American Pie lyrics by Don McLean, 7 meanings. American Pie explained, official 2024 song lyrics | LyricsMode.com
Request & respond explanations
  • Don't understand the meaning of the song?
  • Highlight lyrics and request an explanation.
  • Click on highlighted lyrics to explain.
Don McLean – American Pie lyrics
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
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 ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing...
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 dancing 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 ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing...
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 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
In 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, bye bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them 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

Healter Skealter 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 ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing...
This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

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, bye bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them 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

I met a girl who sang the Blues, and I asked her for some happy news
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 lover's 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
Them 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

They were singing, bye bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing...
This'll be the day that I die
×



Lyrics taken from /lyrics/d/don_mclean/american_pie.html

  • Email
  • Correct
Songwriters: Don McLean
American Pie lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Corrected by kewl_69

American Pie meanings Post my meaning

  • p
    + 23
    ProfessorBK
    This song is a lament for lost potential, "what could have been" -- especially the lost potential of the young generation who came of age during the Kennedy "Camelot" era to "change the world". Jfk and Jackie O are the king and queen spoken of in the third verse. For many who were young at that time, Kennedy represented hope for a nonviolent transition to a more just America, where everyone got their rightful "piece of the pie." With his death, many of these Kennedy-worshippers turned to their progressive rock idols for leadership, especially Dylan ('the jester"). Unfortunately, Dylan eschewed the role, and the mainstream of popular music (the Byrds, Beatles, and Stones) was overtaken by drug-induced hedonism and violence (the events of the summer of '69, Manson and Altamont are referenced in the fourth verse). This (sixties) generation has squandered itself in hedonistic excess, and has no more redemptive potential left. When it goes to the water, it finds it to be dry and the gloating symbols of the ancient regime -- the racist "good ol' boys" celebrating with a drink -- telling it is dead.
    Add your reply
  • m
    + 12
    mckulit_raichu
    I guess 1960's is the root of everything (well almost hehe). A lot of things happened that time that made a lot of people feel depressed and just think of the things that could have happened if those killings (deaths), and other tragedies didn't happen. I agree that maybe we had a better world if the circumstances were fair.
    This song is good and catchy, but the irony of this song is, a lot of people wants to sing it, but a lot of people doesn't want to understand it because of the reality that it reflects.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 7
    Unregistered
    The real meaning behind it is that 3 very famous singers were all in a plane and the plane in some way crashed and they all died, so when don got this song out to the world it was meant for the famous rock stars that post their lives in that plane. And this is all coming from a 15 year old girl that listens to her dad a little too much. (:
    Add your reply
  • f
    + 6
    forty-two
    As American culture was transformed through the decade of the 1960s, the popular entertainment of the day registered these changes, just as it always has. But more than any other idiom, rock 'n' roll was its most accurate barometer: from the early social outrage of Bob Dylan, the Beatles' contagious countercultural idealism, or the fierce nihilism of the late sixties Rolling Stones, rock 'n' roll defined the generation coming of age in these turbulent years, giving it voice and charting its course as no other popular art form did. It was the perfect metaphor for these changes, and McLean found in it a way to describe the dislocating sense of loss we were feeling - to enduring effect.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 4
    Unregistered
    Baby boomers searching for life's meaning in the music of the 50's, 60's, & 70's. They discarded american traditions and embraced music icons who fell away one by one: buddy holly by fate, elvis the king (looking) to downers, dylan the jester dismissing all, lennon waxing offensively political, sergeant pepper being creepy, the byrds foul with grass, jaggar's complicity with the hell of altamont, and blues singer janis turning from reality. In the end, for those who survived music is found back at the sacred store where we first experienced it. We realize rock n roll is just a slice of life, and not religion.
    Add your reply
  • BoneMachine
    + 4
    BoneMachine
    A plane crashed, killing, in one horroble swoop, The Big Bopper, Richie Valens and Buddy Holly. This song is about that faithfull day, "The day that muic died"
    Note, Buddy Holly wasn't even supposed to be on the plain. An other music icon of the time decided against the planeride, leaving a free spot for Buddy Holly. I forget who the survivor was, sorry. Google it yourself, why don't (I) you!
    1 reply
  • U
    0
    Unregistered
    I think you can look at it as a history lesson. Eschewing life in the 50's youth, high school in the 60's, Race Riots, War, Woodstock, Altamont, moving into the 70's with Manson and Helter Skelter. As bizarre as it is, it's life through Don's eyes with us relating to the parts that resonate with us.
    Add your reply
    View 2 more meanings

    Write about your feelings and thoughts about American Pie

    Know what this song is about? Does it mean anything special hidden between the lines to you? Share your meaning with community, make it interesting and valuable. Make sure you've read our simple tips.
    U
    Min 50 words
    Not bad
    Good
    Awesome!

    Top meanings Post my meaning

    • p
      + 23
      ProfessorBK
      This song is a lament for lost potential, "what could have been" -- especially the lost potential... Read more →
    • m
      + 12
      mckulit_raichu
      I guess 1960's is the root of everything (well almost hehe). A lot of things happened that time... Read more →

    official video

    Featured lyrics

    0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z