American Pie..........symbolism and meaning

vic

Don McLean wrote this song, or is it a poem ? in 1971....reading the lyrics it's clear that a lot of symbolism is locked up here. Many explanations and interpretations have been published on the topic....however there is little agreement on what it may mean.

I have always admired McLean's work for its melodic and lyrical quality.

Are there any poets amongst us who wish to share their interpretation...? I have inserted some interpretations from other sources... Apologies for the space it's taking up... ?

A long, long time ago... I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile. ( perhaps '50's and early '60's rock 'n roll and big band music)
And I knew if I had my chance,
That I could make those people dance,
And maybe they'd be happy for a while.

But February made me shiver,
With every paper I'd deliver,
Bad news on the doorstep...
I couldn't take one more step. (death of Buddy Holly..?)

I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside,
The day the music died.

Soo..Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol' boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die

Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so
Do you believe in rock n roll
Can music save your mortal soul
Then you can teach me to dance real slow

Well I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Then I dig those rhythm and blues

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck (typical 50's evening dress...)
but I knew that I was out of luck
The day the music died

I started singin'...

Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol' boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die

Now for 10 years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
But that's not how it used to be

When the jester sang for the king and queen (Bob Dylan singing for Elvis and...?)
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean (the red jacket)
In a voice that came from you and me

And while the King was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned

While Lennon read the book of Marx
The quartet kept practice in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died

We were singin'

Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol' boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die

Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with the fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast

It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the halftime air was sweet perfume (teargas...?)
While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance

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

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

Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol' boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die

There we were all in one place
A generation lost in space With no time left to start again
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candle stick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend.

As I watched him on the stage (Mick Jagger...?)
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in hell
Could break that satan's spell

And as flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw satan laughing with delight
the day the music died.

I met a girl who sang the blues (Janis Choplin...?)
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away

I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play

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 three men I admire most
The Father Son and Holy Ghost (perhaps Holly, Valens and Big Bopper...died in that crash...?)
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died

They were singin'

Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol' boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die

racman

Quite interesting and comprehensive conjectures here:

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1193

Bob-Dubery

Well it seems to be about Altamont in places. There's references to Dylan. The bit about the "the jester on the sidelines in a cast" seems to be a reference to Dylan's motorcycle crash after which, some say, he was never the same and which certainly left him out of action for a while and thus a void to fill.

It's a piece of code to crack. I think that's where the real fun and the cleverness lies.

There also seems to be more than one day on which the music died. Richie Valens air plane crash. Altamont. Lennon embracing looney-left politics.

Maybe it's more about the end of the 60s dream. Alatamont was certainly a nail in that coffin.

All the guys we thought were leaders or spokespersons failed us. Dylan just shut up. Lennon disappeared up his own backside or into his own naval. Jagger seemed not to care about Altamont and started courting the same establishment whose face he once spat into.

Our idols had feet of clay. Rock 'n roll never did change the world. The 60s didn't change as much as seemed likely. etc etc etc

vic

@ Bob.....you're hitting some nails on the head...(I think...)

lindsmuse

I love this song. This and Stairway to Heaven which have both puzzled me for ages. And All along the Watchtower. And Mother Goose. And I am the Walrus.

Don Mclean. Where did he fit in -culturally and agewise? He wasn't a hippie - and he wasn't really a folk singer like Dylan and those guys ...? Mind you there were and still are so many different threads of solo type musicians who have these brilliant lyrics ... Just thought of Simon and Garfunkel.

Anyway it was a masterpiece. Agree with Bob.

vic

lindsmuse wrote: I love this song. This and Stairway to Heaven which have both puzzled me for ages. And All along the Watchtower. And Mother Goose. And I am the Walrus.

Don Mclean. Where did he fit in -culturally and agewise? He wasn't a hippie - and he wasn't really a folk singer like Dylan and those guys ...? Mind you there were and still are so many different threads of solo type musicians who have these brilliant lyrics ... Just thought of Simon and Garfunkel.

Anyway it was a masterpiece. Agree with Bob.

Interestingly...the song "Killing me softly (with his song)" is about Don McLean.He was a good friend of the late Jim Croce... I think he is/was the conservative type and clearly the music of the late 60's did not appeal to him anymore...the change from innocence to more liberal life styles (hippies) did not either ..?. I think he despised the Stones and Mick Jagger...? (a person was killed by the Hell's Angels at one of their concerts).

From Wikipedia...In 2001 "American Pie" was voted No. 5 in a poll of the 365 Songs of the Century compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The top five were: "Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland, "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie, "Respect" by Aretha Franklin and "American Pie".

From other sources...http://wilstar.com/midi/americanpie.htm#note1

"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." .....

The jester is Bob Dylan. The king could refer to Elvis. The Queen is probably the Queen of England, whom Dylan performed for. In the movie "Rebel Without a Cause", James Dean has a red windbreaker that holds symbolic meaning throughout the film. 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 a 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 and Prince Philip of England. "

lindsmuse

Never knew all that. Love the idea the day the music died. It must have been such a tragedy in the hearts and minds of the people who loved those guys music ... And killing me softly also such an amazing song - fitting for a genius songwriter ..

Bob-Dubery

The thing, of course, is that The Music doesn't die. Musicians do, as we all must, but The Music doesn't. And I'm not just talking about still being able to listen to Buddy Holly (not that there's anything wrong with wanting to listen to Buddy Holly) but that Music carries on (despite the efforts of the suits who want to commoditise it) and keeps on finding new expressions.

I think that it's a very human occupation and good thing with which to occupy ourselves.

Be glad, for the song has no ending.

lindsmuse

I am! ?

Bob-Dubery

lindsmuse wrote: I am! ?

I said. :-[

Jack-Flash-Jr

I cried :?

But on another note.... I think Don had the same thing in mind as these guys:

Squonk

X-rated Bob wrote:
lindsmuse wrote: I am! ?
I said. :-[

To no one there... :-[

vic

X-rated Bob wrote: The thing, of course, is that The Music doesn't die. Musicians do, as we all must, but The Music doesn't. And I'm not just talking about still being able to listen to Buddy Holly (not that there's anything wrong with wanting to listen to Buddy Holly) but that Music carries on (despite the efforts of the suits who want to commoditise it) and keeps on finding new expressions.

I think that it's a very human occupation and good thing with which to occupy ourselves.
Be glad, for the song has no ending.

From his perspective it did (ol' time rock 'n roll)...he wrote this in '71 as a youngster (with country roots) and by that time the sound and style of the 50's and early 60's were no more (he refers to marching bands)..... that must have made an impression on him....of course music cannot die literally...by saying it did, he actually demonstrates against the new sound, lyrics and style of the day...?

Bob-Dubery

vic wrote: From his perspective it did (ol' time rock 'n roll)...he wrote this in '71 as a youngster (with country roots) and by that time the sound and style of the 50's and early 60's were no more (he refers to marching bands).....

Well it's a very American symbol. Half time at the inter-college ball game and all that.

But I always construed this

Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance

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

As a reference to Altamont. The Hell's Angels taking over the stage. They got pretty physical with Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane, and he was actually supposed to be performing. Once they got up there they stayed there - even during the Stones set.

So it's the bit players usurping the guys who thought they were the main event.

vic

X-rated Bob wrote:
vic wrote: From his perspective it did (ol' time rock 'n roll)...he wrote this in '71 as a youngster (with country roots) and by that time the sound and style of the 50's and early 60's were no more (he refers to marching bands).....
Well it's a very American symbol. Half time at the inter-college ball game and all that.

But I always construed this
Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance

'Cause the players tried to take the field,
The marching band refused to yield.
As a reference to Altamont. The Hell's Angels taking over the stage. They got pretty physical with Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane, and he was actually supposed to be performing. Once they got up there they stayed there - even during the Stones set.

So it's the bit players usurping the guys who thought they were the main event.

nice analysis...

singemonkey

There's a Youtube clip of the Airplane at Altamont and, as they would have said back then, the vibes were clearly extremely heavy.

My dad was a Mclean fan so I know a few of his records. He covered Buddy Holly's "Everyday," on one of them. But he makes the same mistake a lot of people do of thinking that those musicians and their music from the birth of rock 'n roll were conservative and innocent compared to the likes of The Stones and Dylan. No ways. They may have been "good ol' boys," but that didn't mean they weren't a serious pack of shit-kickers. And it was their music that pushed the youth to rebellion in the first place. Summertime Blues, I think, captures the essence of Rock 'n Roll forever:

"Well my mama 'n papa told me, 'Son, you gotta earn some money,
'if you wanna use the car to go ridin' this Sunday.'
But I didn't go to work, I told the boss I was sick,
'Now you can't use the car 'cos you didn't work late,'
Sometimes I wonder, what I'm a-gonna do,
But there ain't no cure for the summer-time blues"

The whole song is, *ahem* a rejection of American's puritan value system - working hard, obeying your parents, never telling lies, being serious, etc.. That's what rock 'n roll has always been.

vic

singemonkey wrote: There's a Youtube clip of the Airplane at Altamont and, as they would have said back then, the vibes were clearly extremely heavy.

My dad was a Mclean fan so I know a few of his records. He covered Buddy Holly's "Everyday," on one of them. But he makes the same mistake a lot of people do of thinking that those musicians and their music from the birth of rock 'n roll were conservative and innocent compared to the likes of The Stones and Dylan. No ways. They may have been "good ol' boys," but that didn't mean they weren't a serious pack of shit-kickers. And it was their music that pushed the youth to rebellion in the first place. Summertime Blues, I think, captures the essence of Rock 'n Roll forever:

"Well my mama 'n papa told me, 'Son, you gotta earn some money,
'if you wanna use the car to go ridin' this Sunday.'
But I didn't go to work, I told the boss I was sick,
'Now you can't use the car 'cos you didn't work late,'
Sometimes I wonder, what I'm a-gonna do,
But there ain't no cure for the summer-time blues"

The whole song is, *ahem* a rejection of American's puritan value system - working hard, obeying your parents, never telling lies, being serious, etc.. That's what rock 'n roll has always been.

A nice version of that song...James Taylor also had a great cover of that song...
Don never says that....of course some were, think Gene Vincent and Jerry Lee Lewis...whow !
Summer time blues...great song...think "Rebel without a cause"

SM....did you read Philosophy at UCT...? ?

[deleted]

I don't think they teach a course on Hunter Thompson at UCT yet, Vic.

Jack-Flash-Jr

On Altamont, if you don't have the Stones' Gimme Shelter dvd (just re-released) do yourself a favour and get it... amazing document.

vic

Stratisfear wrote: I don't think they teach a course on Hunter Thompson at UCT yet, Vic.