Go Green: The Day the Music Died

By Tom Last

Recently, I watched the documentary “The Day the Music Died” (Proffer, Spencer, June 2020, Paramount), in which Don McLean recounts the writing of the epic song “American Pie” and the circumstances that helped create this iconic masterpiece. Recorded and released in 1971, the song is partly biographical and influenced by the disheartening news of the events of the 1960s including – the War in Vietnam, the assassinations of President John Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Senator Bobby Kennedy, political upheaval, cultural changes, and the overall chaos of the 1960s.

When Don was young and living in New Rochelle, he was delivering newspapers and came across the headlines that Buddy Holly along with Richie Valens, and “The Big Bopper” died in a plane crash in Iowa, shortly after leaving a concert just a few miles away.  These memories were the initial inspiration for the song. The deaths of these three talented musicians were a traumatic loss for the younger generations and left the country grieving with thoughts of what might have been had they not perished on that cold night in February.

Throughout the documentary, Don McLean debunks some (but not all) of the confusion around the symbolism of his lyrics. For example, when mentioning the “king,” many people assume he was talking about Elvis. He informs us that he was not referring to Elvis, but he says, “Elvis did not have a thorny crown” and that the “jester” was not intended to be Bob Dylan. “The Sacred Store” refers to one of his favorite places, the House of Music, on Main Street, in New Rochelle, where Don would visit to buy his records. “Pink Carnations and a Pickup Truck” refers to the many proms he attended but he never did own a pickup truck. “The marching band refused to yield” represents the people trying to push back against the military machine that was supporting the war in Vietnam.

When visiting Saratoga Springs, in upstate NY, I enjoyed dropping in at a bar called the Tin and Lint, which has a plaque inside that claims Don wrote the lyrics to his song there. Don settles the score that he did not write the song in Saratoga Springs, but rather he penned the lyrics in his hotel room, in Cold Spring, NY (with no heat) and completed it in Philadelphia. Shortly afterwards, he performed “American Pie” at Saint Joseph’s University for the first time and not at Temple University.

Lately, there has been bad news delivered to our doorsteps with wars continuing in the Ukraine and the Middle East, unexpected mass layoffs of our federal workers, downsizing of our green energy plans, attacks on our constitution, violent storms with high fatalities in the Tornado Alley, forest fires on the east coast, and much more. History sure does seem to repeat itself.

“American Pie” is a song that reflects the loss of innocence, the late 1950s giving way to the maelstrom of the 1960s.  Don McLean wanted to write a song about America that would help galvanize the country. It was a cry for nostalgia, the memories of great music and better times ahead. I highly recommend that you watch “The Day the Music Died” to learn more about the song, the writer, and our country. And the next time you hear “American Pie” playing, then do not hesitate to join the chorus with your friends, neighbors, and strangers, and hopefully that would make for some happy news.

For questions and comments, reach out to Tom Last at: thomaslast100@gmail.com