2006-08-28 07:25:13 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertainment & Music ➔ Music
a lot of things... enough for me to have written an 8 page report disecting the lyrics as a culminating activity back in high school. as donmclean has never issued an official explanation of the song [though he has dropped hints], we years later are still left having to speculate and form our own conclusions...
from http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_398b.html
February made me shiver: Holly's plane crashed February 3, 1959.
Them good ole boys were ... singing "This'll be the day that I die": Holly's hit "That'll Be the Day" had a similar line.
The Jester sang for the King and Queen in a coat he borrowed from James Dean: ID of K and Q obscure. Elvis and Connie Francis (or Little Richard)? John and Jackie Kennedy? Or Queen Elizabeth and consort, for whom Dylan apparently did play once? Dean's coat is the famous red windbreaker he wore in Rebel Without a Cause; Dylan wore a similar one on "The Freewheeling Bob Dylan" album cover.
With the Jester on the sidelines in a cast: On July 29, 1966 Dylan had a motorcycle accident that kept him laid up for nine months.
While sergeants played a marching tune: The Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
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: Mick Jagger, Altamont.
I met a girl who sang the blues/ And I asked her for some happy news/ But she just smiled and turned away: Janis Joplin OD'd October 4, 1970.
The three men I admire most/ The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost/ They caught the last train for the coast: Major mystery. Holly, Bopper, Valens? Hank Williams, Elvis, Holly? JFK, RFK, ML King? The literal tripartite deity? As for the coast, could be the departure of the music biz for California. Or it simply rhymes, a big determinant of plot direction in pop music lyrics (which may also explain "drove my Chevy to the levee"). Best I can do for now. Just don't ask me to explain "Stairway to Heaven."
THE LAST WORD (PROBABLY) ON "AMERICAN PIE"
Dear Cecil:
As you can imagine, over the years I have been asked many times to discuss and explain my song "American Pie." I have never discussed the lyrics, but have admitted to the Holly reference in the opening stanzas. I dedicated the album American Pie to Buddy Holly as well in order to connect the entire statement to Holly in hopes of bringing about an interest in him, which subsequently did occur.
This brings me to my point. Casey Kasem never spoke to me and none of the references he confirms my making were made by me. You will find many "interpretations" of my lyrics but none of them by me. Isn't this fun?
Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence. --Don McLean, Castine, Maine
...and in the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried and the poets dreamed...
great music. happy listening.
2006-08-28 08:05:27 · answer #1 · answered by xmissamericax 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
About the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper. A headline in the next day's newspaper called it "The day the music died".
2006-08-28 14:29:43 · answer #2 · answered by sydneyradish 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The song is abut the dealth of Buddy Holly. The day the music died. He died in a plane crash after a gig in Iowa.
2006-08-28 14:31:00 · answer #3 · answered by paly33 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The day the music died. the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens. and the Big Bopper.
2006-08-28 14:29:14 · answer #4 · answered by Dave 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
mmmmm pie....
Its about the plane crash that Killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper among others.
2006-08-28 14:30:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Day The Music Died
2006-08-28 14:32:13 · answer #6 · answered by Dutch58 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Lots of hidden references in that song, especially the death of Buddy Holly. A rather detailed breakdown can be found in my sources...
2006-08-28 14:29:53 · answer #7 · answered by uncle_beer78 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
people have been asking that question since the song first dropped in about 1970
2006-08-28 14:31:38 · answer #8 · answered by westcoastnobodies 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He's talking about a number of events in music history. Each line is reminiscent of something that happened.
2006-08-28 14:30:10 · answer #9 · answered by carpathianne 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Death of John Kennedy and The Death of the Big Bopper , and Ricky Nelson
2006-08-28 15:04:31 · answer #10 · answered by valgal115 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋