Lyrics are displayed below in italics, with our comments in bold text as needed:
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.
Comments: “That music used to make me smile” very much represents the happier optimism of the 1950s in America. He also identifies Buddy Holly by the month of his death (February) and the “widowed bride” he left behind. Holly’s passing had a profound effect on McLean: as it will become clearer in the next verse, this music and the simple innocence and optimism of it has its corollary in the psychology of America in the fifties, so that the day the music died becomes the day the innocence and optimism died – blow number one. McLean delivered papers as a boy.
Soo..Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol’ boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die
Comments: “American Pie” was not name of the aircraft that Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens died in, as is often assumed. But rather it is a simile to apple pie, an American icon. The Chevrolet itself is a familiar icon of 1950s America. Also, given that a drive to a levee carries the suggestion of romance in a car, we can almost see him on a date here. But the date is over, the levee is dry – someone he once loved has betrayed him; something that once gave him sustenance has evaporated. One of Holly’s hit songs was “That’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
Then you can teach me to dance real slow
Well I know that you’re in love with him
‘Cause I saw you dancing in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Then I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
but I knew that I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin’…
Comments: Here, he is saying that America as a whole was beginning to shift from faith in God to faith in music. Dancing began decreasing in the 60s, due to psycedelia and the 10-minute guitar solos. The “pink carnation” reference is an obvious reference to Marty Robbins’ hit single that had the words “A white sport coat and a pink carnation…”
Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol’ boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die
Now for 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
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James 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 Lennon read the book of Marx
The quartet kept practice in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
Comments: McLean is writing this song in the late 60s, about 10 years after the plane crash that killed Holly, Valens, and the Big Bopper. The “rolling stone” comment can be attributed to either Bob Dylan, who sang “Like a Rolling Stone” or the Stones themselves. Or both. The jester is clearly talking about Dylan, who played in England for the Royal Family. In the movie “Rebel without a cause”, James Dean’s character lends a red windbreaker to a man who gets shot and killed. And while the King (Elvis) was looking down, the jester (Dylan) stole his thorny crown (#1 in the hearts of the fans)… John Lennon literally studied Marxism around this time period. The quartet practicing in the park refers to the concert the Beatles had at Shea Stadium in NYC. A “dirge” is a funeral song, which makes sense, since they “sang” them the “day the music died.”
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with the 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 halftime air was sweet perfume
While 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
Comments: McLean starts flying fast in this verse, shifting gears rapidly. Helter Skelter was a song on the Beatles’ White album that inspired Charles Manson to lead his followers in the infamous murders committed. He begins talking about drugs in the next part, with “Eight miles high” a reference to a Fifth Dimension song banned because of drug-oriented lyrics. “Landed foul on the grass” is referencing one of the Byrds who was busted for marijuana. The “jester on the sidelines in a cast” refers again to Dylan, who spent nine months in seclusion after a terrible motorcycle accident. The following lines (“Cause the players tried to take the field/The marching band refused to yield”) are about the Kent State massacre in 1970, where four students were killed and nine wounded. The players are the Ohio National Guard members who gunned the anti-war protesters down.
Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol’ boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die
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 candle stick
‘Cause fire is the devil’s 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 as flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw satan laughing with delight
the day the music died.
Comments: This verse is entirely made up of references to the tragic events that took place at the Altamont Motor Speedway, California in the fall of 1969 at a Rolling Stones concert. “Jumping Jack Flash” and “Sympathy for the Devil”, both songs by the Stones, were played at the concert. A riot ensued, and McLean blames Mick Jagger here (“As I watched him on the stage my hands were clenched in fists of rage”) for not stopping the riot by simply stopping the band from playing anymore. The notorious motorcycle group “Hell’s Angels” were hired for security, and a fan was killed by one of them, resulting in Satan laughing with delight “the day the music died” even more than it already had…
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 Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
They were singin’
The girl who sang the blues is Janis Joplin, who died at a very young age (smiled and turned away). The next 7 lines are all reactions to the plane crash, as well as to America having lost its mind over the years. The three men compared to the holy trinity in this analogy are obviously Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper.
**Interesting fact** The tragic flight was originally supposed to haul Holly, Valens, and country music start Waylon Jennings; however, Holly approached Jennings’ bassist and asked if Jennings would mind giving up his seat for friend the Big Bopper. Jennings agreed to take the bus, but with some friendly fun poked at Buddy Holly. Holly said jokingly, “I hope your bus stalls on you!” Jennings playfully responded, “Yeah, well I hope your plane crashes!” As you might guess, those words went on to haunt Jennings every day for the rest of his life. Jennings passed away in 2002.
Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol’ boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die