Don McClean’s “American Pie” album cover from 1972: NAJ screen shot
The Big Picture –
By Glynn “Cowboy” Wilson –
MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – Who will write the new American Pie for this tumultuous time in history?
Camping for a few days down by the Tennessee River and contemplating our future – or if we even have one – I doubt it will be Taylor Swift and her A.I. song writing machine, or even Miley Cyrus, as much as I like her sometimes. Where are the protest songs? For that matter, where are the protests?
Even Saturday Night Live at 50 seemed as lame as ever, although there were a few funny lines and potshots at the new dick in the White House. I think they could have done better. Heck, I could have done better – if anyone had bothered to call.
Do you think bots understand protest songs or even the concept of protesting injustice? I doubt it.
As much as I try to escape the divisive politics of our time, seeking refuge in rock and roll history, it’s hard to look away as America’s first dictator turns Elon Musk loose to run rampant over our government like he destroyed Twitter and turned it into black X. It’s mostly irrelevant now, as are the newspapers and cable news talk outlets that still post their headlines and links there.
Musk’s Tesla cars are no longer selling, and celebrities are donating them to fund NPR, including Cheryl Crow. NASA has turned over our exploration of space to Musk’s Space X in an experiment in privatization guaranteed to fail to reach Mars and kill people even trying to make it back to the Moon, like the U.S. government accomplished in 1969.
Unfortunately, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger are dead and gone, and Bob Dylan is apparently too old and rich to get it up for a comeback, although the new film about him, a misnomer called “A Complete Unknown,” is out and making the rounds. I haven’t seen it yet. But I can’t help wondering if it does anymore than entertain a new generation. Some young people may be interested in what all the hubbub is about while they still listen to the music from the era. Nothing has come along to match it since that time when freedom seemed to be unleashed.
It is being destroyed again, more than ever. So what’s this generation going to do? Embrace authoritarianism as if that will somehow solve all our problems? It won’t do anything but make matters much worse, and everyone will know that in a few months, whether they like it or not.
“American Pie,” you may recall, at least you Baby Boomers, was a song written and performed by singer-songwriter Don McLean, recorded and released in 1971 on the album of the same name. The single was the number-one hit in the U.S. for four weeks in 1972, about the time I got my first drum set and started playing the music for myself.
The repeated phrase “the day the music died,” which often echos around in my head these days like a melody you can’t get out of your mind, refers to a plane crash in 1959 that killed early rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, supposedly ending the era of early rock and roll. Although Chuck Berry just kept on reelin’ and rockin’ ’til the break of dawn.
The theme of McLean’s song goes beyond mourning his childhood music heroes, however, reflecting the deep cultural changes and profound disillusion and loss of innocence of his generation, which some called “the rock and roll generation.” Yep, that was me. And probably you too. Some of us still read more than memes on social media. Not sure about this generation.
The meaning of the other lyrics cryptically allude to the jarring events and social changes experienced during that period, and have been debated for decades. McLean repeatedly declined to explain the symbolism behind the many characters and events, like any artist, although he eventually released his songwriting notes to accompany the original manuscript when it was sold at auction in 2015. He found out about the plane crash as a 13-year-old newspaper delivery boy in New Rochelle, New York. Talk about the end of an era.
You can still listen to the song on YouTube for yourself.
And read the lyrics online too.
“American Pie”
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 ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n 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?
Now do you believe in rock and 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 singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
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 Lennin read a book on 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 ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
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 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 ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n 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 ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n 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 ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n 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 ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
And singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
