«I can’t remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride». McLean mener musikken aldri ble det samme etter ulykken og omtaler det som «dagen da musikken døde».
Don McLean skrev «American Pie» i 1971 og den er først og fremst en hyllest til Buddy Hollys liv og hans korte men suksessfulle karriere. Sangen er også McLeans kommentar til hvordan han mener musikkverden dramatisk endret seg i tiåret etter Hollys død. McLean er trist og misfornøyd med utviklingen, spesielt fraværet av den dansbare rock´n´roll. Dans og bevegelse var ifølge McLean en av rock´n´rolls første, største og viktigste element. Under den mer psykedeliske utviklingen på 60-tallet, etterlyser McLean musikken det går an å danse sakte til.
For et par år siden brakte Madonna klassikeren til verdens hit-lister nok en gang. Hennes gjengivelse av «American Pie» var en av de mest spilte låtene i USA i 2001.
American Pie er blitt gjenstand for tusenvis av tolkninger opp gjennom årene. En av de seiglivede mytene er at «Miss American Pie» referer til navnet på ulykkesflyet mens andre har tolket strofen som henvisning til den jomfruelige og ekte folkemusikken, den som er like ekte og amerikansk som amerikansk pai. Den etter hvert mytiske teksten starter med å mimre om den gode musikken før den fatale flyulykken i februar 1959. Strofen «This will be the day» har McLean hentet fra Buddy Hollys egen tekst: «That’ll Be The Day (When I Die)».
Uansett er det bred enighet om at den siste strofen i låta («the three men I admire most - The Father, Son and Holy Ghost») refererer til Holly, The Big Bopper og Valens, og det er ingen tvil om at dagen musikken døde, er 3. februar 1959.
American Pie
(1. vers) 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…
(refreng)
Bye bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Those good ol’ boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing ”This’ll be the day that I die, This’ll be the day that I die.”
(2. vers)
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 ‘n roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slowly?
Well I know you’re in love with him
‘Cause I saw you dancing in the gym Man,
I dig those rhythm ‘n’ blues
I was a lonely teenage bronchi’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew that I was out of luck The day the music died
I started singing… (refreng)
(3. vers) 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 Lennon 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… (refreng)
(4. vers)
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with the fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
One of the Byrds was busted for possesion of marijuana.
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While 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… (refreng)
(5. vers)
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
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… (refreng)
(6. vers)
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 Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
