Search results
Sep 10, 2018 · So bye, bye, Miss American Pie . Contrary to popular legend, "American Pie" was not the name of the plane that Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson went down in on February 3, 1959, in Clear Lake, Iowa. It was a single-engine chartered plane and would therefore only have a number as identification.
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.
Jul 29, 2017 · Bye, bye Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die This’ll be the day that I ...
- Devin Wallace
And so bidding farewell or ‘bye bye’ to ‘Miss American Pie’ is to acknowledge the passing of that confident, hopeful vision of America which flourished in the 1950s and paved the way for the self-confidence of the 1960s, with flower power, hippies, free love, and – of course – the continued deification of rock music and music stars.
- Intro
- Chorus
- Verse 1
- Verse 2
- Verse 3
- Verse 4
- Breakdown
“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.” Right from the beginning, McLean refers to his childhood, thinking about the times when he would listen to the likes of Buddy Holly. He also lays out his car...
“So bye-bye, Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.” Apple pie is synonymous with Americana, so saying goodbye to “Miss American Pie” is symbolic of a generation passing the torch. As for the levee being dry, that line can be a bit confusing if you don’t know McLean’s backstory. He was a regular at a bar called The L...
“Did you write the book of love, And do you have faith in God above, If the Bible tells you so?” The first line in this verse is one of the most commonly misinterpreted, with many believing that there’s a deeper meaning. Instead, McLean is referencing a couple of songs from his favorite era of music. The Monotones came out with “The Book Of Love” w...
“Now, for ten years we’ve been on our own, And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone.” With the release of this song in 1971, McLean likely began writing in 1969. That would mark a decade since the Buddy Holly plane crash, hence the line about people being on their own for ten years. From here, things get very complicated lyrically as there can be a lo...
“Helter skelter in a summer swelter, The birds flew off with a fallout shelter.“ Continuing The Beatles references, McLean mentions “Helter Skelter,” which refers to one of their songs, as well as Charles Manson. Next, McLean gives up a couple of nods to the band The Byrds but mentions that their music changed for the worse in the 1960s with mariju...
“Oh, and there we were, all in one place, A generation lost in space.” The culmination of this era of music was at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, which is where we start in the penultimate verse. McLean actually saw this festival as a bit of a time waster when it could’ve been used for something more useful. Around that time, The Rolling Stones becam...
“I met a girl who sang the blues, And I asked her for some happy news, But she just smiled and turned away.” Finally, McLean starts to reflect toward the end of “American Pie.” It was believed that the girl ‘who sang the blues’ was Janis Joplin, who could help keep the Buddy Holly era of music alive. Sadly, she passed away from a heroin overdosein ...
Nov 8, 2022 · Bye-Bye, Miss American Pie. The phrase “American Pie” originates from Apple Pie, a staple American comfort food that soon evolved into a symbol of the good-natured, easygoing lifestyle of 50s ...
Jan 27, 2017 · McLean, a newspaper carrier as a boy, recalls the 1959 plane crash that killed everyone on board, including Buddy Holly. Just five months before the tragedy, Holly married Maria Elena Santiago ...
