The meaning of American Pie is a combination of tragic generational events that lead to a somber, sadness in the 50’s & 60’s in America.

McLean Says There’s No Hidden Meanings

In the 52 years since Don McLean recorded “American Pie,” there have been countless theories about what the lyrics mean. Is Bob Dylan really “The Jester?” Did McLean hate Mick Jagger so much that he made him “Satan?” Is the “girl who sang the blues” really Janis Joplin? For the record, pardon the pun, McLean has disavowed each of these theories. His main thrust to the lyrics was lamenting the loss of the American Dream at both the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 and “The Day the Music Died,” the plane crash in 1959 that took the lives of Richie Valens, Buddy Holly, and The Big Bopper.

Satan Laughing With Delight at Altamont

Despite McLean’s protestations to the contrary, it seems to follow that Jagger would be the ultimate villain in the song. The catastrophe that was the Altamont Music Festival on December 6, 1969, where a group of Hells Angels were hired to provide security for the event for $500 worth of beer, involved one of the Hells Angels murdering 18-year-old Meredith Hunter for brandishing a gun. Even though neither Jagger nor any of the other members of the Rolling Stones had any idea that someone had just been killed 20 feet away, their seeming callousness by continuing their set was seen as a punctuation mark that close out the 1960s in much the same way as the tragic plane crash closed out the 1950s in the mind of McLean.

McLean used to be cryptic about the meaning of the lyrics, but now, at age 77, he has turned irascible and irritated at the speculation about his most famous song. In 2020, McLean told the Guardian that, “Carly Simon’s still being coy about who ‘You’re So Vain’ was written about. So, who cares? Who gives a fuck?” It is at least possible that McLean’s near violent reaction to all the speculation belies the fact that the speculation might be closer to the truth than he would like.

The song is ubiquitous. It has appeared in television commercials, television shows, movies, and on radio ads. The shows are varied and include “Stranger Things,” “The Office,” and “The West Wing.” Predictably, the most famous ad using the song is a 2007 commercial for Chevrolet, although there is nary a levee in sight! McLean notes that he chose the title for “American Pie” because it looked good in print.

Lyrics

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
Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”
This will 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 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 I was out of luck
The day the music died

I started singing bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”
This will be the day that I die

Now for ten 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
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 Lenin 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 drinking whiskey and rye
Singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”
This will be the day that I die

Helter skelter in the 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 halftime 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 drinking whiskey and rye
And singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”
This will 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 drinking whiskey and rye
And singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”
This will 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 drinking whiskey and rye
Singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”
This will 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 drinking whiskey and rye
Singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Don Mclean

American Pie lyrics © Songs Of Universal Inc., Benny Bird Co. Inc.

Listeners that enjoy this song in the Folk=Rock genre may also be interested in the song The Weight by The Band

This article was first published March 7th, 2023 and last updated May 19th 2023