who was the song american pie written about

This theme runs through all of the author’s work, from American Pie to the lesser-known Run, Diana, Run, and still little attention is paid to it while interpreting the lyrics. Less popular opinion is that the song’s lyrics contain mourning for McLean’s father, who died right in front of his eyes. Probably, leaving a reference to major public events, the author drew attention to social problems and subconsciously focused on the environment of America in the middle of the last century. The author never commented on this theory of interpretation, so its veracity is only a guess. The former president was used as a symbolic loss of innocence for the youth of this decade, which led to the infamous Altamont Festival filled with an abundance of drugs and violence. McLean (1971) starts the third verse with the following words, “Now for ten years we have been on our own”, referring to the death of Kennedy. This interpretation reveals the need to consider the historical context of writing the song because, without a full understanding of the circumstances in which the author wrote the lyrics, it is unlikely that there will be an awareness of what specific lines refer to.Īccording to another interpretation, the major part of the song refers to the events of the 1960s, especially focusing on how once united, peaceful, and romantic youth movements began to split into separate groups. Undoubtedly, the death of rock musicians deeply affected him and left an imprint on the rest of his life, including his desire to write music. Because of this, many people perceive the first verses as mourning for the deceased Buddy Holly, McLean’s musical idol. McLean (1971) wrote, “But February made me shiver With every paper I’d deliver”, implying the date of the plane crash, February 3, 1959. The reference to this tragic event was embedded in the lyrics and confirmed by the author himself. Most attempts to unravel the meaning associate it with already mentioned «The Day the Music died», the day of the plane crash.

This has led to the rise of fan interpretations and conjectures, each of which is interesting in its unique way and deserves attention from music analysts. According to McLean himself, the song only meant that he would never have to work again (Walker, 2020). The author avoided making any comments about the meaning of the song, which only made it more difficult to interpret. The song is well known for its convoluted lyrics, which have long been the subject of curiosity and controversy. American Pie is a folk-rock song dedicated to the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and Big Bopper, huge rock musicians of those times.

Who was the song american pie written about