also be a reference to the awful TV show, "Lost in Space",

whose title was sometimes used as a synonym for someone who was rather

high... but I keep hoping that McLean had better taste. :-)

With no time left to start again

The "lost generation" spent too much time being stoned, and had

wasted their lives? Or, perhaps, their preference for psychedelia had

pushed rock and roll so far from Holly's music that it couldn't be

retrieved.

So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick

Probably a reference to Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones; "Jumpin'

Jack Flash" was released in May, 1968.

Jack Flash sat on a candlestick

The Stones' Candlestick park concert? (unconfirmed)

'Cause fire is the devil's only friend

It's possible that this is a reference to the Grateful Dead's "Friend

of the Devil".

An alternative interpretation of the last four lines is that they may

refer to Jack Kennedy and his quick decisions during the Cuban Missile

Crisis; the candlesticks/fire refer to ICBMs and nuclear war.

And as I watched him on the stage My hands were clenched in fists of rage

No angel born in hell Could break that satan's spell

While playing a concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1968, the Stones

appointed members of the Hell's Angels to work security (on the advice of

the Grateful Dead). In the darkness near the front of the stage, a young

man named Meredith Hunter was beaten and stabbed to death -- by the

Angels. Public outcry that the song "Sympathy for the Devil" had somehow

incited the violence caused the Stones to drop the song from their show

for the next six years. This incident is chronicled in the documentary

film "Gimme Shelter".

It's also possible that McLean views the Stones as being negatively

inspired (remember, he had an extensive religious background) by virtue

of "Sympathy for the Devil", "Their Satanic Majesties' Request" and so

on. I find this a bit puzzling, since the early Stones recorded a lot of

"roots" rock and roll, including Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away".

And as the flames climbed high into the night To light the sacrificial rite

The most likely interpretation is that McLean is still talking about

Altamont, and in particular Mick Jagger's prancing and posing while it

was happening. The sacrifice is Meredith Hunter, and the bonfires around

the area provide the flames.

(It could be a reference to Jimi Hendrix burning his Stratocaster at

the Monterey Pop Festival, but that was in 1967 and this verse is set in

1968.)

I saw satan laughing with delight

If the above is correct, then Satan would be Jagger.

The day the music died He was singing...

Refrain

(Verse 6) I met a girl who sang the blues

Janis Joplin.

And I asked her for some happy news But she just smiled and turned away

Janis died of an accidental heroin overdose on October 4, 1970.

I went down to the sacred store Where I'd heard the music years before

There are two interpretations of this: The "sacred store" was Bill

Graham's Fillmore West, one of the great rock and roll venues of all

time. Alternatively, this refers to record stores, and their longtime

(then discontinued) practice of allowing customers to preview records in

the store. (What year did the Fillmore West close?)

It could also refer to record stores as "sacred" because this is

where one goes to get "saved". (See above lyric "Can music save your

mortal soul?")

But the man there said the music wouldn't play

Perhaps he means that nobody is interested in hearing Buddy Holly

et.al.'s music? Or, as above, the discontinuation of the in-store

listening booths.

And in the streets the children screamed

"Flower children" being beaten by police and National Guard troops;

in particular, perhaps, the People's Park riots in Berkeley in 1969 and

1970.

The lovers cried and the poets dreamed

The trend towards psychedelic music in the 60's?

But not a word was spoken The church bells all were broken

It could be that the broken bells are the dead musicians: neither can

produce any more music.

And the three men I admire most The Father Son and Holy Ghost

Holly, The Big Bopper, and Valens -- or -- Hank Williams, Presley

and Holly -- or -- JFK, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy -- or --

or the Catholic aspects of the deity. McLean had attended several

Catholic schools.

They caught the last train for the coast

Could be a reference to wacky California religions, or could just be

a way of saying that they've left (or died -- western culture often uses

"went west" as a synonym for dying). Or, perhaps this is a reference to

the famous "God is Dead" headline in the New York Times. David Cromwell

has suggested that this is an oblique reference to a line in Procol

Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale", but I'm not sure I buy that; for one

thing, all of McLean's musical references are to much older "roots" rock

and roll songs; and secondly, I think it's more likely that this line

shows up in both songs simply because it's a common cultural metaphor.

The day the music died

This tends to support the conjecture that the "three men" were

Holly/Bopper/Valens, since this says that they left on the day the music

died.

And they were singing...

Refrain (2x)

Chords to the song:

The song appears to be in G; the chords are:

Intro: G Bm/F# Em . Am . C . Em . D . . .

G Bm/F# Em . Am . C . Em . A . D . . .

Em . Am . Em . Am . C G/B Am . C . D . G

Bm/F# Em . Am . C . G Bm/F# Em . Am . D . G

. C . G . D .

Chorus: G . C . G . D . G . C . G . D

. G . C . G . D .

Em . . . A . . . (all but Em . . . D

. . . last chorus)

C . D . G C G . (last chorus)

Other notes:

"Killing Me Softly With His Song", Roberta Flack's Grammy Award-winning

single of 1973, was written by Charles Gimble and Norman Fox about McLean.

The Big Bopper's real name was J.P. Richardson. He was a DJ for a Texas

radio station who had one very big novelty hit, the very well known

"Chantilly Lace". There was a fourth person who was going to ride the

plane. There was room for three, ahd the fourth person lost the toss -- or

should I say won the toss. His name is Waylon Jennings...and to this day

he refuses to talk about the crash. ( Jennings was the bass player for

Holly's band at the time. Some people say that Holly had chartered the

plane for his band, but that Valens and/or Richardson was sick that night

and asked to take the place of the band members.)

About the "coat he borrowed from James Dean": James Dean's red windbreaker

is important throughout the film, not just at the end. When he put it on,

it meant that it was time to face the world, time to do what he thought

had to be done, and other melodramatic but thoroughly enjoyable stuff like

that. The week after the movie came out, virtually every clothing store in

the U.S. was sold out of red windbreakers. Remember that Dean's impact was

similar to Dylan's: both were a symbol for the youth of their time, a

reminder that they had something to say and demanded to be listened to.

American Pie is supposed to be the name of the plane that crashed,

containing the three guys that died. (Reported by Ronald van Loon >from

the discussion on American Pie, autumn 1991, on rec.music.folk) Dan

Stanley mentioned an interesting theory involving all of this; roughly

put, he figures that if Holly hadn't died, then we would not have suffered

through the Fabian/Pat Boone/et.al. era...and as a consequence, we

wouldn't have *needed* the Beatles -- Holly was moving pop music away

>from the stereotypical boy/girl love lost/found lyrical ideas, and was

recording with unique instrumentation and techniques...things that Beatles

wouldn't try until about 1965. Perhaps Dylan would have stuck with the

rock and roll he played in high school, and the Byrds never would have

created an amalgam of Dylan songs and Beatle arrangements.

Lynn Gold tells me that "Life" magazine carried an annotated version of

American Pie when the song came out; does anybody have a copy? If so,

please contact me, because I'd love to see it.

Still other :-) notes:

Andrew Whitman brings a sense of perspective to all of this by noting:

>As to what they threw off the bridge, Bobbie Gentry once went on record

with >the statement that it was the mystery that made the song, and that

the mystery >would remain unsolved. Don McLean later used the same device

to even greater >success with "American Pie," which triggered a national

obsession on figuring >out the "real meaning" of the song.

Well, probably not a national obsession, but certainly the life's work of

many talented scholars. According to the latest edition of the "American

Pie Historical Interpretive Digest" (APHID), noted McLean historian

Vincent Vandeman has postulated that cheezy country songs may have played

a much more prominent role in the epic composition than had originally

been thought. In particular, the "widowed bride," usually supposed to be

either Ella Holly or Joan Rivers, may in fact be Billie Jo. According to

this radical exegesis, the "pink carnation" of McLean's song is probably

what was thrown off the Tallahatchie Bridge, and was later found by the

lonely, teenaged McLean as he wandered drunkenly on the levee.

Of course, such a view poses problems. McLean vehemently denies any

knowledge of Choctaw Ridge, and any theory linking the two songs must

surely address this mysterious meeting place of Billie Jo and her husband

Billy Joe. Vandeman speculates that Choctaw Ridge may have been the place

McLean drove his Chevy after drinking whiskey and rye, and that McLean may

have been unaware of the name because of his foggy mental state. Still,

there appear to be many tenuous connections in Vandeman's interpretation -

Tammy Wynette as the girl who sang the blues, the proposed affair between

Wynette and Billie Joe which later led to d-i-v-o-r-c-e and Billy Joe's

suicide, the mysterious whereabouts of George Jones, and why McLean

insisted on driving a Chevy to the levee instead of a more economical

Japanese car.

My own view is that none of it makes much sense. Vandeman's theory is

intriguing, but it seems far more logical to hold to the traditional

interpretation of "American Pie" as an eschatological parable of nuclear

destruction and the rebirth of civilization on Alpha Centauri.

[ Thanks, Andrew. I'll take it under advisement. ;-) ---Rsk ]

--MFW

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