[Hildy]

I saw him live many years ago. He was interesting. Very good storyteller. Said that an old 50’s musician told him never to give up the rights to his songs. Because of that piece of advice he said he never had to work again because of American Pie. But I guess an extra million in the bank for some old pieces of paper doesn’t hurt!

[9thLife]

As usual, Wapo embellishes. Search FR for another perspective.

If it really was about Holly's death, I'd have to disagree that music died that day.

And I haven't heard anyone (in nearly 100 posts between this and the other thread) even comment on the obvious references to Altamont.

[livius]

Always liked that song - I had read before that it was about Buddy Holly (and a lot of other things). I liked what McLean said:

“There is no poetry and very little romance in anything anymore, so it is really like the last phase of ‘American Pie.’"

He was sure right on that one.

[1raider1]

The first time I heard “American Pie” on the radio, in 1971, it was a version in which all of the lyrics were explained by a narrator.

[Michael.SF.]

Rock and roll would never be the same.

More then just a little bit of hyperbole in that statement. Rock and Roll has survived a great many tragic deaths.

[USNBandit]

I had a coworker who owned his own airplane and we were talking about the concept of bad weather and general aviation. With a smile on his face he said everytime he punched in with his Lancair he would start singing “Peggy Sue.”

[Oliviaforever]

The lesson would be that you don’t let some guy named the Big Bopper get on your small plane.

[PapaNew]

Never liked the song even though I thought it was interestingly based on that famous plane crash.

On the other hand, I liked the movie, The Buddy Holly Story”, starring a relatively skinny Gary Busey.

[equaviator]

I was never a huge fan of “hidden meaning” songs.

[Maine Mariner]

Buddy Holly and company was flying to Hector Airport in Fargo, ND. They were scheduled to play at the National Guard Armory, in Moorhead, MN. After the accident, another singer and group filled in Bobby Vee and the Crickets.

In 1967, I went to a college dance at the Armory. The building has since been torn down.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Great song, great memorial.

[madison10]

Love the song, one of the few secular/pop songs on my tablet. Don’t care if there are hidden meanings or not, doesn’t matter.

[bravo whiskey]

I like CASTLES IN THE AIR too

[the OlLine Rebel]

“Bob Dylan talked to the counterculture in dense, cryptic, apocalyptic terms.”

And in really bad voice.

[cripplecreek]

he hoped he could make an appointment with a washing machine.

Kinda funny how that works. It all looks so glamorous and exciting when we're teenagers but the life of a rock star can be a real chore.

Just last night I was watching some backstage video from the Big 4 heavy metal festival a few years back. You have Dave Mustaine and Lars Ulrich of Megadeth and Metallica talking about their kids and chores they need to do at home. Meanwhile at a little folding table David Ellefson sewing a seam in his jeans.

Life goes on.

[the OlLine Rebel]

I could always see “AP” as a double meaning. Literally looking at Buddy Holly et all in the crash, and figuratively transposing it to a more general issue.

Glad he did, because he was right.

Glad he mentions how there is no more romance, not poetry. He is right. Didn’t know he was this perceptive.

[blueunicorn6]

It was originally titled American Donut, but that didn’t rhyme with “dry”.

The song is about one man’s struggle to be a pastry chef.

[yetidog]

As a painter, “Starry, Starry Night” was an inspiration. Of course I was only 22 then .....and still have not learned to paint.

[Romulus]

Am I the only one who thinks buddy holly is insipid and insanely overrated?

American Pie is a crap song that could only appeal to teenage morons — ofall ages.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Sometimes a song is just a song.