In the song "American Pie... what do these lyrics mean??

Question

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

Answer 1

that second verse you posted is a reference to Mick Jagger at the tragic 1969 Altamont concert in San Francisco. They hired the Hell's Angels to police the event and 4 people ended up dying including a man named meredith hunter who was stabbed to death by the angels because he apparently pointed a gun at the stage.

Answer 2

First of all, not everyone knows that this song is all about the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper in 1959. The name of the plane they were flying in was called the American Pie, and the date is widely referred to as "The Day The Music Died" by music historians, who pinpoint the crash as the end of the original rock n' roll era. Between the plane crash and Beatlemania, it was just a 5-year musical wasteland filled with teen idols such as Fabian. Rock looked like it was on its way out- Buddy Holly was dead, Elvis had left rock music to do crappy movies, and rebellious rockers were being replaced once more with dorky crooners. OK, music history lesson over.

To answer your original question, like any other song or piece of poetry, the exact meaning of the lyrics is subject to interpretation, but I believe that the first three lines of the first verse in your question directly relate to the presumed end of rock music that I mentioned. The "Jack be nimble" part may be about how the rock n' roll enthusiasts were "playing with fire" with their persona, attitude, and overall lifestyle. Many people considered rock the "devil's music" at its inception, so that could be what that whole verse means.

Answer 3

Jenn G and lonestar are pointing you in the right direction. "American Pie" was a paean to Buddy Holly and used imagery that evoked emotional response from children who had grown up during the Cold War...we were a generation lost in space, in many ways. As with Shakespeare's plays and poetry, not all of the references in the song are relevant to today's society.

Answer 4

You know I think the this song is about the night the Buddy Holly died in a plane crash. So maybe he is saying that it had to be the work of the devil. I could be wrong.

Answer 5

well, it's about buddy holly and when he died. people refered to this as the day the music died. but specifically, i can't really say what this particular verse(s) mean. don mclain was a terrific song writer.

Answer 6

sometimes music is just.....music lyrics that one thinks about and puts together why do we always have to have meaning to everything

Answer 7

haha...... i think the guy who wrote that song was high

Answer 8

nothing really.

Answer 9

!!