American Pie (not the disgusting movie) the song by Don McLean (1 Viewer)

Ellie_Belly

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That is a brilliant song. I'll post the lyrics, 'coz they are worthy of your time.

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."
 

Lundy

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Contrary to popular belief, American Pie was not the name of the plane that Buddy Holly was flying in when it crashed.

No one really knows what it means.
 

Ellie_Belly

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Lundy said:
Contrary to popular belief, American Pie was not the name of the plane that Buddy Holly was flying in when it crashed.

No one really knows what it means.
Yeah, you're right. Everyone thought the song was about Buddy Holly, but apparently it's not about anything in particular. It's just a good song
 

Lundy

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No, it is a tribute to Buddy Holly. I'm just saying the name 'American Pie' has no apparant significance.
 

Lundy

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Yeah, the first couple of verses are quite obviously about Holly:

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.


The lyrics afterwards seem to be more open to interpretation. I think it's supposed to be a chronicle of rock n' roll over the following decade (the 60's), with all the symbolic references to different artists and such.
 

Ellie_Belly

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Lundy said:
Yeah, the first couple of verses are quite obviously about Holly:

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.

The lyrics afterwards seem to be more open to interpretation. I think it's supposed to be a chronicle of rock n' roll over the following decade (the 60's), with all the symbolic references to different artists and such.
Cheers.

The line "Moss grows fat on a rollin' stone" surely refers to the Stones?
 

grk_styl

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This was my favourite song for most of my childhood. I think I heard it when I was 6 or 7, and I use to make my parents tape it over and over on 5 tapes so I could listen to it over and over.

Of course I never knew the significance, so I don't know why I loved it so much as a kid lol. Awesome song though
 

Ellie_Belly

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grk_styl said:
This was my favourite song for most of my childhood. I think I heard it when I was 6 or 7, and I use to make my parents tape it over and over on 5 tapes so I could listen to it over and over.

Of course I never knew the significance, so I don't know why I loved it so much as a kid lol. Awesome song though

It was one of my childhood favourites too!!! I used to walk up and down the hallway singing to it :)
 

spiny norman

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fake_mcdickpant said:
Probably the worst song ever written.
Do you really think so? I think the song is maybe the most overrated (I find it okay, at best) but there are surely worse and more intolerable songs out there?
 

Rafy

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great song.

While it was dedicated by McLean to Holly, its a song about American life in the late 60s/ early 70s. You can find references to religion, political assasinations, the vietnam war, as well as mentions of significant musical figures (Holly, the rolling stones, the beatles, Dylan, etc etc)

i.e few mentions of the beatles

And while Lennon read a book on Marx / The quartet practiced in the park
"Helter skelter in a summer swelter" (Helter Skelter is a song by the beatles)
 

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