“Bad news on the doorstep I couldn’t take one more step I can’t remember if I cried.”īuddy Holly’s wife was pregnant at the time. He then talks about delivering newspapers on that dreadful February day after the plane crash and finding out the bad news.

He also discusses his career goal of being a well-known artist. McLean begins by recalling his boyhood, recalling moments when he would listen to artists such as Buddy Holly. “Maybe they’d be happy for a while” implies that this happiness may be fleeting, but it’s still worth pursuing. The following line, “And I knew if I had my chance, that I could make those people dance,” suggests that the narrator is a musician who wants to bring happiness to his audience through his music. The mention of music that used to make the narrator smile also reinforces this sense of nostalgia. The phrase “a long, long time ago” suggests that the events referred to happened significantly ago. The opening lines evoke a sense of nostalgia and longing for the past. “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.” The intro of “American Pie” sets the stage for the rest of the song. This article will delve deeper into “American Pie” lyrics and explore this iconic song’s various interpretations and hidden meanings. However, the lyrics of “American Pie” are open to multiple interpretations and have been analyzed and dissected by fans, critics, and scholars, leading to many theories and explanations. Richardson (The Big Bopper) in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, also known as “The Day the Music Died.” Many believe the song is a tribute to the tragic deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. However, the song’s meaning extends beyond simply reflecting on a particular era and touches on timeless and universal themes. The song’s cryptic lyrics have long fascinated fans and sparked endless debates about their meaning and symbolism.Īt its core, the song is a nostalgic reflection on the changing times of the 1960s and early 1970s and the loss of innocence that accompanied those changes. “American Pie” is a song written and performed by Don McLean in 1971, which quickly became a cultural phenomenon and one of the most celebrated works of American music.

American pie song lyrics