h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A conversation that I was part of got me thinking a bit more (than usual, which isn't much...)
about What the song "American Pie" is about, and what people think it's about (all the lyrics and stuff, not just the name)...

There is a site with a "theory" but i'd like to see what everyone else thinks...


J.J

I believe that the "day the music died" was the day that Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash. This inspired Don McClean to write a somewhat cryptic history of popular music.

The first verse of the song refers directly to Buddy Holly.

Other verses:

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

This is Bob Dylan. Later on he appears in a cast because he broke some limbs in a car crash.

So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend

This refers to the Rolling Stones (Jumpin Jack Flash, Sympathy for the Devil) and an incident at one of their concerts where a fan was burned to death.

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away

I think this is Joan Baez.

From what I (think I) know, American Pie was the name of the plane they were in...
I reckon the bit about "The day the Music Died" is pretty right... but I still think the rest is pretty cryptic...

J.J

That's an urban myth about American Pie being the name of the plane. The plane did not have a name, only a number. The name comes from the phrase "as American as Apple Pie" because it is about American popular music.

American Pie was the name of the plane that Buddy Holly etc were in. The rest of it I haven't a clue.

p.s. how did you manage to pick the song that's been going around in my head all morning....????

More to the point: How do I get this song _out_ of my head?!

Man, I love those rhythm and blues...

Damn it.

Liam.

I read something about the planes name, so I put it into a music quiz... There, everyone had a bit of a discussion about it, so I decided to but it here, as it was bugging me...

J.J

Here's what Don McLean himself said, according to snopes.com:

'The growing urban legend that "American Pie" was the name of Buddy Holly’s plane the night it crashed, killing him, Ritchie Valens and the Big Boppper, is equally untrue. I created the term. '

Hmmm... Interesting...

I think He wouldn't say what it was about... He'd only leave it for people to make their own translations...

J.J

I seem to recall an interview with Don McClean who, when pushed, admitted that the song was inspired by the death of Buddy Holly et. al., however the remaining lyrics were simply a song, and he had not intended any other deeper meaning than that.

However, as always, I stand to be corrected.

The answer I gave in Justin's quiz, which i had found on a site with an annotated version of the song, suggested that "Miss American pie" referred to rock 'n' roll music, and that tehre is also a rumour that Don McLean once dated a Miss America but that rumour is probably a load of bull.

I actually met McLean once and asked him about the Bob Dylan/jester thing and he said he wouldn't comment but that the song was about whatever the listener thought. I have my doubts, the lyrics are just too easy to *translate*.

I think people look for whatever cryptic meaning they can find in popular songs and again most definately in poetry. Anyone who has had to dissect a poem will know what I mean. If not, then one word should convince- Nostradamus!

Oh I know that band!

Simple enough....listen closely. The lyrics speak for themselves, no matter what Don Mcclain says.

Its' the death of "rock and roll".......its' commercialisation(sp).

The chronicles the history from Buddy Hollys' garage band to Seargent Pepper.

Sorry, nothing mysterious...."the music died. Now its' about the money".

NM

Funny I always thought the jester was Elvis.

Also all the references to american football seemed to also have a connection to the Vietnam war.

OH I must get the album out and revisit some of the songs.It's a great album.

Incog.

My take is that "The Marching Band" was the Beatles.(AKA Seargent Pepper)

While all the other rockers were adamantly trying to be heard, there was no voice that could be heard above the "Fab Four".

Yes, I think "Jack" was the Rolling Stones. The ultimate commercial rock band.

NM

Elvis is widely believed to be the King.

There's an annotated version of the song, explaining what the most widely belived meanings for each line are here: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie/

No,no Don Maclean wrote about the death of Buddy Holly who was the King.Elvis was the jestor.

Incog.

No- the jester is Dylan, because "the coat he borrowed from james Dean" refers to the red windcheater worn by Dean in "Rebel Without a cause" and the identical onme worn by Dylan on an early album cover.