American Pie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the song originally by . For the film series and other uses, see .
Years after the original recordings, McLean said in 2000:
The song starts off with my memories of the death of Buddy Holly. But it moves on to describe America as I was seeing it and how I was fantasizing it might become, so it's part reality and part fantasy but I'm always in the song as a witness or as even the subject sometimes in some of the verses. | He later went on to say,
"The song was written as my attempt at an epic song about America, and I used the imagery of music and politics to do that." The autobiographical theme of "American Pie" provides the chronological framework for the song's verses.
The first verse describes McLean's memories of the music he loved as a young child and his reaction, at age thirteen, to the deaths of Holly, Valens, and Richardson. The phrase Miss American Pie suggests a contraction of and the old expression "as American as apple pie", both being icons of innocence and idealism; thus the expression "American Pie" likely represents the youthful, popular American culture of the mid- and late-1950s that involved the styles in music, dance, dress, movies, radio, television, and romance that McLean loved as a child and young teenager. The chorus marks the passing of that culture and its values with the accidental deaths of Holly, Valens, and Richardson in 1959.
The second verse describes McLean's perception of American culture during his innocent boyhood and the beginning of the loss of innocence thereafter. McLean personified that perception as Miss American Pie, referring to her as "you" in the lyrics. By imagining that he asks her whether she wrote "the book of love" and whether she has faith in God above, and if the tells her so, McLean appears to express his belief about how important the moral and spiritual values of the Christian faith were for America at the time.
In addition, McLean may have imagined Miss American Pie dancing at a with Buddy Holly, symbolizing America's love of 1950s rock and roll. Added to the gloom he experienced by the deaths of Holly, Valens, and Richardson, McLean alluded to "Lonely Teenager", a song by released in 1960. (Dion performed with the other three musicians the night before they perished.
) McLean has mentioned that 1959 to 1963 marked his acquaintance with "the darker realities of adulthood": his father died in 1961; and in 1963, he dropped out of to become a professional musician, and suffered as was assassinated. Finally, the verse includes an allusion to being stood up at a by referring to the song "A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)" (1957) by that likely represents McLean's final separation from Miss American Pie. The lines describe the songwriter himself, a native of metropolitan New York City, as a broncin' buck with a pink carnation and a pick-up truck which likely refers to the rural American roots of many of the musicians he loved so well—Holly and Richardson were native Texans raised in small towns, and Robbins was a popular country and western music star from Arizona.
performs just days after President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. The third verse of "American Pie" is largely about Dylan. (See the Bob Dylan section of this article.
)
The third verse focuses on the rise of , and corresponds to McLean's years as a young adult, the songwriter being inspired by to become a professional folk singer at the time Dylan emerged as a powerful and popular musical force. From 1963 to 1969, McLean performed and toured with the likes of , , Brownie McGee, , , , , , , and . McLean's intimate knowledge of Bob Dylan's songs is reflected in multiple verses.
As an observer and participant in the 1960s American music scene, McLean traced the rise from obscurity and domination of American music by (1959–1969), starting in the third verse; and highlighted the tribulations of (1966–1967), and the widespread use of illicit drugs by young Americans in the fourth verse.
By 1968, McLean, at age 22, was invited to become "Hudson River Troubadour" by the New York State Council for the Arts. In the song's fifth verse, McLean is at odds with the cultural and musical trends represented by , which took place in his native New York in 1969.
He also conveys his disgust with (1968–1969) who were at the center of the in December 1969. While McLean recorded his first album, Tapestry, in 1969, a student riot took place just outside the Berkeley, California studio's door. By the last verse, McLean is saddened by the death of (1970), and is dejected by the dissolution of music as an uplifting, spiritual, and moral force in the face of overwhelming violence in America and abroad.
Overall, McLean's musical "evolution" started with Bob Dylan's celebration of expanding liberty, freedom, and individuality in "a voice that came from you and me"; moved through the drug-influenced culture of the mid- and late 1960s of " " and " " by The Beatles; and ended with the apparent masochistic violence in " " by The Rolling Stones and the real violent mayhem at the in 1969.
is the name McLean gave to , , the day an airplane carrying musicians , and crashed, killing all three. But, as he explained on his web site , the date has a profound meaning to McLean because it marked a major change in his life:
"In Don's life the transition from light (the innocence of childhood) to the darker realities of adulthood probably started with the death of Buddy Holly and culminated with the of in 1963 and the start of a more difficult time for America."
From the standpoint of about 1970, the twenty-five year old songwriter recalled the effect of six transitions on the day the music died, noted at the end of each verse of "American Pie".
In the first verse, McLean tries to remember how he felt when Holly, Valens, and The Big Bopper died when he was a thirteen year old boy: But February made me shiver with every paper I'd deliver; and I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride (referring to Holly's pregnant wife ). But at the end, all he can say is, But something touched me deep inside the day the music died. At the end of the second verse that describes McLean's perceptions of America during the mid- and late-1950s, McLean believes that events after the day the music died would portend to bad times ahead: But I knew I was out of luck the day the music died. At the end of the third verse that focuses on the rise of , McLean speaks for a generation of songwriters and musicians that misses Holly, Valens, and Richardson: And we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died. At the end of the fourth verse, where McLean witnesses the effects of drug use on rock music, he asks if there was some higher meaning related to , : Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died? After McLean witnesses a murder and beatings at the in December 1969, in the fifth verse, he says that was happy on the day the music died: I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died. Finally, at the conclusion of "American Pie", McLean sees Holly, Valens, and The Big Bopper off to heaven on , : And the three men I admire most:/ The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, / They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died. The chorus contains the line
Drove my Chevy to the but the levee was dry, which may have multiple meanings.
The first is derived from lines in the 1956, "See the USA in Your ", advertising that brand of vehicles [Fann]:
On a highway or road along the levee, Performance is sweeter, nothing can beat her, Life is completer in a Chevy. Since traveling is a common metaphor for making one's way through life, driving a Chevy meant living in a patriotic, middle class lifestyle that the owner could be proud of. A drive on a "road along the levee" beside a river or other body of water represents a scenic, fulfilling sojourn, so, the missing water along the levee implies that the trip, life, became empty.
In this interpretation, the loss associated with the departure, passing, or separation from Miss American Pie befits a mournful drinking song:
That separation is similar to the one feared by the guy with his gal in the Buddy Holly and The Crickets' song " ". [Dearborn, Kulawiec, Fann, Levitt]
It is possible that "the levee" also refers to the name of the bar in (now known as the Beechmont Tavern) where McLean imagined he and his friends mourned the death of Buddy Holly. The next chorus phrase meaning whiskey in rye rather than whiskey and rye may refer to the nearby town of where McLean would often go with his friends after The Levee closed.
[alternative of Levitt]A sample of the song is currently in use on the Chevy commercial for one of their cars. The line "put the Chevy to the levy" is conveniently used as a marketing tool for the company.
The Chevy and the levee may refer to a famous lawsuit regarding an easement in which an owner of a Chevrolet truck owned an easement to cross a neighbor's land to get to the main highway.
Unfortunately, over time, the dirt road on the easement would begin to flood during heavy rains. The original owner of the property with the easement road built a levee to keep his land [and the easement road] from flooding. Many years later, the subsequent landowner refused to repair the damaged levee and the easement road was impassable during a significant part of the year.
The owner of the Chevy sued to require the owner of the levee to make repairs so that the easement could be used. The analogy here is the loss of the musicians in the crash are symbolized by the dry levee and the Chevy represents American culture.
Some mistakenly believe that "Miss American Pie" is the name of the airplane that crashed.
This is an : the plane had no name, only a registration number N3794N. . Others, however, believe that Miss American Pie refers to McLean's then girlfriend, Miss America.
See the Autobiographic theme section for interpretation of the chorus and second verse.
The part of the refrain saying "This'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die." could refer to Buddy Holly's song "That'll be the Day" where in one verse he states "That'll be the day that I die.
"
"American Pie" includes a number of Christian religious elements that includes an allusion to wearing his and the ; and the mentioning of " ", , and titles of two songs with lyrics that allude to God. In addition, some people believe that "American Pie" alludes to the . The purpose of these elements probably is not to promote a Christian theme because in December 2005, McLean explained that he is a but not a .
One purpose of the song's religious elements might be to remind the listener that music can provide spiritual fulfillment. McLean appears to have expressed his belief in this power of music in the two questions asked in the second verse: Now do you believe in rock and roll[?] and can music save your mortal soul[?
]. It also seems that McLean believed the antithesis is true, that music can corrupt the soul since the fifth verse describes a murder while The Rolling Stones performed music with wicked themes at the in December 1969.
The second verse of "American Pie" opens with a Christian theme: Did you write the book of love.
The phrase refers to the title of the 1958 song "The Book of Love" by [Dearborn, Kulawiec, Fann, Levitt], that includes the lines:
Tell me, tell me, tell me Oh, who wrote the Book Of Love Was it someone from above? The second verse also asks
... and do you have faith in God above? / If the Bible tells you so.
Given McLean's characterization of 1950s American culture in the second verse, the line likely alludes to the title of the 1955 song "The Bible Tells Me So" by [Kulawiec, Levitt]. The song includes the word "faith" in the refrain:
Have faith, hope and charity How do I know, the Bible tells me so The line might also or alternatively allude to the popular nineteenth century [Kulawiec, Levitt] created by William Bradbury in 1862 with words drafted two years earlier by Anna Warner that includes the lines:
Jesus loves me, this I know This verse may also allude to John Lennon's remarks that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus.
And the three men I admire most: The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died. The three persons are an allusion to the Christian . The interpretation that is most consistent with song's events is that the three persons are , , and , respectively. [Kulawiec, Fann] Specifically,
The Father is The Big Bopper, who was the oldest of the three musicians, as well as being the only father.
At the time of Richardson's death at age 28, he had been married to Adrian Joy Fryon for over six years, and the couple had a daughter, Deborah, and were expecting a son, Jay Perry. The Son is Valens, who died as a child at age seventeen. The Holy Ghost of rock and roll is Buddy Holly because of his pervasive influence on that music (and it may very well be a pun on his name, "The Holly Ghost").
Holly was an original inductee to the . Their travel on "the last train for the coast" is a metaphor for death (a train, in dream symbolism, is traditionally interpreted that way), with the coast representing as their final destination.
Numerous other trios have been suggested, the most popular being the three American leaders assassinated during the 1960s: President as The Father; his younger brother as the Son; and the Reverend Dr.
as the Holy Ghost. [Kulawiec, Fann]
The line in the last verse, They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died, derives the notion of the Christian Trinity's departure, withdrawal or defeat, or abandonment. These may allude to the many religions that took root in the west coast of the U.
S. during the 1960s [one alternative of Kulawiec, Levitt], what some believe is the Christian God's abandonment of the United States [Fann], or the death of God himself (see ) [Levitt].
Some people believe that "American Pie" includes an allusion to a battle between Satan and the Christian Trinity in the fifth and sixth verses.
The impression is enhanced by the fourth verse's conflict between "players", interpreted as everyday people who want to dance, being prevented from accessing a field already occupied by a "marching band" composed of sergeants, interpreted as a military force. The image of desolation in the song's last lines, And in the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried, and the poets dreamed, / But not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken, and the Trinity's subsequent departure or retreat, are interpreted as the Trinity's defeat [Fann]. Because the fourth verse mentions a and what might seem to be a bomb dropped from "Eight miles high", some people perceive that the desolation is the aftermath of a future [Levitt] that a morally-weakened America, though still represented by the Trinity, loses to America's adversary, the that is represented by Satan.
For some others, the crises illustrate a from the that may or may not be realized as a nuclear war.
In late 2006 / early 2007, TV ads for the Chevrolet automobile line played this segment of the song as an underscore.
In addition to the cultural references discussed above, there are several other references to events or changes in the world of music throughout "American Pie".
The fourth verse, which contains music references for 1966 to 1968, seems to mark the decline of dance music where the lyrics reads:
'As the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield. The conflict between the sergeants and players may allude to competition between the newer, now , music style represented by The Beatles'
and the earlier style that invited dancing represented by groups like . In "American Pie", the marching music is victorious, meaning McLean thought that the era of rock and roll dance music was over [Dearborn, Kulwiec].
Overall, McLean's football game image corresponds to The Beatles' domination of popular American music during the time as measured in the sheer volume of The Beatles' record sales. Both the June 1967 release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and release of only five months later became U.
S. best selling albums for 19 weeks and 8 weeks, respectively. The lines may contain additional or alternative references to the Vietnam War (discussed later), The Beatles' last live performance (see The Beatles section), and competition between The Beatles and The Byrds (see The Byrds section).
[ ] The jester, the king, and the queen
Oh and while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown A strong case has been made that the jester is . [Dearborn, Kulawiec, Fann] famously wore a red windbreaker in the movie
, and Dylan was shown in a windbreaker on the cover of one of his albums,
. Dylan also described himself as a clown chasing his muse in " " (1965).
The fact that the jester sang in a "voice that came from you and me" would refer to the populist origins of American . Rob Stoner, McLean's bassist on the album and former bassist and bandleader for Dylan, maintains that the 'Jester' reference indeed refers to Dylan.
The jester is mentioned again in the fourth verse line .
.. with the jester on the sidelines in a cast.
Assuming the jester is Dylan, this refers to his , , motorcycle crash that left him badly injured. [Dearborn, Kulawiec, Fann]
In music, "the king" is for McLean and much of America. [Dearborn, Kulawiec, Fann] "Looking down" refers to Presley's reduced success as a recording artist after 1963.
The thorny crown, a Christian symbol for suffering, represents the price of fame and power — specifically, Presley's struggle to cope with celebrity. The jester stealing the king's crown probably refers to Dylan overtaking Presley in record sales by the mid-1960s and also suffering the side effects of celebrity. McLean's line, The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned, may refer to America's continued regard for Presley as "The King" even though Dylan was in the limelight.
[Kulawiec, Fann].
Also in music, "the queen" of rock and roll in the late 1950s was . As with Elvis Presley, Francis' music recording successes were used to launch a successful movie career.
[one alternative of Dearborn, Kulawiec, Fann]
An alternate theory suggests that the "king and queen" are and , regarded in the early 1960s as the king and queen of folk music. Seeger, who had strong ties to Dylan's inspiration, , was seen in the late 1950s and early '60s as the reigning figure in folk music, a title Dylan would soon steal. Dylan would also take up, both professionally and personally with Baez, the queen of folk.
It has been suggested that the line "when the jester sang for the king and queen" could refer to the 1963 , at which Baez and Seeger were in attendance, and which marked Dylan's rise to national fame.
Some believe the third verse's second line and moss grows fat on a rollin' stone is a reference to (see below). It is also a line from a verse in the Buddy Holly song "Early in the Morning".
However, given that Bob Dylan is the main subject of the third verse, the phrase is more likely taken from the title of Dylan's 1965 hit, " ". The line is a play on words on the proverb that " ", but McLean says the stone grew moss by 1970 — a criticism of Dylan's relative, post-1966 motorcycle crash inertness, and diminished daring, creative energy, and intensity. From the vantage point of 1970, McLean notes Dylan's decline in the third line: But that's not how it used to be.
The moss that grew fat around Dylan may represent all the musicians who prospered by performing Dylan's 1962-1965 songs like " ", " ", " ", "Like a Rolling Stone", and numerous others (see ), or the royalties Dylan earned from other performers' efforts.
are linked to Buddy Holly because, in 1958, that included , , and , and two others, produced the pre-Beatles trio's first ever recording — a demo that included an arrangement of " ". In addition, The Beatles name was also an imitation of name .
John Lennon in 1964.
A historically consistent interpretation of the lyrics is that the quartet that practiced separately from the Marx-reading on , , was an obscure band of teenagers known as The Les Stewart Quartet that included . Some versions of the lyric read
in reference to , the Russian communist revolutionary who died in 1924.
Harrison joined the Quartet after that included founder, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney, broke-up in January 1959. However, The Les Stewart Quartet proved unstable, losing two members (Les Stewart and ) who were replaced by Lennon and McCartney. The Quartet was recomposed as The Quarry Men, and its first performance was at the opening of the Casbah Club on , .
The "park" is likely the Casbah, as it was located at 8 Heyman's Green, West Derby, Liverpool.
, German political philosopher, economist. John Lennon had socialist leanings.
In 1960, The Beatles performed for several months in Germany, the homeland of Karl Marx.
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