Christianity and American Pie?

Question

NOTE: See "additional details." It won't fit all in this post.

What are your thoughts on the SONG American Pie? What do you think it is trying to say about Christianity? Is it using rock as a metaphor for the Bible?
Christianity in American Pie:

"Did you write the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock ’n roll,
Can music save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?"

"Oh, and while the king was looking down,
The jester stole his thorny crown."
(Of course, the King is Elvis, and the Jester is Bob Dylan, but why is the crown "thorny"?)

"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"
"Angel born in hell" refers to Hell's Angels, a gang that beat people up at a Rolling Stones concert.

"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."
Though he says "admire most," the trinity fled the scene.

So, what do you think?

Or maybe it's only a song. :)

I honestly don't have an opinion on it... I just noticed the lyrics and wondered whether it was pro-Christianity, anti-Christianity, or neutral. :)

I'd heard that it was about the plane crash before, but I didn't pick up on the fact that the father, son, and holy ghost were meant to be the musicians that died...

Answer 1

Actually, from what I've been able to gather, it's using Christian imagery to describe the deaths of the three musicians - the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are Buddy, Richie, and the Big Bopper.

Answer 2

I've never heard this interpretation. I'm with the majority who think it is about Buddy Holly, Elvis, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. Basically, it traces the changes in Rock and Roll from the innocence in the early years to the radical transformations of the 1960's. The religious imagery is just imagery, used for effect and because it is so recognizable. I don't think he was actually making a point about religion.

On the other hand, Don McLean will never tell, so your guess is as good as mine.

Answer 3

Having grown up in that society as a ward of the state and a teenager of the sixties, it was a time of change and songwriter's were censored much as 'Answer' censors what it deems not fit to print. To quote Peter, Paul and Mary, "But if I really say it, the radio won't play it unless I lay it between the lines!" And that is what all the writers did if they wanted to "get a message to you". Good American children attended Sunday school, and God was part of regular school. We WERE one nation, under GOD and then it really went to Hell. Not that it wasn't bound to anyway but a new generation said, "We're not gonna take it" and the past is history. Hang on to your hats boys, this ride is the scariest ride in Hell. From now on. you can only expect it to get worse. Somewher between the Heaven of your grandparents and their version of Hell, something got lost in the translation. You don't go to Hell if you're a sinner, You're already there and you keep returning when you get out. THAT is eternal Hell! To reincarnate and not learn from your last trip. "When will they ever learn..." I don't go to church anymore, Jesus never did and God is with us just the same. He doesn't like the Holy Bible anymore than most of us do. It doesn't tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It was written by men who left out a lot of stuff. I am as crazy as the rest of the world because I knew this was Hell before I returned and I came anyway to teach the children the truth. If you don't believe that you are in Hell, when children are abused by man made monsters, you are uninformed or blin to truth. My opinion counts, so does yours and theirs. WE, the people made this country but we aren't running it and it isn't American pie.

Answer 4

Man is a spiritual being and we are influenced by three things in our subconsience. First, we have our own imaginations and this is where our artistic abilities are born.
Second we are influenced by demonic forces with and especially without God in our lives.
Thirdly we can have a Godly influence in our lives.
This our soul can reach into the world of spiritual influence when we begin to use our creativity. We can tell by lyrics where artists are drawing from in these three areas. The song writer seemed to have tapped into the realm of the evil one on this song as the song seems to make Satan too prowerful for forces to break his spell and also the realm of blasphemy that this song touches on.
Whether or not we want to admit it all of us are touched in our soul by one of these influences and it is only with God that we are able to maintain distance from the evil influence.

Answer 5

what teh f*ck