The Day The Music Died ..?

I have listened to "American pie" countless times and also read various essays explaining the message of the lyrics...
But still there are so many refrences to peoples,events,dates etc. so what is your version of "what is the actual meaning of American Pie amd what is Mclean trying to say in this excellent song....
...were drinking whiskey and rye....singin...bye bye...my hands clenched in anger....no god born in this neighbour......

this will be the day I died....

I read an explanation that said it was basically about the difficulties Americans had with leaving behind the "age of innocence," and it examined all the parallels between the national crisis and popular music of that time. It tries to document the changes, some welcome but mostly unsettling (in McLean's view anyway), which beset attitudes within people and performers from the golden age of rock and roll (mid-to-late 50's) up to the time of the song's release (mid-70's I think).

Just heard that song the other night in the car comin' home from my parents house and me & Monkeylover had this conversation about the meaning of this songs lyrics. Christina thought it had to do with the Buddy Holly plane crash and the music dyin' on that day. I must say I'm not a real lyrical person I get more into the music of most tunes than the words. With that said the lyrics in that song have always been pretty heavy whatever they mean they always move me no matter how many times I hear that song.

its about the death of 60s rock and roll. We all know the song was inspirted by the death of Buddy freaking Holly and Richie Valens, but here are the other "eulogies".

"Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone,
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
And a voice that came from you and me," (Bob Dylan stanza)


"Oh, and while the king was looking down,
The jester stole his thorny crown.
The courtroom was adjourned;
No verdict was returned.
And while lennon read a book of marx,
The quartet practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died." (Elvis Presley)



"Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
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.
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died" (Beatles (seargents))

"Oh, and 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 candlestick
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’s spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died" (Mick Jaeger, Rolling Stones)

I always figured that was about Jack Kennedy, but I could be wrong.

I always wondered about that one, I don't know enough about Dylan to say you are wrong so I'll take your word for it.

I think there may be more to this than just the death of Presley, but once again, I really don't know.


Just curious how you came to these conclusions and if you have a synopsis of the symbolism and imagery. If you don't, that's cool, God knows I am too lazy to provide proof of half the shit I say on here.

There's an extensive and great article about this amazing song at the WikiPedia: here. Just one excerpt:Enjoy!

The song was released in 1972. preceding the deaths of a few of the fellows you have indicated..


This refers to the death of JFK and Johnston assuming the presidency.

This stanza is refering to the Beatles breakup


Stratters is correct here, reference to the asassination of Jack Kennedy.



Thanks for the quote from McLean himself Paulo.. very interesting, straight from the horses mouth as it were.

I've heard people say that "all in one place / a generation lost in space" is an obvious reference to Woodstock. Also, "Jack Flash" sounds more like another Jagger reference to me, instead of Kennedy. Though I don't think "dirges in the dark" is an explicit Beatles reference, the marching band refusing to yield and subsequent revelation sounds like a reference to the "bigger than Jesus" brouhaha.

There is way too much Stones symbolism for the Jack Be Nimble bit too be about JFK. McClean might have just been using words for their beauty and asthetic value rathe than symbolism in some parts.

Thanks for the quote Piper, but I disagree with McClean on one point--poetry is never beyond analysis. Whether he admits to lyrics having meaning or not, poems are written to be analyzed. That doesn't mean these lyrics have specific meanings--it could mean something different for every person.

I think it all started off with DonMaclean's writing eulogy to Buddy Holly....and then from there onwards it took off ...in general with what says above.
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btw; wasn't Jon Baez's "diamonds and rust" have another obituary song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"????

The trinity that're cause for confusion too:

Quote:

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 Trinity. The interpretation that is most consistent with the musical theme of the song is that the 3 are The Big Bopper, Valens, and Holly. The Father is The Big Bopper, who was the only father among the three musicians( Indeed, 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 17. The Holy Ghost of rock and roll is Buddy Holly because of his pervasive influence on that music. Holly was an original inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their travel on "the last train for the coast" is a metaphor for death, with the coast representing heaven as their final destination.

Or they could just be literally the Holy Trinity, as the church was losing its relevance in post-60's America.

Maybe McLean should have written it "Father, Son and the Holly Ghost".

Too obvious?

I found this in my university's library.

AUTHOR: DAMSKER, MATT (editor)
Title: Rock Voices: The Best Lyrics of an Era
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980

Basically a collection of critic's takes on lyrics. I totally agree with NNJ, it can be interpreted differently by different people. I've always thought that way about poetry too.

When I hear Jack Flash and "devil's only friend", I think about Sympathy for the Devil and hells angels concert, the latter being a major event for pop music dying. "No angel born in hell" and satan references in the next stanza verify this. This is the major imagery that stood out to me. The other stuff I just took his word for it.


Also Fulghum, you'll notice how I wrapped quotes around "eulogies", implying that these people didn't really die. Of course the King didn't die, but he certainly had better days than the ones he was having in the seventies. And if you're going to play that card, then I suggest you ring up the one-hit wonder himself and tell him that the music really didn't "die", citing various music albums that are put out on a weekly basis. Let me know how he responds. But I agree with you about the Beatles breakup. That was an oversight by me. The book just mentions references to the Elvis, Dylan, Beatles, and Jaeger.

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