American Pie (song)

"American Pie" is an eight-and-a-half minute long classic pop song by singer-songwriter Don McLean, about "the day the music died".

Cultural references

The Day The Music Died

The main theme of the song is The Day The Music Died. This is the name given to February 3, 1959, the day an airplane carrying musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper crashed, killing all three. The references to this event are present throughout the song, as the line the day the music died is repeated at the end of each of the six verses of the song. In addition, the first verse contains the lines But February made me shiver, a clear reference to the month the tragedy occurred, and When I read about his widowed bride, a reference to Maria Elena Holly, Buddy Holly's wife. The third verse begins with Now for ten years we've been on our own – the song was being written in the late 1960s, about ten years after the plane crash. The verse finishes with And we sang dirges in the dark / The day the music died. A dirge is a funeral song, so this may also refer to the deaths of Holly, Valens and Big Bopper.

Related Topics:
The Day The Music Died - February 3 - 1959 - Buddy Holly - Ritchie Valens - The Big Bopper - Maria Elena Holly

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References to the event in the chorus are less obvious to find. It is possible that "The Levee" in the line Drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry refers to the name of the bar in New Rochelle, New York where McLean and his friends mourned the death of Buddy Holly. On the other hand, some mistakenly believe that "Miss American Pie" mentioned in the chorus line So bye-bye, Miss American Pie was the name of the plane that crashed – this is an urban legend, the plane had no name, only a registration number http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/amerpie.htm.

Related Topics:
New Rochelle, New York - Urban legend

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American pie

"American Pie" has been taken to be a metaphor for all types of American music or everything that is good about the country. It may also be an oblique reference to apple pie, a symbol of traditional American values. By singing So bye-bye, Miss American Pie in the chorus, McLean is singing about the death of something big and good in America. Some believe it is a reference to the loss of innocence caused by the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Related Topics:
American values - John F. Kennedy

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Christianity

The first three lines of the second verse form the first of several references to Christianity that are present in the song. These lines read Did you write the book of love / And do you have faith in God above / If the Bible tells you so? These references, like other references to religion in the song, are quite clear and direct. Given the subtle nature of other references in the song, this would indicate that deeper references are hidden in these lines. Indeed, "Book of Love" is a 1958 song by the Monotones, while "the Bible tells you so" may be a reference to the 1955 song "The Bible Tells Me So" by Don Cornell.

Related Topics:
Christianity - 1958 - Monotones - 1955 - Don Cornell

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The third verse includes the passage Oh, and while the king was looking down / The jester stole his thorny crown. This is another clear allusion to Christianity. In the hours before his death, Jesus, whom the Romans had mockingly nicknamed "the king of the Jews", was forced to wear a crown of thorns. Statues and paintings of Jesus dying on the Cross normally show him still wearing the crown, and looking down to His mother and John. There is however no Biblical account of the crown being stolen. An alternative interpretation of this passage in discussed below.

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The sixth verse ends with the lines And the three men I admire most / The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost / They caught the last train for the coast. This is an unmistakable allusion to the Christian Trinity. There are several possible deeper meanings to this line. The interpretation that is most consistent with the main topic of the song is that the three men are really Holly, Valens and the Big Bopper. This is consistent with the verse, which finishes with They caught the last train for the coast / The day the music died. Furthermore, the expression "going west" (as in to the West Coast of the United States) is a common metaphor for death. On the other hand, there are some possible religious interpretations as well. In keeping with the idea that "the coast" is the West Coast of the USA, the line could be a reference to the many New Age religions that came from California in the 1960s. Alternatively, given the overall theme of abandonment the lines have, they could refer to the percieved abandonment of the United States by God, who had protected the nation through World War I and World War II but not when greed became the motive for the Vietnam War. Other possible references to the Vietnam war hidden in the song are discussed below.

Related Topics:
Trinity - Metaphor - New Age - California - World War I - World War II - Vietnam War

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Music

In addition to the references exposed above, there are several other references to events or changes in the world of music hidden throughout the song.

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The decline of dancing music

The second verse's line And can you teach me how to dance real slow? may refer to the decline of slow-dancing that accompanied the rise of psychedelic music. Rock and roll from the 1950s included frequent slow songs, played at sock hops and other dances. Sock hops are also referenced in the second verse, with the two lines cause I saw you dancin' in the gym / You both kicked off your shoes. Indeed, sock hops were frequently held in gyms, and teens had to dance in their socks because shoes would scuff the floor of gyms.

Related Topics:
Psychedelic music - 1950s - Sock hop

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The decline of dancing music is mentioned again in a section of the fourth verse. The section in question reads While the 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. This describes a clear conflict between a sergeant and his marching band playing a marching tune, and players trying to take the field to dance. It can be taken to illustrate the rivalry between intelligent, art rock (such as the Beatles) and fun, dance rock (such as The Beach Boys). In the end, it appears the marching music wins, meaning McLean thought that the time of dancing music was over. However, some people believe this passage contains a deeper reference to the Vietnam war; this theory is discussed later.

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Bob Dylan

The third verse contains two interesting references to the history of music. The first one is the passage When the jester sang for the king and queen / In a coat he borrowed from James Dean / And a voice that came from you and me / Oh, and while the king was looking down / The jester stole his thorny crown. A strong case has been made that the jester is Bob Dylan. Indeed, James Dean famously wore a red windbreaker in "Rebel Without a Cause", and Dylan was shown in a distinctly similar windbreaker on the cover of one of his albums, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan". It would also make sense for the king to be Elvis Presley (nicknamed The King), and the queen may be Queen Elizabeth II (to whom Dylan gave a command performance). The fact that the jester sang in a "voice that came from you and me" would refer to the populist origins of folk music, which Bob Dylan sang. Finally, given the preceeding analysis, the jester stealing the king's crown would refer to Dylan overtaking Presley in popularity. The "thorny crown" can be taken to represent the price of fame and power.

Related Topics:
Bob Dylan - James Dean - Rebel Without a Cause - Elvis Presley - Queen Elizabeth II - Folk music

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The jester is mentioned again in the fourth verse, in the line With the jester on the sidelines in a cast. In keeping with the interpretation that the jester is Dylan, this could be referring to the 1966 motorcycle crash that left Bob Dylan badly injured.

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The Beatles and the politicalisation of music

The second historical reference in the third verse is And while Lennon read a book on Marx / The quartet practiced in the park. The quartet is usually believed to be The Beatles, a member of whom was John Lennon. Marx could be Karl Marx, meaning that Lennon is reading about communism (It could also refer to Groucho Marx, an allusion to the Beatles' Marx Brothers-like films, A Hard Day's Night and Help!). This would make the passage a reference to the politicalisation of music, something unheard of during the 1950s but predominant by the end of the 1960s. The fact they are practicing "in the park" could have several possible meanings. It could be taken literally, to represent the fact that their brand of music was still unpopular in the 1950s. Alternatively, it could be a reference to The Beatles' show in Shea Stadium (originally supposed to be called Flushing Meadow Park), or to England (The Beatles' nation of origin) as viewed from the USA.

Related Topics:
The Beatles - John Lennon - Karl Marx - Communism - Groucho Marx - Marx Brothers - A Hard Day's Night - Help! - Shea Stadium

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The fourth verse contains two more Beatles references. The verse begins with Helter skelter in a summer swelter. "Helter Skelter" is a song by The Beatles and features on "The White Album". The summer swelter may be a reference to the Tate/LaBianca murders, which occurred in August 1969. The murderer, Charles Manson, claimed he was inspired to kill by the song Helter Skelter.

Related Topics:
Helter Skelter - The White Album - 1969 - Charles Manson

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Finally, the verse contains the line While the sergeants played a marching tune, and later on a marching band is mentioned. This is a clear reference to The Beatles' famous album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".

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The Rolling Stones and the Altamont Speedway show

The Rolling Stones are often mentioned in the song. They are first criticized in the third verse's line And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone. This is a play on words on the traditional proverb "a rolling stone gathers no moss", and can be seen as criticism of the alleged greed of the Rolling Stones.

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Several songs and a show of the Rolling Stones are believed to be referenced later in the fifth verse. That verse is believed to describe the concert at Altamont Speedway, in which the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead performed. Several clues lead to that conclusion. The verse begins with Oh, and there we were all in one place / A generation lost in space. This probably refers to the hippie generation congregating at Woodstock. Many people at the time hoped that the Altamont show would be "Woodstock West", and in later analysis the two shows are often contrasted. The generation could be said to be "lost in space" because of rampant drug use in both shows. The verse continues with So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, which could refer to the Rolling Stones' 1968 song "Jumping Jack Flash". A few lines later, the line Cause fire is the devil's only friend may refer to "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones, or "Friend of the Devil" by the Grateful Dead. In fact, "Sympathy for the Devil" was part of the Rolling Stones' set at Altamont, and urban legends say it was the song that played when Meredith Hunter was killed by the Hells Angels, who had been hired as security for the concert. Finally, the verse contains the passage 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's spell. The first two lines seem like a reference to the riots that occurred during the Altamont show. With the reference to Satan's spell, McLean, like many others, seems to be blaming Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones for inciting the riots with their songs, which contain frequent allusions to alleged Satanic themes.

Related Topics:
Altamont Speedway - Grateful Dead - Hippie - Woodstock - 1968 - Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones - Hells Angels - Mick Jagger - Satanic themes

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Others

The fourth verse mentions that The birds flew off with a fallout shelter / Eight miles high and falling fast. This line likely refers to The Byrds and their controversial song Eight Miles High from 1966. Their flying off "with the fallout shelter" may be a reference to their entering the music scene in 1965 by covering Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man", and making it much more widely popular than the original.

Related Topics:
The Byrds - Eight Miles High - 1966 - 1965 - Mr. Tambourine Man

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The Vietnam War

Some people interpret part of the fourth verse as a reference to the Vietnam War. The section in question reads While the 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. This describes a clear conflict between a sergeant and his marching band playing a marching tune, and players trying to take the field to dance. A possible musical reference to this passage has already been discussed. However, some people also see a deeper meaning here. The sergent playing a marching tune can represent the US Army instituting the draft, and the players getting up to dance (the opposite of marching) and trying to take the field would represent the resulting anti-draft and anti-war protests. Finally, the fact the marching band refused to yield represents the military-industrial complex's refusal to heed the desires of the people to end the war.

Related Topics:
Vietnam War - Draft - Anti-draft - Anti-war - Military-industrial complex

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