Don McLean--American Pie (1971)

     One of the first blogs I wrote was on this song (1/15/11) but it was little more then a video with a couple of sentences. With today being McLean's 66th birthday, it should get a better treatment....

     It was released when I was in 5th grade and woke up my musical awareness like no other song. At the time Buddy Holly was just a name, rye was a sort of bread, and had no clue what much of the song meant. Forty years later, my suspicions of the meaning(s) of the song are much stronger, even if McLean himself isn't talking, but it's sing along style even go beyond the attempts of people over the years to explain it all. 

     Just like a good poem, and like a good poet, "American Pie" and Don McLean give just enough to allow for the mind to take over and the imagination to soar in attempting to interpret. Many of his songs are like this however, McLean at his core is much more than a songwriter, he is a poet who has a very romantic view of things. Listen to this song's follow up, "Vincent", or, "And I Love You So" (a hit for Perry Como in 1973).