Time magazine article on February 3, 1959
Richie Valens sings "La Bamba"
Commercial for Chevrolet from 1952
The Monotones sing
"Who Wrote the Book of Love"
Bob Dylan sings "Like a Rolling Stone"
The Beatles final concert
Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin
The Beatles sing "Helter Skelter"
Chicago 1968
The Rolling Stones at Altamont
The Fillmore West
Don McLean sings "American Pie"
First Verse
A long, long time ago
Recorded in 1971, 'American Pie' was initially inspired by songwriter Don McLean's memories of being a paperboy
in 1959 and learning of the death of Buddy Holly.
From UnderstandingAmericanPie.com
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
American Pie is partly biographical and partly the story of America during the idealized 1950s and the bleaker
1960s. It presents an abstract story of McLean's life from the mid-1950s until the end of the 1960s, and at the same time it represents the
evolution of popular music and politics over these years.
From UnderstandingAmericanPie.com
And I knew if I had my chance that I could make those people dance,
As a teenager, McLean became interested in folk music. Childhood asthma meant that McLean missed long periods of
school, particularly music lessons, and although he slipped back in his studies, his love of music was allowed to flourish.
From Wikipedia.org
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
But
February
Buddy Holly, along with Richie Valens and the Big Bopper, was in the middle of a 24-night tour called "Winter Dance
Party" when he chartered a a flight from Clear Lake, Iowa to Moorhead, Minnesota. The plane took off around 12:30 AM on February 3, 1959, and
crashed minutes later, possibly due to the snowy conditions.
From Claire Suddath, The Day the Music Died, Time Magazine, February 3, 2009
made me shiver with every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
Don McLean was a paperboy at the time--see the second line.
-- I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride
Buddy Holly met his wife, Maria Elena, when she was a receptionist at a music publisher. They married August 15, 1958,
less than two months after their first date. When he died six months later, she was pregnant with their first child and miscarried soon thereafter.
From Wikipedia.org
But something touched me deep inside
the day the music died
What McLean lyrically dubbed February 3, 1959
Chorus
So, bye, bye Miss American Pie
"Miss American Pie" is "as American as apple pie," so the saying goes; she could also be a synthesis of this symbol and
the beauty queen Miss America. Either way, her name evokes a simpler time in American life when these icons held more meaning. She is the America
of a passing era, and he is bidding her farewell.
From UnderstandingAmericanPie.com
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
A drive "along a levee" was mentioned in iconic 1950s television commercials for Chevrolet
From UnderstandingAmericanPie.com
but the levee was dry
And good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin'
This'll be the day that I die,
One of Buddy Holly's hit songs was "That'll Be the Day," and it contained the lyric "That'll be the day that I die."
From www.TheStraightDope.com/columns/read/908/
what-is-don-mcleans-song-american-pie-all-about
This'll be the day that I die
Second Verse
Did you write the Book of Love
"The Book of Love" was a hit for The Monotones in 1958. The song asked, "Oh, who wrote the Book Of Love?"
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
and do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Rock 'n roll music becoming the "religion of the youth" in the 1950's, with many preachers speaking out against it.
Don Cornell did a song in 1955 called "The Bible Tells Me So" containing the lyrics, "How do I know, the Bible tells me so."
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
Now, do you believe in Rock and Roll? Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
In the early days of rock & roll, slow dancing was very important. This declined later in the 60s as drugs and guitar
solos became more prominent.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
Well, I know that you're in love with him,
'cause I saw you dancing in the gym
In the 1950s, high school gyms were used as venues for school dances, called "sock hops."
From UnderstandingAmericanPie.com
You both kicked off your shoes
Students danced in their socks to preserve the polished wood floors.
From UnderstandingAmericanPie.com
-- man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely, teenage bronkin' buck
with a pink carnation
"A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)", was a hit for Marty Robbins in 1957.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
Perhaps this is again about Holly's death and what it brought with it in the music industry and the changes in
society at large.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
the day the music died
I started singing
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Third Verse
Now, for ten years we've been on our own
The song was written about ten years after the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly. Hence "ten years we've been on
our own."
www.missamericanpie.co.uk
and moss grows fat on our rolling stone
There are MANY possible interpretations,
but two in particular have been repeated on various websites:
It could be Bob 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.
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie/
This line could also foreshadow the anarchy that the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger symbolizes at the song's climax in verse 5.
From UnderstandingAmericanPie.com
But that's not how it used to be
When
the Jester
The jester is Bob Dylan, as will become clear later
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
sang for the king and queen
One interpretation is that Elvis Presley is the king and Connie Francis or Little Richard is the queen. 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.)
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
in a coat he borrowed from James Dean
The late teen idol James Dean, who starred in the film "Rebel Without a Cause," wore a red wind breaker. The coat is
symbolic in the film. In the film Dean lends the coat to a friend who is later killed. Dean's father sees the shot guy wearing the coat and thinks
it is Dean. Also, when Dean puts on the coat, it meant it was time to face the world and do what he thought had to be done. The week after the
movie was released virtually every clothing store in the U.S. was sold out of red windbreakers. On the cover of the album "The Freewheelin," Bob
Dylan is seen in a red wind breaker in a street shot resembling Dean in the film.
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
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".
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
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.
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
The courtroom was adjourned -- no verdict was returned
Even as Bob Dylan was in the vanguard of the developing shift away from rock 'n' roll's earlier, simpler thematic roots,
the jury was still out on the outcome of America's emerging cultural revolution -- no verdict was returned.
From UnderstandingAmericanPie.com
[Note: Several websites have claimed this line and the preceding one is a reference to the Kennedy assassination and the subsequent Warren
Report, or even the trial of the Chicago Seven. However, this song appears to be about music, not politics or current events, so proceed
with caution.]
And while Lenin read a book on Marx
Literally, John Lennon reading about Karl Marx; figuratively, the introduction of radical politics into the music
of the Beatles.
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
the quartet practiced in the park
The "quartet" seems to be a reference to the Beatles, juxtaposed as it is to Lennon's name, and their famous 1966
farewell concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park, which lasted for 33 minutes. This was their last live concert. They had decided after
their L.A shows they wanted to go back to London. However they had a contract with KYA radio station to play at Candlestick Park. On the day
of their Hollywood Bowl show, they were served a summons. In the end they played the Candlestick Park show on August 29, 1966 to a crowd of
24,000 screaming fans. The Beatles could not hear themselves sing, as the crowds were so loud. The band didn't want to be there, and for them,
as they say, the rest is history.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
And we sang dirges in the dark
The older musical order as symbolized by Presley and Holly had begun slipping away around this time; and in the
wake of all the social unrest and generational conflicts emerging in the 1960s, so too was the older, simpler social order of the 1950s which
they represent. The narrator sings a funeral dirge mourning one more step in the passing of the world he once knew.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
the day the music died
We were singing
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Fourth Verse
Helter Skelter
"Helter Skelter" is a Beatles song that 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 in 1969.
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
in the summer swelter --
"The summer swelter" could refer to the summer of love, but perhaps more plausible "the long, hot summer" was the name
given to the Summer of 1965. An area of Los Angeles that had race-related riots known as "The Watts Riots." While the dates of Watts and the
Tate-LaBianca murders don't match up, perhaps McLean is just painting an image of the unsettled times.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
the Birds
The Byrds were an American rock band considered to be one of the most influential bands of the 1960s.
From Wikipedia.org
flew off with a
fallout shelter
There are multiple theories for this line, any of which are possible:
A "fallout shelter" is a bomb shelter where you would hide from radioactive fallout following an atomic bomb. Shelters were particularly
popular in the 1950s after the Soviet Union developed the atomic bomb.
The album cover of Bob Dylan's "Bringing it all Back Home has a sign of a fallout shelter. Dylan's song "Mr Tambourine Man" (on this album) was
The Byrds first hit. Perhaps this means the Byrds propelled Dylan to greater popularity than he achieved on his own.
The term fallout shelter is also a colloquism for a rehab clinic.
A fallout shelter was sometimes known as the "Fifth Dimension," which was also the title of the album by The Byrds with the song "Eight Miles High."
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
Eight Miles High
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.
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
and falling fast
"Fallin fast," is another term for a drugs crash or coming down.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
It landed foul on the grass,
Combining references to these two very American sports contributes to the nostalgic feel of the song. The "players"
could be musicians trying to progress, with a "forward pass," in their music. The marching band is the old school band who refuses to conform.
Alternatively it could relate to The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper).
A very different take is that the "players" are activists and rioters who were convinced they were going to create a better world. They thought
they could move things forward socially and politically, in a drastic and qualitative way that nobody had tried before. The analogy is of a
forward pass in football which is an exciting and somewhat risky play that can move things forward dramatically.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
the players
The players could be other musicians trying to break into the market.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
tried for a forward pass
With the Jester on the sidelines in a cast
Bob Dylan, sidelined by a nearly fatal motorcycle accident on July 29, 1966, and further overwhelmed by the pressures
of his own success, retreated to Woodstock, NY to recuperate from his wounds, both physical and psychological. His output following this period
was not as critically well-received as his earlier work, as he retreated from the lyrical complexity and social commentary that had characterized
his previous efforts, becoming less the spokesman for his generation.
From UnderstandingAmericanPie.com
Now, the halftime air was sweet perfume
"Sweet perfume" could be a drugs reference, as Bob Dylan met The Beatles at Kennedy Airport when they came to the US
in 1964 and introduced them to marijuana.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
Another interpretation is that this line and the next few refer to the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The
"sweet perfume" could be tear gas, which was used on the protesters.
From http://www.rareexception.com/Garden/Pie.php
while the Sergeants played a marching tune
"The Sergeants" are most likely The Beatles, as seen in "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Again, the players
could be other bands trying to make a success in the music industry, but due to The Beatles success this was not possible
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
Or following the thinking behind the previous line, the sergeants could be the Chicago Police and the Illinois National Guard,
who marched the protestors out of the park and into jail.
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
We all got up to dance, oh, but we never got the chance
Not getting a chance to dance relates to The Beatles concert in 1966 at Candlestick Park (see "the quartet practiced
in the park" above).
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
'Cause the players tried to take the field -- the marching band refused to yield
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.
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.
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
Do you recall what was revealed
McLean asks if you remember what was revealed when the music died (i.e., do you realize what was lost when we traveled
from the innocence of the 1950s into the turbulent 1960s).
From http://www.rockin50s.com/AmPie.htm
the day the music died?
We started singing
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Fifth Verse
And there we were all in one place
Most interpret this as Woodstock.
-- a generation Lost in Space
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 TV show, "Lost in Space," whose title was sometimes used as a synonym for someone who was high.
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
With no time left to start again
The 1960s generation was now out of control and could never return to the good old days of the 1950s
again.
From http://www.rockin50s.com/AmPie.htm
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick -- Jack Flash sat on a Candlestick
Jack Flash is a reference to the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and their song "Jumpin' Jack Flash," in which the protagonist
nimbly plays with fire to boast of his freedom.
From UnderstandingAmericanPie.com
'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend
"Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones seems to fit with some of the surrounding material.
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
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 Rolling 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. This incident is chronicled in the documentary film "Gimme Shelter".
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
And as the flames climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
Satan appears to be Jagger, as he was prancing about on stage while Meredith was being beaten.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
the day the music died
He was singing
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Sixth Verse
I met a girl who sang the Blues, and I asked her for some happy news
The "girl" here is Janis Joplin, and McLean asks her if the music will ever return to the simplicity of the 1950s.
From http://www.rockin50s.com/AmPie.htm
She just smiled and turned away
She simply answers, "No."
From http://www.rockin50s.com/AmPie.htm
I went down to the sacred store
"The sacred store" is most likely a record store. Stores abandoned the practice of allowing customers to preview records
in the store in little booths. Records also changed format in the 1960s. More specifically the store is likely to be Fillmore, Bill Graham's
site for concerts, said by some to be the greatest rock & roll venue of all time.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
The Fillmore shut down due to the small size of acts it attracted. Presumably "The music wouldn't play" as the venue
was shut down and no one wanted to hear the music of Buddy and others.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
And in the streets the children screamed,
"Flower children" being beaten by police and National Guard troops, in particular, the People's Park riots in Berkeley
in 1969 and 1970.
From www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie
the lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
"The lovers" could be the hippies, who "cried" as they campaigned for peace. "The poets" were perhaps also dreaming of
peace, and in the 1960s could express their feelings more freely through poetry.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
But not a word was spoken --
The church bells all were broken
This is about the musicians having died and lost hope of saving America in a new era where free love and drugs prevailed.
This continues the theme of degeneration with the relative holiness of 1950s music not being played and no longer popular.
From www.missamericanpie.co.uk
And the three men I admire most -- the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost --
Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Richie Valens
They caught the last train for the coast
A poetic way of saying, "they died."
the day the music died
And they were singing
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
They were singing
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
"American Pie" album cover
Buddy Holly and the Crickets
sing "That'll Be the Day"
The Big Bopper sings "Chantilly Lace"
A 1957 Sock Hop in Philadelphia
Trailer for "Rebel Without a Cause"
Fallout shelter from 1957
The Byrds in 1965
The Beatles sing "Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band"
The Rolling Stones sing "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
Janis Joplin sings "Me & Bobby McGee"
A Memorial
