American Pie

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 1969, 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" (because of "Satan's spell") had somehow incited the violence and 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 (he had an extensive religious background) because of "Sympathy for the Devil," "Their Satanic Majesties' Request" and so on. This is 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

• The most likely interpretation is that McLean is still talking about Altamont, and in particular Mick Jagger's prancing and posing and "climbing high" while it was happening. Or the bonfires around the area could provide the flames. The sacrifice is Meredith Hunter.

  (It could be a reference to Jimi Hendrix burning his Stratocaster at the Monterey Pop Festival, but that was in 1967 and this verse is no doubt set in 1968.)

I saw Satan laughing with delight

• If the above is correct, then Satan would be Jagger.

The day the music died. He was singing...

Refrain

(Verse 6) I met a girl who sang the blues

• Ms. Janis Joplin, the lady of the blues.

And I asked her for some happy news But she just smiled and turned away

• Janis died of an accidental (accidental my ass!) 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 West, 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. (What year did the Fillmore West close?)

  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; in particular, perhaps, the People's Park riots in Berkeley in 1969 and 1970.

  It is possible that this refers to the Vietnamese children. Life magazine was famous for publishing horrifying photos of children in Vietnam during the Vietnamese War.

The lovers cried and the poets dreamed

• The trend towards psychedelic music in the 60's? Or again the hippies who were both great lovers and poets who would then be crying because of the difficulties of their struggle and dreaming of peace.

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 (check this) -- or -- JFK, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy -- or -- or simply 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 it could just be a way of saying that they've left (or died -- western culture has used "went west" as a synonym for dying). Or, perhaps this is a reference to the famous "God is Dead" headline in the New York Times. Some have suggested that this is an oblique reference to a line in Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale," but I'm not sure I'd buy that; firstly, all of McLean's musical references are to much older roots: rock and roll songs; and secondly, I think it's more likely that this line shows up in both songs simply because it's a common cultural metaphor.

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)

Notes:

There was a fourth person who should have been on the plane. There was room for three, and the fourth person lost the toss -- or should I say won the toss. His name is Waylon Jennings. Jennings was the bass player for Holly's band at the time. Some people say that Holly had chartered the plane for his band, but that Valens and/or Richardson was to replace Jennings who was sick that night.

About the "coat he borrowed from James Dean": James Dean's red windbreaker is important throughout the "Rebel Without a Cause," not just at the end. When he put it on, it meant that it was time to face the world, time to do what he thought had to be done, and other melodramatic but thoroughly enjoyable stuff like that. The week after the movie came out, nearly every clothing store in the U.S. was sold out of red windbreakers. Remember that Dean's impact was similar to Dylan's: both were a symbol for the youth of their time, a reminder that they had something to say and demanded to be heard.

Some figure that if Holly had not have died, then we would not have suffered through the Fabian/Pat Boone era... and as a consequence, we wouldn't have "needed" the Beatles ( I have strong arguments opposing that opinion). Holly was quickly moving pop music away from the stereotypical boy/girl love lost/found lyrical ideas, and was recording with unique instrumentation and techniques...things that Beatles would not try until about 1965 (although I still credit the Beatles with all the musical revolutions). Without Holly's death, perhaps Dylan would have stuck with the rock and roll he played in high school and the Byrds never would have created an amalgam of Dylan songs and Beatle arrangements.

This interpretation of American Pie has been around many years and can be found both in print as well as a  number of sites around the www.

The following was posted in the Usenet group rec.music.rock-pop-r+b.1950s as to the name of the plane.

Bill Bugge posted the following:

OK, here's the answer. I e-mailed Paula Major who lives in Lubbock, Texas and asked if I could publish her response. Here's my e-mail to her and her reply:

Hi Paula,

You haven't been around in awhile, but I believe you're the one to settle a question which has come up in the 50's group (see @@@Type of plane that
carried Buddy@@@). Was the plane named "American Pie"? You could directly post your answer or could e-mail me. If you e-mail, please say if it's OK to publish in the group.

C'mon back.

Bill Bugge

Howdy Bill,

I wish I had time for the old ng but I am already going 18 hours a day with no let up in sight!!

Anyway, Bill Griggs, who is the most knowledgeable person in the world about Buddy Holly, says it is all a rumor because of the song "American Pie" that Don McLean did. The plane didn't have a name just a number, (A Beechcraft Bonanza, Number N3794P). This is one of those "legends" that just never stops but it's
not correct.

Paula
http://www.houseofmusic.com/

ps - you can post this.

Jim Colegrove posted this:

Bill Griggs is quoted often in the book, "The Day The Music Died" by Larry Lehmer, Schimer Books, 1997, ISBN 0-02-864741-6, the story of the Winter Carnival tour. No evidence or support of the plane being called "American Pie" is contained in this book. In fact, the book says the plane was " ...a Beech Bonanza, model 35, S/N-1019, identification N3794N, was manufactured October 17, 1947."

--
Jim Colegrove

American Pie Myth