omni
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response 11 of 40:
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Jul 24 05:24 UTC 1997 |
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
--More--
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)
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