American Pie (with lyrics explained), Don McLean

[from Don McLean to me to you

I can remember hearing this song over and over during the 1970s. At over 8 minutes, it was over twice as long as standard pop songs, and its infectious beat and winding, obscure lyrics kept my attention for many years. Relying on outright speculation, reasonable coincidence, scholarly analysis, and hints from McLean himself, I've come up with a pretty good explication.

It is essentially a song about the emotional life of a rock and roll fan from 1950 to 1970:

A long, long time ago
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

[He had dreams about becoming a rock star.]

But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
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
Something touched me deep inside
The day the music died

[Buddy Holly died in a plane crash with Ritchie Valens on February 3, 1959.]

So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie

[Probably just a symbol of hope and innocence]

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

[Chevy is the nickname for Chevrolet, a GMC car brand; levee is a river embankment.]

And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

[Rye in this case is a type of whiskey (160 proof), not a type of bread.]

Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll 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?
Now, do you believe in rock 'n' roll
Can music save your mortal soul

[The singer ponders the connection between music and religious redemption.]

And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died

[The singer laments that he only learned to dance to the fast beat of rock. R&B was starting to take over in popularity.]

I started singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
Now, for ten years we've been on our own

[The singer feels there hasn’t been a rock idol to match Holly since his death in 1959. He moves forward to 1969.]

And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone

[Bob Dylan was interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine November 29, 1969, and the singer laments that Dylan appears in the interview to have lost his drive after his motorcycle accident 3 years before.]

But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean

[The jester is Bob Dylan; the jacket, one he wore on an album cover. The king could be Pete Seeger or Elvis, the queen possibly Joan Baez, all popular until Dylan arrived.]

And a voice that came from you and me
Oh, and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown

[A reference to the crown of thorns Christ wore during his crucifixion, and a metaphor for the dark side of fame that leads stars to extremes and self-destruction.]

The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lenin read a book on Marx

[Probably a play on John Lennon’s name as he is transitioning into talking about the Beatles, who arrived about this time.]

A quartet practiced in the park

[The Beatles had a concert in Central Park February 8, 1964.]

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
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
Helter skelter in a summer swelter

[Charles Manson’s cult murdered Tate and LaBianca in August 1969 and scrawled “helter skelter,” a reference to the Beatles’ song of that name in blood on a refrigerator.]

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

[The mid-1960s folk rock band, the Byrds, had a hit song, “Eight Miles High.”]

It landed foul on the grass

[One member of the group was arrested for marijuana (grass) possession.]

The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

[In July 1966, Dylan was in a motorcycle accident that caused him to stop touring.]

Now, the halftime air was sweet perfume

[Possibly a reference to the Summer of Love in 1968.]

While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance

[The Beatles released the album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in 1967.]

CONTINUED IN NEXT MESSAGE

[MusicWordMusic]

Oh, but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield


[Players being Vietnam war protestors at Kent State in May 1970 who were shot and killed by a blockade of Ohio National Guardsmen (the marching band).]


Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
We started singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
Oh, and there we were all in one place


[Probably the free Rolling Stones concert with Jefferson Airplane at Altamont Speedway attended by 300, 000 on December 6, 1969.]


A generation lost in space


[“Lost in Space” was a sci-fi TV show 1965-1968.]


With no time left to start again
So, come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick


[Jack Flash is Mick Jagger, lead singer for the Rolling Stones (named for their song “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”]


Jack Flash sat on a candlestick

[A metaphor for taking heroin by heating it up in a spoon and injecting it.]

'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend
Oh, 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 spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight


[Jagger refused to end the concert when the audience started rioting, evidently enjoying the melee.]

The day the music died
He was singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
I met a girl who sang the blues
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


[About this time, record stores stopped using listening booths for patrons to sample music before buying.]

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 the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died


[Possibly refers to the singer’s loss of faith concurrent with his disillusionment with popular music.]

And they were singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
They were singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die"