Don McClean's "American Pie" is 40 and I've been a huge Buddy Holly fan since!

 

40 years ago, Don McClean's "American Pie" was the # 1 song in the country and probably most of the world.  As I recall, many people enjoyed the catchy chorus ("bye bye Miss American pie") but struggled with the meaning of the lyrics and the story behind the song.

"American Pie" was OK but I never got really into it.  I guess that there were two reasons:

First, I'm not really into interpreting complicated lyrics.  I want pop music to be simple: "boy loves girl" or "girl loves boy" and "girl does not love boy anymore".

Second, when does saturation happen?  How many times can you hear a song before getting totally sick?   

Remember my posts about "Stairway to heaven" or "Maggie May" a couple of good songs that were played to death by radio?  Top 40 radio back then had a way of just saturating you with one hit song over and over again!  The Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" is another good example of a song that was played to death by Top 40 stations.

'American Pie" did have one wonderful benefit for me and many others.  

It introduced us to the story of Buddy Holly of Lubbock, Texas, Richie Valens ("La bamba") and the Big Bopper ("Chantilly Lace").  They were the three musicians who were killed in that winter storm over Iowa in 1959, or "the day that the music died".

"American Pie" may have also opened the door to "American Grafitti", "Grease", "Happy Days" and all of that 1950's music revival of the mid-70s.  Again, I loved that revival because it introduced me to a lot of music that I still love today.

As you listen to "American Pie", remember that it is one man's story of pop music since that fateful day that Buddy Holly was killed.  You will hear references to The Beatles, Elvis, James Dean, The Rolling Stones ("Jack Flash") and a few song titles like "Eight Miles High" and "The Book of Love".  

Most of all, it is Don MClean's boyhood story:

"“American Pie” is partly biographical and partly the story of America during the idealized 1950s and the bleaker 1960s. It was initially inspired by Don’s memories of being a paperboy in 1959 and learning of the death of Buddy Holly. 

“American Pie” presents an abstract story of McLean’s life from the mid-1950s until the end of the 1960s, and at the same time it represents the evolution of popular music and politics over these years, from the lightness of the 1950s to the darkness of the late 1960s, but metaphorically the song continues to evolve to the present time. It is not a nostalgia song. “American Pie” changes as America, itself, is changing."

Again, the song was very consequential 40 years ago.  It sold millions of albums and you can never discount that.  It defined Don McClean's career and he is been the "American Pie" man ever since!

I have not listened to the song for years.  In fact, I do not have it on any kind of personal play list.  However, I repeat that I'm very grateful that Don McClean introduced me to Buddy Holly, who is one of my all time favorite rockers.   

Buddy was only 22 when he was killed.  Maria Elena ("the widowed bride" from the song lyrics) still lives in Texas.  They married months before Buddy was killed and she still works on his musical legacy today.   Make sure that you visit the Holly grave site if you travel to Lubbock, TX.  It is a very popular destination for those of us who appreciate how great Buddy Holly was.

Watch "The Buddy Holly Story", a decent movie about his life.  To say the least, Buddy Holly was a great rocker who contributed a lot in his very young life.  I wrote a post about Buddy in 2008 and Valens in 2009.  They were so young!  I agree that a lot of music "died that day" when those young rockers were killed:

A few years ago, Don McClean and Maria Elena Holly made an audio about Buddy.  It was really nice and so was "Peggy Sue got married", one of his hits:

"Please don't tell - no no no
don't say that I told you so I just heard a rumor from a friend
I don't say that it's true - I'll just leave that up to you
if you don't believe I'll understand
You recall a girl that's been in nearly every song
this is what I heard of course the story could be wrong
She's the one - I've been told
now she's wearing a band of gold
Peggy Sue got married not long ago..."

Looking back 40 years, "American Pie" made me a huge Buddy Holly fan and that's great.  Let me recommend that you check out my post about the 50th anniversary of "the day that the music died".  

Paul McCartney was 16 the day that Buddy Holly died.  He was already a huge Buddy Holly fan when he and John were running around Liverpool.  A few years later, The Beatles recorded Holly's "Words of Love" in one of their early LPs.  It was one of the few times that they recorded something not written by the group.  It was their way of expressing their appreciation of Holly's songs:

"Hold me close and tell me how you feel
Tell me love is real
Words of love you whisper soft and true
Darling I love you
Let me hear you say the words I long to hear
Darling when you're near
Words of love you whisper soft and true
Darling I love you....."

Click for "American Pie" but "Vincent" was my favorite from that album.  Don McClean wrote better songs than "American Pie" but that's the one that put him in the charts.  "Vincent" was a wonderful tribute for the legendary painter Vincent Van Gogh:

"A long, long time ago...I can still remember

How that music used to make me smile.

And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people dance

And, maybe, they'd be happy for a while.

But february made me shiver With every paper I'd deliver.

Bad news on the doorstep; I couldn't take one more step.

I can't remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride,

But something touched me deep inside The day the music died.

So bye-bye, miss american pie. Drove my chevy to the levee,

But the levee was dry. And them good old boys
were drinkin' whiskey and rye

Singin', "this'll be the day that I die. "this'll be the day that I die."

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?

Well, I know that you're in love with him`
cause I saw you  dancin' in the gym.

You both kicked off your shoes. Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,

But I knew I was out of luck The day the music died.

I started singin', "bye-bye, miss american pie."

Drove my chevy to the levee, But the levee was dry.

Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

And singin', "this'll be the day that I die. "this'll be the day that I die."

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,

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.

We were singing, "bye-bye, miss american pie."

Drove my chevy to the levee, But the levee was dry.

Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

And singin', "this'll be the day that I die. "this'll be the day that I die."

Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,

Eight miles high and falling fast. It landed foul on the grass.

The players tried for a forward pass,
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

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?

We started singing, "bye-bye, miss american pie."

Drove my chevy to the levee, But the levee was dry.

Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

And singin', "this'll be the day that I die.

"this'll be the day that I die."

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

He was singing, "bye-bye, miss american pie."

Drove my chevy to the levee, But the levee was dry.

Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

And singin', "this'll be the day that I die.

"this'll be the day that I die."

I met a girl who sang the blues

And I asked her for some happy news,

But she just smiled and turned away.

I went down to the sacred store

Where I'd heard the music years before,

But the man there said the music wouldn't play.

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.

And they were singing, "bye-bye, miss american pie."

Drove my chevy to the levee, But the levee was dry.

And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

Singin', "this'll be the day that I die.

"this'll be the day that I die."

They were singing, "bye-bye, miss american pie."

Drove my chevy to the levee, But the levee was dry.

Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

Singin', "this?ll be the day that I die.""

"Starry, starry night Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills Sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land
Now I understand what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
Starry, starry night Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand
Now I understand what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
For they could not love you But still your love was true
And when no hope was left inside On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could have told you, Vincent
This world was never meant For one as beautiful as you
Starry, starry night Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget
Like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
A silver thorn, a bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will..."

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