steck@ihuxr.UUCP (06/16/83)
Here are the lyrics to American Pie as I heard them off the album
I also included some ideas as to some of the meanings to the lines:
AMERICAN PIE
by Don McLean (* the song is a tribute to Buddy
Holly and how American rock music has
degraded after his death *)
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'ed be happy for a while
But February made me shiver (* he died in Feb in a plane crash
With every paper I'd deliver during a snowstorm *)
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I cann't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
So
Refrain:
Bye bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinkin wiskey and rye
Singing "This'll be the day that I die,
This'll be the day that I die."
(* one of Holly's biggest songs "That'll be the Day" had a line
in it "That'll be the day, that I die" *)
Did you write the book of love (* A 50's song "Who Wrote the Book
And do you have faith in God above Love" *)
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 you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dance'n in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
And I dig those rythmic blues
I was a lonely teenage bronc'n buck (* the 50's were a good time
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck until Holly, "the Music",
But I knew that I was out of luck died *)
The day the music died
I started singing
Refrain
Now for ten years we've been on our own
and moss grows fat out of Rolling Stone
But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the King and Queen (* jester - Dylan
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean king - Elvis *)
(* In the movie James Dean has a red jacket that he lends
to someone who gets killed. Does the jacket symbolize
imminent doom?? *)
In a voice that came from you and me
(* Dylan started from the streets and his lyrics show it *)
Oh and while the King was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown (* Dylan rising - Elvis falling *)
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lennon read a book on Marx
(* John Lennon getting into radical politics *)
The court kept practice in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singing
Refrain
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter (* Beatles Song *)
The birds flew with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
(* the Byrds sang a song called "Eight Miles High" *)
And landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
(* Dylan didn't perform for a year or so after a bad motercycle accident *)
Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While the Sargeants played a marching tune (* Beatles' Sgt. Pepper *)
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 yeild
Do you recall what was the deal
The day the music died
We started singing
(* this could be refering to the Beach Boys trying to take the Beatles' place
as the best group in the world. In '66 or so the B.Bs put out their most
ambitious (and best) album only to have Sgt. P's L.H. Band come out almost
simultaneously, destroying the B.Bs album in sales *)
Refrain
Oh and there we were all in one place (* Woodstock *)
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick (* Mick Jagger and the Stones *)
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick (* Jumpin Jack Flash - Stones
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend falling???? *)
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 spell (* the Altomont incident *)
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacraficial rite
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singing
Refrain
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 (* she od'ed and died *)
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
(* a reference to the long gone practice of sampling records
in the store *)
And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
And 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
And they were singing
Refrain (2x)brooks@ihuxl.UUCP (06/16/83)
The lyrics for American Pie submitted by Bill Martesteck were very complete. The only questions I have are with the lines: "The court kept practice in the park" and "Do you recall what was the deal" I thought they were: The quartet practiced in the park - a possible reference to the Beatles. and Do you recall what was revealed? And that's my next question, what was revealed?????
bj@yale-com.UUCP (06/19/83)
Here are the lyrics to American Pie as I heard them off the album
I also included some ideas as to some of the meanings to the lines:
And while Lennon read a book on Marx
(* John Lennon getting into radical politics *)
The court kept practice in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singing
I remember the second line as "The quartet practiced in the park",
describing the Beetles. Does anybody have printed lyrics for this?
I have not heard the song in a while, so please let me know if I am
way of base.
B.J.
Herbison-BJ@Yale
decvax!yale-comix!herbison-bj