They were singing bye-bye, Miss American Pie...

'American Pie' lyrics. © Don McLean.


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

{Refrain}
So bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and 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
Do you believe in rock 'n 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 singin'
{Refrain}

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 Lenin read a book of Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died



We were singing
{Refrain}

Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul out on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the half-time 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
{Refrain}

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
{Refrain}

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 woudn'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
{Refrain}

They were singing bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die

What does AMERICAN PIE mean as a whole? Anyone know? I know this, AMERICAN PIE is the best song.

 

Yea....one of a kind......!

 

Tell me about it! I am listening to the Reader's Digest Music American PIE, a four part CD set, down stairs on my dad's sound system. Tim, do you know what AMERICAN PIE means as a whole?

 

My my, this here Anakin guy,
Maybe Vader someday later now he's just a small fry.
etc...

 

American Pie is talking how freedom in the united states is all an illusion that people let themselves be had by. American is going down the tube in the meanwhile and the people can't do anything about it except help it go down or be a spectator.

At least, that's what I've gotten out of it.

 

I'm pretty sure American Pie is a tribute to fifties talents Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and JP Richardson (the Big Bopper) who all died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959.

Here is a link to an annotated version of the lyrics with their possible reference to this event, if one chooses to accept this interpretation, which is pretty widely accepted.

The day the music died

 

Use the song but replace the lyrics...

A long long time ago,
in a galaxy far away,
Naboo was under an attack.
i thought me and Qui-Gon Jinn
could talk the Federation in
to maybe cutting them a little slack.
But their response it didnt thrill us,
they locked the doors and tried to kill us.
But we escaped from that gas,
met Jar-Jar and Boss Nass.
We took a Bongo from the scene
and we went to Theed to see the Queen,
And we all wound up on Ta-too-ine
Thats where, we found, this boy...

We were singing,

My, my this here anakin guy
maybe Vader some day later now he's Just a small Fry,
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi,"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jediiiiii....."

Did you know this junkyard slave
isnt even old enought to shave
but he can use the force they say
Ahh do you see him hitting on the Queen
though hes just nine and she's fourteen
Yeah, hes probably gonna marry her some day...
well i know he build C-3PO
and ive heard how fast his pod can go
And we were broke its true
So we made a wager or two....
He was a prepubescent flyin ace
and the minute Jabba started off that race,
well i knew would would win first place,
Oh yes, it was our boy

We started singin...
My, my this here anakin guy
maybe Vader some day later now he's Just a small Fry,
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi,"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jediiiiii....."

Now we finally got to Coruscant
the Jedi Council we knew would want
to see how good the boy could be
So we took him there and we told the tale
How his midi-clorians were off the scale
And he might fulfill that prophecy
Oh the council was impressed, of course
Could he bring balance to the Force?
They interviewed the kind
Oh training they forbid.
Because Yoda sensed in him much fear,
And Qui-Gon said, "Now listen here
Just stick it in yur pointy ear
I still will train this boy

He was singin'
My, my this here anakin guy
maybe Vader some day later now he's Just a small Fry,
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi,"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jediiiiii....."

We caught a ride back to Naboo
'Cause Queen Amidala wanted to
i frankly would've liked to say
We all fought in that epic war
And it wasnt long at all before
Little Hotshot flew his plane and saved the day
And in the end some Gungans died
Some ships blew up and some pilots fried
A lot of folks were croakin'
The battle droids were broken
And the Jedi I admired most
Met up with Darth Maul and now he's toast
Well, Im still here and he's a ghost
i guess, ill train, this boy.

And i was singin'....
My, my this here anakin guy
maybe Vader some day later now he's Just a small Fry,
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi,"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jediiiiii....."
We were singin'....
My, my this here anakin guy
maybe Vader some day later now he's Just a small Fry,
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi,"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jediiiiii....."

Star Wars and Wierd Al- a deadly combo.

 

Weird Al sucks

 

Someone is being really evil tonite

 

I think some of us have too much time on our hands. LOL!

I think Al's spiff on American pie was ok.

 

I think Obi_Wannabe is right. I remember my dad talking about a plane crash and some singers and how the song related to them.

 

I saw a VH1 special where he (Don McLean) discussed that song & its meaning. Its the plane crash. Interesting answer from JGoC though.
i watched behind enemy lines last night & theres a line about how the pilots should quit the navy & go fly jets for rock stars.
"thats what those guys need!, i could have kept Richie Valens from being a one hit wonder! "
for all you historians- it was Buddy Holly, Richie Valens & the Big Bopper- right ? Im sure about buddy & richie-- & also-- who "lost" the coin toss with richie for the seat. im drawing a blank & im not gonna go rent LaBamba again.

 

Waylon Jennings lost the coin toss, he used to be in Buddy Holly's band, just another good ole boy from Lubbock, TX.

JP ?? (can't remember his last name) a DJ who became famous for his rendition of Chantilly Lace, aka The Big Bopper, was the other other guy who died in that crash.

 

JGOC You have it confussed with EMINEM songs. but I must say I do understand your oppinions on either going down with the ship or watching it go down. if you steep back and look at the whole of it america is in sad shape and everything that it once was is no longer.

 

JP Richardson---The Big Bopper

 

Thank you, I knew it ended in -son, but I could not get it out of my head. But, hey, I got the rest of it.

 

thank YOU for confirming Waylon Jennings. 2 guys here at work told me i was nuts. "dude, hes a country guy!" yeah, thats relevant.
I thought it was him- my wife told me she read that he was haunted by that coin toss his whole life. I remembered cause he just died recently & we talked about it then.

 

Waylon Jennings was anything but a Country Guy. He was part of that whole Outlaw Movement in the early to middle seventies. I have most of his albums from that time period and a few of the other outlaws (including his wife Jessie Colter). Think of Pure Praire League and the Allman Brothers put into a blender and that was his music. The man was an amazing guitarist before he became a victim of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but he was still better than most of the people I hear today, after 4 surgeries and wearing wrist braces.

Sorry, I hate hearing people throwing off the comment, "just a country artist." Like that is reason to discount their ability. Was Chet Atkins, just a country artist, or Les Paul, or Carl Perkins, or Brenda Lee. HE!! NO!

And yes he did have a lot of problems w/ what happened w/ that coin toss. It was one of the main reasons he began a drinking/drug career. He was related to either Buddy Holly or one of the guys in the original Crickets that he replaced (I can't remember off hand). I need to read that autobiography he did a few years ago. I'm just glad I had the opportunity to meet him and see him perform a number of years ago. He was a really gracious man, and such an amazing talent, even if a tortured soul.

 

When the old TV special(I forget what company did it)was done about that plane crash, the song that finished the piece was American Pie.

I think the song that best captures the demise of the American way of life is the song that has "Gorilla Radio" in it......is that the title?!

 

if your talking about a realy angry rock song that would be corect and its sung by rage against the machine.