There’s also an additional interpretation. The “ten years” McLean describes are the day the music died (Feb. Indeed, the bookends of the song are Holly and The Stones. Yes, Buddy Holly sang “Well you know, a rolling stone, don’t gather no moss” in his hit “Early in the Morning” but this is also clearly a reference to The Rolling Stones. The next verse begins McLean’s great decent into veiled meanings, and much debated lyrics… The bottom line: we were young, we were pure… then the music died, and so did our innocence.
There’s mention of sock hops and perhaps a reference to the Marty Robbins song “A White Sport Coat (with a Pink Carnation)”. McLean continues to evoke the good ol’ days with references to “The Book of Love” by the Monotones, and even a Don Cornell hit, “The Bible Tells Me So”.
Well, I know that you’re in love with him
#EVERYDAY THINGS ARE GETTING CLOSER SONG HOW TO#
when the levee was dry), McLean and his friends would drive across the river and scout for places to drink and have fun in Rye, NY.Īnd can you teach me how to dance real slow Sometimes, when The Levee would close (i.e. Don McLean grew up in New York, and he would listen to music and party at “The Levee” in New Rochelle, NY. McLean conveys sadness at the loss of American innocence (a farewell to the all-american apple pie) with imagery of the a 1950s farewell party. It is thanks to McLean that this sad day is known as “the day the music died”.Īnd them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye McLean conveys the feeling he had as a paperboy and seeing the news on the headlines. McLean’s sentimental disillusionment aside, it was an objectively bad day for rock/pop music now that these three were gone, who was left? Elvis had been drafted, Chuck Berry was in hot water over a prostitute, and Little Richard had changed his tune, getting away from rock music. On February 3, 1959, a plane crash took the lives of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Richie Valenz. “I still remember this light going off in my head as I was sitting up in my little room writing my songs and thinking about Buddy Holly and just how sad that was and how much I loved that guy, and how much I loved his music and how much I felt for him… I started to write this ‘A long, long time ago’ about how it felt when I was a paperboy and I opened up these papers… and this whole fantasy came out and the song was written” In an interview with BBC Radio 2 (November 4th, 1993) he commented: I can still remember how that music used to make me smileĭon McLean reflects back on the days of innocence. But let’s take a stab at it line by line…
The song has been endlessly analyzed it’s intentionally ambiguous and the meanings are still up for debate. Don McLean captured this loss of innocence perfectly in “American Pie”. From sock hops to Manson, Hell’s Angels and the Stones…. You can’t help but look at those intervening years with astonishment at how times had changed. Ten years after the plane crash which killed Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens, the Rolling Stones performed at the Altamont Speedway.
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