"American Pie" lyrics
David B. Feland
"American Pie" is one of those tunes that people will argue about
forever... it's not just about the death of Buddy Holly ("the day the
music died"), but contains references to nearly every major event of the
late fifties and early sixties.
I'm probably stupid for doing this, and opening myself up to flames
galore... but here's an attempt to point out some of those references.
A Long long time ago, I can still remember how the music used to make me smile.
And I know if I had the chance, 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 remeber if I cried when I read about his widowed bride,
Something touched me deep inside the day the music died.
<The first verse is generally about the mood of the time... but
the "bad news" was the Kennedy assassination.>
So CHORUS
CHORUS :
Bye, bye, Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the Levy, but the Levy was dry.
Them good 'ol 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? 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?
Can you teach me how to dance real slow?
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 CHORUS
<Mostly this just sets the timeframe... the late fifties, and
the music of that era.>
10 years we've been on our own, and moss grows fat on a rolling stone,
But that's not how it used to be.
The Jester played for the King and Queen, in a coat he borrowed from Jmaes Dean,
In a voice that came from you and me.
And while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown,
The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned.
While Lenin read a book of Marx, a qurtet practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark, the day the music died.
We were singin CHORUS
<The Jester is probably Bob Dylan... 'played for the King and
Queen'... 'the king' may be Elvis, as Dylan passed him in popularity.
'Lenin' and the 'quartet' are the Beatles (Lennon).>
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter, the birds flew off to a fall out shelter
8 miles high and falling fast,
and landed foul and on the grass, the players tried for a forward pass,
with the jester on the sideline, in a cast.
And in the air was sweet perfume, the seargents played a marching tune,
We all got up to dance, oh but we never got the chance.
The players tried to take the ifeld, but the marching band refused to yeild.
Do you recall what was revealed, the day the music died?
We started singin' CHORUS
<The fear of the atom bomb... 'the players' refers to Vietnam.
'on a sideline, in a cast...' Dylan's motorcycle accident.
'refused to yield' - anti-war protests. 'Do you recall what was
revealed' may refer to Kent State.>
And there we were all in one place, a generation lost in space,
With no time left to start again.
Jack be nimble Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candlestick,
and fire is the devils only friend.
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 the flames grow high into the night, to light the sacraficial rite,
I saw Satan laughing with delight, the day the music died.
He was singin CHORUS
<The fire is probably a reference to the Watts riots... but
'Satan laughing' may also refer to Mick Jagger. I'm open to
ideas here...>
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
And not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast, the dya the music died.
And they were singing CHORUS[twice]
<'The three men I admired most' probably refers to the "Is God
Dead?" craze. 'a girl who sang the blues' may be Janis Ian...>
Half the fun of this song is trying to spot the references. I used to
have a letter from my local radio station that explained them all... and
I sure wish I still had that list (especially since that station has now
gone all-talk!). If anyone know of a definitive list, please let me
know.
(Thanx to Mike Sladki for posting the lyrics in the first place.)
||||| ./\. ||||| dec...@tibalt.supernet.ab.ca -is-
||||| _|\||||/|_ ||||| David B. Feland <finger address
||||| \||||||||/ ||||| Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for more>
||||| >||||||< |||||
||||| || ||||| My Canada includes Quebec.
Clayton S. Caddy
>I'd like to hear opinions about what people interpret "American Pie" to
>mean.... please post your ideas!
>
>sarah
>
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the song about Buddy Holly and his
untimely death? Someone with the lyrics would know better than I, but
that's what I'd always heard.
--
************************************************/\
c_c...@oz.plymouth.edu / \
****************************************.------ ------.
Clayton Scott "Cc" Caddy (Ghost) `-._ _.-'
"I'm gone 'Without a Trace'. C-ya" / .'`. \
*******************************************/.-' `-.\
Bill Marcum
Kennedy's assassination was bad news, but I don't see any connection
there, especially since the previous line says "February made me
shiver.." and JFK died in November. I say the "bad news on the doorstep"
was Buddy Holly's death (along with Richie Valens and the Big Bopper).
--
Bill Marcum bma...@iglou.com
"My stars, it's full of dogs!" 2001 Dalmatians
"The fog is getting thicker!" "And Leon is getting larger!" Airplane!
David B. Feland
>there, especially since the previous line says "February made me
>shiver.." and JFK died in November. I say the "bad news on the doorstep"
>was Buddy Holly's death (along with Richie Valens and the Big Bopper).
You are correct.
Someone here e-mailed to me a long file that is a *much* better
interpretation of the lyrics than mine. I won't post it and waste
further bandwidth that we could be using to post the lyrics to Kyrie for
the fourteenth time (!)... instead I'll email it to any who ask.
Drop me a line at the address below.
Craig Jamieson
: I was wondering if anyone had or knew where i could get the lyrics to
: "American Pie" (I believe that's what it is called).
Article 7383 of rec.music.dylan:
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
From: ccr...@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM (Chuck Cruzan)
Subject: American Pie and Dylan
Message-ID: <CHMMB...@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM>
Organization: NCR Engineering and Manufacturing Atlanta -- Atlanta, GA
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1993 18:35:57 GMT
Lines: 38
Concerning the lines...
Oh, and while the King looked down
the jester stole his thorny crown...
I've always felt that the song referred to Dylan as the KING and JESTER and
that this was part of the Dylan alter ego....remember the press hadmade THE
voice of a generation and his fans worshipped him...Dylan, I believe does not
like to be labeled or classified (I really don't know where I heard that).
Dylan was already a legend and was uneasy with this aspect of fame so he was
going to interesting lengths to put his life in prespective. Examples being
the Playboy interview in late 65 or 66. Any of the press interviews. I have a
few on tape from this period and he either makes fun of the interviewer or
does a big put on. Interviews were confrontational. I think Dylan essentially
did this as a defense mechanism, IMHO.
I think the song lines refer to Dylan replacing his image with one that was
more acceptable to himself. Other indications are the way he changed versus of
songs during the mid to late 60s. The one that comes to mind is Maggie's Farm.
Early version have a line that says...
sing while you slave....
and on some evening in concert it became
sing while you save and I just get bored...
that last line may be on the released version but I am not really sure...but
again just an opinion.
Regards,
Chuck
--
--
Chuck Cruzan chuck....@atlantaga.NCR.COM
Usual Disclaimers
Jennifer Anne Taranto
I always belived "American pie" to be the American dream. And, as my mother
tells me (because the song was a liittle before my time) it was a protest
song to the Vietnam War.
---Jenny
lsh...@vms.cis.pitt.edu
But I was told that it was about Buddy Holly's death...
--Lauren.
David B. Feland
>post them so we can have a real conversation here.
Because they've *been* posted. At least twice.
I've been emailing them to people... I'll send them to you as well.
(but that's the last one. sorry folks, this server's closed.)
Prescott Barden
very interesting sidebars. I must assume most of the sidebars are
assumptions or guess' and that none are known to be true. But anyhow the
comments were in fact very interesting and I thank you.
Pres Barden
prba...@ucdavis.edu