[Boogieman]

I know when one interviewer asked him about the meaning of “American Pie” he said: “It means I never have to work again.”

[elcid1970]

I had heard that the levee in the song referred to the levee where civil rights workers Goodman, Cheney, & Schwerner were buried by the KKK.

`Them good old boys drinking whiskey and rye’ kind of cemented the imagery of the old South.

[JediJones]

Back in 1972, a radio DJ named Bob Dearborn did an in-depth analysis of the lyrics. He currently has his broadcast posted on his web site here. The link to the mp3 is a couple screens down on the page:

http://user.pa.net/~ejjeff/pie.html

This is the direct link to the mp3 of the broadcast:

http://user.pa.net/~ejjeff/audio/bobpie.mp3

It’s a great listen if you like the song. This guy has a credible explanation for what everything in the song means short of one or two lines.