Lyrics/Meaning to Lyrics: Miss America Pie
COCOASHOME
I heard on a local radio station a few days ago that they had downloaded
from the wed the meaning to the lyrics of the song Miss America Pie. I'd
like to find the address to do the same.
Gordon Snapp
In article <19961213164...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
cocoa...@aol.com (COCOASHOME) wrote:
I found this too. It was called the annotated Miss American Pie. It told
what every reference in the song was about. I don't know what the URL
was, but I found it by doing a web search on "Lyrics"
Linette Gatmaitan
here ya go:
AMERICAN PIE by Don McLean
The entire song is a tribute to Buddy Holly and
a commentary on how rock and roll changed in
the years since his death. McLean seems to be
lamenting the lack of "danceable" music in
rock and roll and (in part) attributing that
lack to the absence of Buddy Holly et. al.
(Verse 1)
A long, long time ago...
"American Pie" reached #1 in the US in 1972, but
the album containing it was released in 1971.
Buddy Holly died in 1959.
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.
One of early rock and roll's functions was to
provide dance music for various social events.
McLean recalls his desire to become a musician
playing that sort of music.
But February made me shiver,
Buddy Holly died on February 3, 1959 in a plane
crash in Iowa during a snowstorm.
With every paper I'd deliver,
Don McLean's only job besides being a full-time
singer-songwriter was being a paperboy.
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
Holly's recent bride was pregnant when the crash
took
place; she had a miscarriage shortly afterward.
But something touched me deep inside,
The day the music died.
The same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly
also
took the lives of Richie Valens ("La Bamba") and
The Big Bopper ("Chantilly Lace"). Since all
three
were so prominent at the time, February 3, 1959
became known as "The Day The Music Died".
So...
(Refrain)
Bye bye Miss American Pie,
Don McLean dated a Miss America candidate
during the pageant. (unconfirmed)
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin whiskey and rye
Singing "This'll be the day that I die,
This'll be the day that I die."
One of Holly's hits was "That'll be the Day";
the
chorus contains the line "That'll be the day
<pause>
that I die".
(Verse 2)
Did you write the book of love,
"The Book of Love" by the Monotones; hit in
1958.
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
In 1955, Don Cornell did a song entitled
"The Bible Tells Me So". Rick Schubert
pointed this out, and mentioned that he
hadn't heard the song, so it was kinda
difficult to tell if it was what McLean
was referencing. Anyone know for sure?
There's also an old Sunday School song which
goes:
"Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells
me so"
Now do you believe in rock 'n roll?
The Lovin' Spoonful had a hit in 1965 with John
Sebastian's "Do you Believe in Magic?". The
song
has the lines:
"Do you believe in magic/it's like trying to
tell
a stranger 'bout rock and roll."
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Dancing slow was an important part of early rock
and roll dance events -- but declined in
importance
through the 60's as things like psychedelia and
the 10-minute guitar solo gained prominence.
Well I know you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym
Back then, dancing was an expression of love,
and
carried a connotation of committment. Dance
partners
were not so readily exchanged as they would be
later.
You both kicked off your shoes
A reference to the beloved "sock hop". (Street
shoes tear up wooden basketball floors, so
dancers
had to take off their shoes.)
Man, I dig those rhythm 'n' blues
Some history. Before the popularity of rock and
roll, music, like much else in the U. S., was
highly segregated. The popular music of black
performers for largely black audiences was
called, first, "race music", later softened to
rhythm and blues. In the early 50s, as they
were
exposed to it through radio personalities such
as
Allan Freed, white teenagers began listening,
too. Starting around 1954, a number of songs
from the rhythm and blues charts began appearing
on the overall popular charts as well, but
usually in cover versions by established white
artists, (e. g. "Shake Rattle and Roll", Joe
Turner, covered by Bill Haley; "Sh-Boom", the
Chords, covered by the Crew-Cuts; "Sincerely",
the Moonglows, covered by the Mc Guire Sisters;
Tweedle Dee, LaVerne Baker, covered by Georgia
Gibbs). By 1955, some of the rhythm and blues
artists, like Fats Domino and Little Richard
were
able to get records on the overall pop charts.
In 1956 Sun records added elements of country
and
western to produce the kind of rock and roll
tradition that produced Buddy Holly.
(Thanks to Barry Schlesinger for this historical
note. ---Rsk)
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
"A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)", was
a hit
for Marty Robbins in 1957.
But I knew that I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singing...
Refrain
(Verse 3)
Now for ten years we've been on our own
McLean was writing this song in the
late 60's, about ten years after the crash.
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
It's unclear who the "rolling stone" is
supposed to be. It could be Dylan, since
"Like a Rolling Stone" (1965) was his first
major hit; and since he was busy writing
songs extolling the virtues of simple love,
family and contentment while staying at home
(he didn't tour from '66 to '74) and raking
in the royalties. This was quite a change
from the earlier, angrier Dylan.
The "rolling stone" could also be Elvis,
although
I don't think he'd started to pork out by the
late sixties.
It could refer to rock and rollers in general,
and the changes that had taken place in the
business
in the 60's, especially the huge amounts of cash
some of them were beginning to make, and the
relative stagnation that entered the music at
the same time.
Or, perhaps it's a reference to the stagnation
in rock and roll.
But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the King and Queen
The jester is Bob Dylan, as will become clear
later.
There are several interpretations of king and
queen:
some think that Elvis Presley is the king, which
seems
pretty obvious. The queen is said to be either
Connie
Francis or Little Richard. But see the next
note.
An alternate interpretation is that this refers
to
the Kennedys -- the king and queen of "Camelot"
--
who were present at a Washington DC civil rights
rally featuring Martin Luther King. (There's
a recording of Dylan performing at this rally.)
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
In the movie "Rebel Without a Cause", James Dean
has
a red windbreaker that holds symbolic meaning
throughout the film (see note at end). In one
particularly intense scene, Dean lends his coat
to a guy who is shot and killed; Dean's father
arrives, sees the coat on the dead man, thinks
it's Dean, and loses it.
On the cover of "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan",
Dylan is wearing just such as red windbreaker,
and is posed in a street scene similar to one
shown in a well-known picture of James Dean.
Bob Dylan played a command performance for
the Queen and Prince Consort of England.
He was *not* properly attired, so perhaps
this is a reference to his apparel.
And a voice that came from you and me
Bob Dylan's roots are in American folk music,
with people like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.
Folk music is by definition the music of the
masses, hence the "...came from you and me".
Oh, and while the King was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
This could be a reference to Elvis's decline and
Dylan's ascendance. (i.e. Presley is looking
down
from a height as Dylan takes his place.) The
thorny
crown might be a reference to the price of fame.
Dylan has said that he wanted to be as famous as
Elvis, one of his early idols.
The courtroom was adjourned,
No verdict was returned.
This could be the trial of the Chicago Seven.
And while Lennon read a book on Marx,
Literally, John Lennon reading about Karl Marx;
figuratively, the introduction of radical
politics
into the music of the Beatles. (Of course, he
could be referring to Groucho Marx, but that
doesn't
seem quite consistent with McLean's overall
tone.
On the other hand, some of the wordplay in
Lennon's
lyrics and books is reminiscint of Groucho.)
The quartet practiced in the park
There are two schools of thought about this; the
obvious one is the Beatles playing in Shea
Stadium,
but note that the previous line has John Lennon
*doing something else at the same time*. This
tends to support the theory that this is a
reference
to the Weavers, who were blacklisted during the
McCarthy era. McLean had become friends with
Lee Hays
of the Weavers in the early 60's while
performing
in coffeehouses and clubs in upstate New York
and
New York City. He was also well-acquainted
with Pete Seeger; in fact, McLean, Seeger, and
others
took a trip on the Hudson river singing
anti-pollution songs at one point. Seeger's LP
"God Bless the Grass" contains many of these
songs.
And we sang dirges in the dark
A "dirge" is a funeral or mourning song, so
perhaps
this is meant literally...or, perhaps, this is a
reference to some of the new "art rock" groups
which
played long pieces not meant for dancing.
The day the music died.
We were singing...
Refrain
(Verse 4)
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
"Helter Skelter" is a Beatles song which appears
on the "white" album. Charles Manson, claiming
to have been "inspired" by the song (through
which
he thought God and/or the devil were taking to
him)
led his followers in the Tate-LaBianca murders.
Is "summer swelter" a reference to the "Summer
of
Love" or perhaps to the "long hot summer" of
Watts?
The birds flew off with the fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
The Byrd's "Eight Miles High" was on their
late 1966 release "Fifth Dimension". It was
one of the first records to be widely banned
because of supposedly drug-oriented lyrics.
It landed foul on the grass
One of the Byrds was busted for possesion of
marijuana.
The players tried for a forward pass
Obviously a football metaphor, but about what?
It could be the Rolling Stones, i.e. they were
waiting for an opening which really didn't
happen
until the Beatles broke up.
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
On July 29, 1966, Dylan crashed his Triumph 55
motorcycle while riding near his home in
Woodstock,
New York. He spent nine months in seclusion
while
recuperating from the accident.
Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
Drugs, man.
While sergeants played a marching tune
Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club
Band".
Or, perhaps McLean refers to the Beatles' music
as "marching" because it's not music for
dancing.
Alternatively, the "marching tune" could refer
to the draft. (See below)
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
The Beatles' 1966 Candlestick Park concert only
lasted 35 minutes.
Or, following on from the previous comment,
perhaps
he meant that there wasn't any music to dance
to.
'Cause the players tried to take the field,
The marching band refused to yield.
This could be a reference to the dominance of
the Beatles on the rock and roll scene. For
instance,
the Beach Boys released "Pet Sounds" in 1966,
an album which featured some of the same sort of
studio
and electronic experimentation as "Sgt. Pepper",
but the album sold poorly because the Beatles'
release got most of the press.
Some folks think this refers to either the 1968
Deomcratic Convention or Kent State.
This might also be a comment about how the
dominance of the Beatles in the rock world
led to more "pop art" music, leading in turn
to a dearth of traditional rock and roll.
Or finally, this might be a comment which
follows
up on the earlier reference to the draft: the
government/military-industrial-complex
establishment
refused to accede to the demands of the peace
movement.
Do you recall what was revealed,
The day the music died?
We started singing
Refrain
(Verse 5)
And there we were all in one place
Woodstock.
A generation lost in space
Some people think this is a reference to
the US space program, which it might be;
but that seems a bit too literal. Perhaps this
is a reference to "hippies", who were sometimes
known as the "lost generation", partially
because
of their particularly acute alientation from
their parents, and partially because of their
presumed preoccupation with drugs.
It could also be a reference to the awful TV
show, "Lost in Space", whose title was sometimes
used as a synonym for someone who was rather
high...
but I keep hoping that McLean had better taste.
:-)
With no time left to start again
The "lost generation" spent too much time being
stoned, and had wasted their lives? Or,
perhaps,
their preference for psychedelia had pushed rock
and roll so far from Holly's music that it
couldn't
be retrieved.
So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick
Probably a reference to Mick Jagger of the
Rolling Stones; "Jumpin' Jack Flash" was
released in May, 1968.
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
The Stones' Candlestick park concert?
(unconfirmed)
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
It's possible that this is a reference to
the Grateful Dead's "Friend of the Devil".
An alternative interpretation of the last four
lines is that they may refer to Jack Kennedy
and his quick decisions during the Cubam Missile
Crisis; the candlesticks/fire refer to ICBMs
and nuclear war.
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
While playing a concert at the Altamont
Speedway in 1968, the Stones appointed
members of the Hell's Angels to work security
(on the advice of the Grateful Dead). In the
darkness near the front of the stage, a young
man named Meredith Hunter was beaten and stabbed
to
death -- by the Angels. Public outcry that
the song "Sympathy for the Devil" had somehow
incited the violence caused the Stones to
drop the song from their show for the next
six years. This incident is chronicled in
the documentary film "Gimme Shelter".
It's also possible that McLean views the Stones
as being negatively inspired (remember, he had
an extensive religious background) by virtue
of "Sympathy for the Devil", "Their Satanic
Majesties' Request" and so on. I find this a
bit
puzzling, since the early Stones recorded a lot
of "roots" rock and roll, including Buddy
Holly's
"Not Fade Away".
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
This could be a reference to Jimi
Hendrix
burning his Stratocaster at the Monterey
Pop Festival.
It's possible that this refers to the
burial
of Kennedy, but I'm not sure I buy this.
For one thing, it doesn't fit
chronologically,
and for another, McLean seems more
interested
in music than politics.
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singing...
Refrain
(Verse 6)
I met a girl who sang the blues
Janis Joplin.
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
Janis died of an accidental heroin overdose
on October 4, 1970.
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
There are two interpretations of this:
The "sacred store" was Bill Graham's Fillmore
East,
one of the great rock and roll venues of all
time.
Alternatively, this refers to record stores,
and their longtime (then discontinued)
practice of allowing customers to preview
records in the store.
It could also refer to record stores as "sacred"
because this is where one goes to get "saved".
(See above lyric "Can music save your mortal
soul?")
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
Perhaps he means that nobody is interested in
hearing Buddy Holly et.al.'s music? Or, as
above,
the discontinuation of the in-store listening
booths.
And in the streets the children screamed
"Flower children" being beaten by police
and National Guard troops?
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
The trend towards psychedelic music in the 60's?
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
It could be that the broken bells are the dead
musicians: neither can produce any more music.
And the three men I admire most
The Father Son and Holy Ghost
Holly, The Big Bopper, and Valens
-- or --
Hank Williams, Presley and Holly
-- or --
JFK, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy
-- or --
the Catholic aspects of the deity.
McLean had attended several Catholic schools.
They caught the last train for the coast
Could be a reference to wacky California
religions,
or could just be a way of saying that they've
left.
Or, perhaps this is a reference to the famous
"God is Dead" headline in the New York Times.
The day the music died
This tends to support the conjecture that the
"three
men" were Holly/Bopper/Valens, since this says
that
they left on the day the music died.
And they were singing...
Refrain (2x)
Steve `Scooter' Kramer
In article <gsnapt-1312...@s11-pm01-sntam-t.telis.org>,
It should be noted that this file, The Annotated American Pie (the name of
the song does not contain "Miss") is merely a consensus opinion of
a group of Usenet regulars. The song was regularly discussed on average
once a year starting with the first year a newsgroup was created on the
topic of music (net.music, I think). According to the file, the first
attempt to annotate "American Pie" was done in net.music on June 16, 1985;
the poster, "Wombat" (no other identity given), attempted to summarize a
discussion on that newsgroup in 1983 (certain dinos like me remember
back in the days when dirt was being made and you had to shout down the
phone in ones and zeros to communicate on the 'Net, but yes, Virginia, we
*were* online back then).
The version available from wiretap.spies.org via FTP is a revision of that
document done by Rich Kulawiec <r...@gynko.circ.upenn.edu> on January 3, 1993.
He credits at least 30 people who contributed to the document; none of them
is Don McLean himself. That having been said, it's a good piece of
scholarly criticism.
P.S. As a Usenet poster, I have an addition to the document. It centers
around the lines in the fifth verse:
And there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
If we buy the Annotated's interpretation of the first line being a reference
to Woodstock, I may have something more concrete to say about the second
line. (Annotated postulates a reference to the space program, "hippies"
being the "lost generation" of the 60s, or the TV show _Lost in Space_.)
Pick up the _Life_ magazine which covered Woodstock. Who's on the cover?
It's no one from the concert, that's for sure...it's Neil Armstrong. The
Apollo moon landing and the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair happened within
about a week of each other (I don't have the exact dates). The whole
"generation" of Woodstock was literally "lost in space" -- pushed right out
of the public eye which it was trying to grab the attention of by the Apollo
mission.
_____________________ Steve "Scooter" Kramer == sco...@universe.digex.net
| __/^\__ ,-^,|-------http://www.universe.digex.net/~scooter/-------
|/~ \_ { / |Baltimore Stallions (CFL)............"Je me souviens"
IRC: \/\ |! |=====================================================
oriole^ / / ) |___ This email is dedicated to Mrs. Ashley Huggbees
(EFNet) (_ \ \ / of Fullers Bend, Arizona, because we like saying
~v^ ?_,-' the name Huggbees. Go ahead. Try it. "Huggbees."
Gary McGill
Gordon Snapp wrote:
>
> In article <19961213164...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
> cocoa...@aol.com (COCOASHOME) wrote:
>
> > I heard on a local radio station a few days ago that they had downloaded
> > from the wed the meaning to the lyrics of the song Miss America Pie. I'd
> > like to find the address to do the same.
>
> I found this too. It was called the annotated Miss American Pie. It told
> what every reference in the song was about. I don't know what the URL
> was, but I found it by doing a web search on "Lyrics"
These are just conjecture.
Don McLean will not legally own up to anything.
He pretty much admits this in the Billboard No1. book.
g.