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Don McLean - American Pie | FIRST TIME REACTION

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Bisscute

Bisscute

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 647
@ericilsen864
@ericilsen864 21 күн бұрын
The "Day the music died" refers to February 3, 1959 when a plane carrying Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Richie Valens were killed in a plane crash.
@geraldarsenault275
@geraldarsenault275 21 күн бұрын
The name of plane was actually called "American Pie"; i.e before the crash
@socalpaul487
@socalpaul487 21 күн бұрын
@@geraldarsenault275 "A popular misconception, originating from Don McLean's song about the crash, was that the plane was called American Pie; no record exists of any name ever having been given to N3794N."
@MarkJones-w9d
@MarkJones-w9d 21 күн бұрын
I'd love to eat me some American pie 🥧 😋 😜 😏
@mmm-mmm
@mmm-mmm 21 күн бұрын
the father, son, and the holy ghost...
@caphowdy666
@caphowdy666 21 күн бұрын
@@geraldarsenault275 sadly an urban myth
@eric_day84
@eric_day84 21 күн бұрын
Don McLean has stated in an interview that the main meaning of the song is the loss of innocence, which for him started with the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper on February 3rd of 1959, and how that carried over into the 1960s with all the assassinations, the Vietnam War, the shift in music, along with everything else that was going on. At the beginning of the song when he sings about delivering papers in February as a kid and reading about his widowed bride, he was talking about learning about Buddy Holly's death and how that news affected him so deeply and how that was the moment he lost his innocence. One of Buddy's biggest hits was a song called 'That'll Be the Day', where the chorus is literally "That'll be the day, when I die". American Pie is peppered with references of the 1960s, whether it's politics, music, sports and so on, intertwined with experiences with his own life. Pretty much, the whole timeline of the song is Feb. 3, 1959, to when he finished writing the song in either 1970 or 1971. I believe it was released in '71, but he could have finished it any time before that. One of the greatest things about the song is how many theories there are about the actual meaning of it since it was released and some of them are wild lol and it's definitely worth looking into. I remember listening to the Bob and Tom Show on the radio many years ago at work on my lunch break and they were literally breaking down the song line by line and discussing what they thought it meant, and it was great. Don McLean has said that he never intends to say what he personally wrote the song about, and I think that's great because it'll keep the mystery of the song going forever.
@ecbenson98
@ecbenson98 21 күн бұрын
Great job explaining the song and the conversations it's generated
@Jeff_Lichtman
@Jeff_Lichtman 20 күн бұрын
Great explanation. Thanks!
@Joskemom
@Joskemom 20 күн бұрын
I dont even think of reading comments that large, but I read the whole thing because I heard the song and never really listened to it. I was born in 1959 and one would think I would know some of the stuff behind the song but from my Black community where I lived, we did not play it much.
@gregleblanc9357
@gregleblanc9357 20 күн бұрын
Thanks for saving me the trouble of explaining, although I think you did a better job than I could have. But yes. That was a Very emotional day for a LOT of people and it is still really sad to think about,
@sjddds
@sjddds 20 күн бұрын
They died three months before I was born
@DrStrangelove3891
@DrStrangelove3891 21 күн бұрын
The King is Elvis, the Jester is Bob Dylan, the quartet is The Beatles. The girl who sang the blues is Janis Joplin. Others have already explained the plane crash with Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper. Other references are Helter Skelter (Beatles song, but also linked with Charles Manson), Eight Miles High by The Byrds, and Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones. He also references the person who got stabbed by a Hell's Angel during a Rolling Stone concert. The 3 men that took the last train to the coast are John F Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, who all got murdered in the 60s.
@RealDiehl99
@RealDiehl99 21 күн бұрын
I'm glad you took the time to provide a translation. I've been at a total loss (for several decades) as to what a lot of the lyrics meant and/or who they were about. Thanks!
@thomastimlin1724
@thomastimlin1724 21 күн бұрын
Great job. Also in addition to the Quartet that practiced in the Park, Sargeants played a marching tune, the marching band refused to yield, is all the Beatles. Sargeants refers to the Beatles album Sargeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. Helter Skelter is a Beatles song. And Dr. Strangelove is Peter Sellers lol. The song references in this go way over young people's heads a lot. Lost in Space, a poplular sci fi tv show 1965-68, references the 1960's space program.
@jamesprescottreal
@jamesprescottreal 21 күн бұрын
Excellent interpretation. I agree with most of that. I think the Marching Band is also the Beatles. Lenin/Lennon was referring to supposed Marxist ideology Lennon sang about. "Imagine no possessions.". The church bells all were broken is "God is Dead" from Nietzsche and Time magazine and the decline of religion in the 60's. Jester on the sideline in a cast because Dylan broke his leg in a motorcycle accident and was sidelined from music for a time. "I met a girl who sang the blues" is Janis Joplin. I wasn't even born but it's a wonderful song. My 16 year old daughter loves this song and understands the history, as she also loves the music from Buddy Holly, Beatles, Stones, Dylan, to now. We're also musicians so the poetic beauty of the song is admired by us. I didn't realize the 3 men I admire most were the Kennedy's and Martin Luther King. Great men all assassinated. It makes sense. I thought American Pie was about the loss of the relative innocence of the 50's and 60's. Really amazing song.
@kurtsaxton823
@kurtsaxton823 21 күн бұрын
Very nicely explained.
@caphowdy666
@caphowdy666 21 күн бұрын
@@jamesprescottreal Doubt Imagine inspired anything in this song seeing as both songs were released in Oct 1971.
@havok6280
@havok6280 21 күн бұрын
On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. The event became known as "The Day the Music Died" after singer-songwriter Don McLean referred to it as such in his 1971 song "American Pie".
@The_Dudester
@The_Dudester 21 күн бұрын
Madalina, if you see this, imagine if a plane carrying Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish crashed. That's how devastating that this plane crash was.
@Stogie2112
@Stogie2112 21 күн бұрын
The song was indeed about that plane crash, but it was also about the 60's in general. Many references to important people of that time, like Bob Dylan, the Kennedys, Elvis, et al.
@dennisquinn8558
@dennisquinn8558 20 күн бұрын
The choruses in Buddy Holly's song "That'll Be The Day" each end: "'Cause that'll be the day When I die". While the haunting choruses in song "American Pie" each repeat: "Singing this'll be the day that I die".
@miker252
@miker252 21 күн бұрын
Vincent is another example of Don McLean's beautiful poetry.
@bartlebyscrivener2980
@bartlebyscrivener2980 21 күн бұрын
I've always thought the obscure "Bronco Bill's Lament" to be one of McLean's very best songs, but you never see it getting any love. I just commented to that effect on its youtube kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6HbYaxpicRnqMk
@robinhosleftfoot
@robinhosleftfoot 20 күн бұрын
And I Love You So and Empty Chairs also
@ralphwillis1126
@ralphwillis1126 18 күн бұрын
For sure.
@sydneycarton9973
@sydneycarton9973 18 күн бұрын
That Bisscute didn’t know the back story but picked up on the deeper meanings and cloaked references shows great insight
@terje4392
@terje4392 21 күн бұрын
Now time for Don McLeans saddest and prettiest song, "Vincent" about the painter Van Gogh
@rastarn
@rastarn 21 күн бұрын
Great song. A personal fave off Tapestry is, "Three Flights Up". Magnificent song.
@mikemiller3069
@mikemiller3069 21 күн бұрын
I love "Vincent" and just played/sang it at a benefit for Toys For Tots last Sunday.
@jonathanross149
@jonathanross149 21 күн бұрын
Very sad song
@NBizn
@NBizn 20 күн бұрын
Also one of Tupac’s favorite songs, which he listened to while on his deathbed.
@saxonrains
@saxonrains 20 күн бұрын
Empty Chairs?
@havok6280
@havok6280 21 күн бұрын
Helter Skelter is a Beatles song. The song gained notoriety when Charles Manson infamously interpreted it as a call to violence, using it to justify his actions in the late 1960s. Manson believed the song was a prophecy of an impending apocalyptic race war, which is a misinterpretation of McCartney's original intent.
@DrStrangelove3891
@DrStrangelove3891 21 күн бұрын
I always found Manson's interpretation very weird. Helter Skelter is obviously about having sex in multiple positions.
@j.woodbury412
@j.woodbury412 21 күн бұрын
McCartney wrote the song to let critics know he could write more than "silly love songs".
@thomastimlin1724
@thomastimlin1724 21 күн бұрын
@@DrStrangelove3891 McCartney has stated it's a carnival slide kids used to ride down aga fair when he was a kid. Who knows if he's covoering up somthing else bu that's what he said in general.
@thomastimlin1724
@thomastimlin1724 21 күн бұрын
@@j.woodbury412 it wa shis anser to the Who criticizing them for not being "Able" to play hard rock music, [total bunk]. And Lennon Wrote Yer Blues and revolution blowing the Who's criticism out of the water.The Beatles were about variety and they needed not apologize to anyone for it. 1.6 billion in sales can't be wrong.
@j.woodbury412
@j.woodbury412 20 күн бұрын
@@thomastimlin1724 True
@dougbrowning82
@dougbrowning82 21 күн бұрын
Don Mclean is an amazing poet, songwriter, and guitarist. He is now 79. The song "Killing Me Softly With His Song" is about him.
@bandmaidfanATL
@bandmaidfanATL 21 күн бұрын
That might be my favorite reaction of yours for me. This was my late mother's favorite song, and seeing your first time reaction to it warms my heart. Happy holidays, Biss.
@normlee6566
@normlee6566 21 күн бұрын
I believe the lyrics should have read, "Lennon," not "Lenin." It refers to John Lennon as it immediately referred to "the quartet," which represents the Beatles. The song has a ton of music and political references (at least prior to 1971 when this song was released). The references can be subtle, as the line: "Eight miles high and falling fast" refers to the song, "Eight Miles High" by the band, The Byrds. That song was released in 1966 and was controversial at the time because some believed the lyrics alluded to drug use, which got it banned by some radio stations. But in the broader sense, American Pie used it as another example of the decline of innocence and the turbulent changes happening in American society and the music industry ("...and falling fast."). So, there is a lot to unpack regarding all the references this song makes.
@mlhesler68
@mlhesler68 21 күн бұрын
Like Byrds and not birds.
@DougRayPhillips
@DougRayPhillips 21 күн бұрын
This is a long time ago. Released May 1971. At the end of that year, it was still all over the radio. When I took a ferry across Lake Michigan in Dec 1971 to go propose to my college girlfriend, they were playing it on the boat. We've now been married for 52 and a half years, and I've been retired for 10 years. McLean is still performing. In 2021 he did a 50th anniversary tribute version KZbin vid of this song, with Home Free.
@sydneycarton9973
@sydneycarton9973 20 күн бұрын
Long time indeed. I was 8 when it came out and I have a memory of listening to it on the radio when it was new. It was one of the first 20 songs I added when I went with iTunes on my phone.
@JayCross
@JayCross 21 күн бұрын
The song is about several times when sad or upsetting things happened with popular music, including the Buddy Holly plane crash, but also Janis Joplin's over-dose, The Rolling Stones' riot in Altamont, and lots of other moments.
@harrytrevenen2310
@harrytrevenen2310 21 күн бұрын
Biss, with you not knowing a lot of the history in this song, you did a great job interpreting it's meaning.
@jamesprescottreal
@jamesprescottreal 21 күн бұрын
She's obviously very intelligent.
@jameswiglesworth5004
@jameswiglesworth5004 21 күн бұрын
Seemed to me the meaning went right over her head.
@mikemaricle9941
@mikemaricle9941 20 күн бұрын
Even getting "The motorcycle club.", head of nail hit.
@KenMinor-ek1xs
@KenMinor-ek1xs 17 күн бұрын
For knowing nothing you sure hit the nail on the head
@harrytrevenen2310
@harrytrevenen2310 17 күн бұрын
You couldn't think of their name, but I was surprised you knew of "Hell's Angels". :)
@billboyd9028
@billboyd9028 21 күн бұрын
The part that said "... I know that you're in love with him because I saw you dancing in the gym; you both kicked off your shoes...." is a reference to the old fashioned "sock hops" that were popular at a time when school dances were often held in their school gyms and everyone had to take their shoes off so they didn't ruin the gym floor/basketball court.... Everyone else has covered most of the metaphors you heard, so I just wanted to throw this explanation in.....
@netrider5
@netrider5 21 күн бұрын
One of the singers that died in the crash was Richie Valens. If possible you can react to the movie or song that made him famous named La Bamba
@The_Dudester
@The_Dudester 21 күн бұрын
Don't forget "The Buddy Holly Story."
@mauricegford16497
@mauricegford16497 20 күн бұрын
@@The_Dudester @netrider5 Yes, both please!!!
@Stogie2112
@Stogie2112 21 күн бұрын
"American Pie" has so many references to bands and famous people from the 1960's that one has to do a LOT of research just to know them all! The Beatles, the Byrds, ELVIS, Bob Dylan, President John F. Kennedy,...... this song is DEEP, and the poetry is GREAT.
@mikemiller3069
@mikemiller3069 21 күн бұрын
The main line in the chorus of Buddy Holly's song, "That'll Be The Day", is "that'll be the day, that I die". Don McLean rewrote that to the line, "This will be the day that I die".
@MikeytheGeek7711
@MikeytheGeek7711 20 күн бұрын
And Buddy Holly got that line from John Wayne's character who said it several times in the movie, The Searchers.
@kinokind293
@kinokind293 20 күн бұрын
There, as observed, are so many metaphors and cryptic references that the song would be impossible to understand without knowledge of America and American music at the time. I understand the references so much better now than when I was a kid and the song was new. No one understood it then and it was seldom played on the radio since it was so long. Don McLean explained some of it, but in later years he admitted to not knowing what parts of it meant either. It's one of those atypical songs that has a happy, upbeat, sound with a dark lyric beneath. As others have said, it references the plane crash, Janis Joplin, McLean's hatred of Mick Jagger, his love of rock-n-roll, and so on. I still get chills whenever I hear it.
@bloodybutunbowed291
@bloodybutunbowed291 20 күн бұрын
Did a paper in my creative writing class about this song... 1. ‘Drove My Chevy To The Levee But The Levee Was Dry’ There was an advertisement for Chevrolet sang in 1953 by Dinah Shore who was a top-charting female vocalist of the 40s and 50s. The fact it was now dry refers to the change in the social climate in the 60s compared to the 50s. 2. ‘Singin' This'll Be The Day' - in the chorus Likely refers to Buddy Holly's song "That'll Be the Day." 3. ‘But February Made Me Shiver’ Of course refers to the deaths of Buddy Holly, along with singers the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, and pilot Roger Peterson, perished in a plane incident February 3, 1959. Their small aircraft went down on a snowy late night after a concert in Clear Lake, IA. (Made me shiver - plane crashed in a blizzaed_ 4. ‘With Every Paper I'd Deliver / Bad News On The Doorstep / I Couldn't Take One More Step’ McLean worked as a newspaper delivery boy. And on February 3, 1959, the "bad news" was Buddy Holly's demise, on the cover of every paper that he delivered. 5. ‘When I Read About His Widowed Bride’ Buddy Holly was married to his young wife, Maria Elena Santiago-Holly, for only six months when he perished.His widowed, pregnant new bride was so traumatized by the news of his demise that she had a miscarriage. 6. ‘The Day The Music Died’ Since there was the loss of all three rock musicians in the same incident was seen as a tragedy, and in McLean's mind, marked the end of a musical era that would never be reclaimed. 7. ‘Did You Write The Book Of Love?’ "The Book of Love" is a famous song by The Monotones, a group from Newark, NJ. The song was released in 1958, topping pop and R&B charts. It must have left an impression on young McLean. As the lyrics to the song go: "I wonder, wonder who, mmbadoo-ooh, who...Who wrote the book of love" 8. ‘If The Bible Tells You So?’ "The Bible Tells Me So" was written by Dale Evans in 1955 and recorded by a handful of singers the same year. It was a pop(ish) version of the of the Sunday school song "Jesus Loves Me" 9. ‘You Both Kicked Off Your Shoes’ Refers to sock hops. Teenage dance parties in the '40s and '50s that involved playing popular music in gymnasiums or community halls. Kids were told to take their shoes off to protect the varnish on gymnasiums and dance floors. 10. ‘With A Pink Carnation And A Pickup Truck’ In 1957, Marty Robbins released the heartbreak song "A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)" about a young man "all dressed up for the dance" and "all alone in romance." 11. ‘And Moss Grows Fat On A Rolling Stone’ A year after Bob Dylan released "Like a Rolling Stone" in 1965, he was involved in a motorcycle accident that made him lie low for a year or two at the height of his career. He had just transformed himself from a folk singer to an electric guitar-playing rock musician, which caused a lot of controversy within the American music scene. Some people believe McLean's intention was to highlight the evolution of music between the '50s and early '70s while also pushing the action of the song into the '60s. 12. ‘When The Jester Sang For The King And Queen’ Bob Dylan is the jester, Pete Seeger is the king, and Joan Baez is the queen. Bob Dylan opened for them at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963, where the three of them sang Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" together on stage. 13. ‘In A Coat He Borrowed From James Dean’ On the cover of his 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Dylan wears a red windbreaker similar to the one worn by James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause. 14. ‘And While The King Was Looking Down’ Reference to Pete Seeger looking down on the way Bob Dylan experimented with music in the 1960s. 15. ‘The Jester Stole His Thorny Crown’ Bob Dylan the jester became the king, taking the crown when he won hearts with his brand of folksy rock 'n' roll. Some people believe he took the crown from Elvis, the "King of Rock 'n' Roll." Others stick with Pete Seeger. 16. ‘The Courtroom Was Adjourned / No Verdict Was Returned’ Refering tothe JFK assination. After he was slain in 1963 , the man accused of the slaying, Lee Harvey Oswald, was himself slain. Therefore, "no verdict was returned" because no trial actually occurred. Also, the Warren Commission showed no real explanation to the event. 17. ‘And While Lennon Read A Book On Marx’ The popular theory is that he's singing about the Beatles becoming more political with their music as tensions soared in the '60s. The Beatles, adored by American youth, were deemed inappropriate by older generations who thought their music was too rowdy. Also, the Beatles released songs like "Revolution" in 1968, whose message is in line with the Communist writer Karl Marx, known for The Communist Manifesto.
@bloodybutunbowed291
@bloodybutunbowed291 20 күн бұрын
18. ’The Quartet Practiced In The Park’ The quartet is likely the Beatles: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. 19. ‘And We Sang Dirges In The Dark’ A dirge is a funereal song of mourning, and there a lot of funerals in the '60s: President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy among them. The line could also refer to the Vietnam conflict; many drafted service members sent overseas never made it back home. 20. ‘Helter Skelter In A Summer Swelter’ "Helter Skelter" is a song the Beatles released in 1968, a year of political and social turmoil in the United States. The next August, "in a summer swelter," followers of Charles Manson (who called for racial war he refered to as "Helter Skelter") brutally slayed five people, including the actress Sharon Tate. 21. ‘The Birds Flew Off From A Fallout Shelter’ Some fans speculate this is an reference to the '60s rock band The Byrds. A fallout shelter is a euphemism for a drug treatment center, which one of the band members checked into after being caught with illicit substances. 22. ‘Eight Miles High And Falling Fast’ Eight Miles High is the title of a 1966 album by The Byrds. It is considered one of the first real trippy records. The sound of the album was influenced by plenty of experimentation with acid. 23. ‘It Landed Foul On The Grass’ Referencing the counterculture's overt use of the weed. 24. ‘With The Jester On The Sidelines In A Cast’ In 1966, Bob Dylan (the Jester), was in a very bad motorcycle accident which had him laid up and in a cast. He didn't want to go to a hospital so he moved in with small town doctor, Doctor Ed Thaler and his family, staying in the third-floor bedroom of their home, until he healed. 25. ‘While Sergeants Played A Marching Tune’ The Beatles released their album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in 1967. It was an album where they changed their style making traditional "rock n roll". Experimenting with different soundscapes, introducing instruments such as brass horns and sitars. 26. ' 'Cause The Players Tried To Take The Field / The Marching Band Refused To Yield’ Talking about the protest movement that seemed to peak in the late '60s and early '70s, from Chicago protests at the Democratic National Convention to the one at Kent State in Ohio where the National Guard opened fire on a bunch of students. 27. ‘Oh, And There We Were, All In One Place’ Woodstock. The 1969 music festival in Bethel, NY, which brought together more than 400,000 people in one weekend. Many of the most well-known rock musicians of the time performed, including Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. The festival is viewed as the height of American hippie culture. 28. ‘Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick / Jack Flash Sat On A Candlestick’ A mashup of the "Jack Be Nimble" nursery rhyme and the 1969 song "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by the Rolling Stones released on their album "Live'r Than You'll Ever Be". The album sold poorly, so this could be read as an insult to the Stones for not coming up with a good comeback to the Beatles' album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". 29. ‘Cause Fire Is The Devil's Only Friend’ The Devil seen to be represented by the Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. The Rolling Stones music potraying rebellion and estrangement, and the pull away from a more innocent time perceived earlier in the '50s and early '60s music as well as the world in general. 30. ‘No Angel Born In Hell / Could Break That Satan's Spell’ "Angel" refering to the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, which started a riot at the 1969 Altamont Free Concert in California. They were hired to provide security during a performance by the Rolling Stones, and an 18-year-old Black man was stabbed by a member of the motorcycle group (some say for trying to pick up on a white girl). The events of the day are considered by some to be the day the "free love" movement ended. 31. ‘I Met A Girl Who Sang The Blues’ The "girl" could be Janis Joplin, the rock singer with a very bluesy voice who perished from taking illicit substances in 1970. Her hits "Piece of My Heart" and "Me and Bobby McGee" were considered anthems for the hippie generation. 32. 'I Went Down To The Sacred Store / Where I'd Heard The Music Years Before / But The Man There Said The Music Wouldn't Play’ Don McLean is possibly talking about the loss of interest in '50s music at record stores. When he released the song in 1971, perhaps he was suggesting no one cared about music from this bygone era anymore. 33. ‘And In The Streets The Children Screamed’ In recent years leading up to the song's creation, thousands of young people across the country were involved in various protest movements, which led to confrontations with law enforcement or other groups. 34. 'And The Three Men I Admire Most / The Father, Son, And The Holy Ghost' Since Don McLean was raised Catholic, bringing religion in at the end of the song makes sense. The sacred holy trinity he speaks of, however, catches "the last train for the coast," likely a sign McLean believes America lost its moral foundation in 1959, the year of Buddy Holly's plane crash.
@Nana_Reads
@Nana_Reads 19 күн бұрын
The Levee was a club in Rye, NY …. The lyric are actually them good old boys were drinking whiskey IN Rye , not Whiskey and Rye
@vidpie
@vidpie 15 күн бұрын
@@Nana_Reads Westchester magazine, 2017: Though McLean, who will be performing at the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater in Peekskill on September 15, has always adamantly refused to discuss the meaning of American Pie’s lyrics, we sensed a little crack in the levee when we caught up with him recently. (Or perhaps it was just a nostalgic soft spot for his hometown?) There’s this urban, or suburban, legend that “the levee” referenced in “American Pie” was actually a club in New Rochelle. Is that true? McLean: No, no. That’s not true. Some people say that The Levee was the Beechmont Bar [Tavern] on North Avenue, which was near Iona College. I graduated from Iona College in 1968 and moved out of New Rochelle at that time, so I wasn’t frequenting those bars. So no, not true. There’s another rumor that the line about drinking “whiskey and rye” was actually “whiskey in Rye.” How about that? McLean: No. [Laughs] Nope! That’s not true either. So how did you become a musician? McLean: Well, I started singing, like a lot of kids do. And my sister, who was 15 years older than I was, got me some lessons at an opera singer’s apartment on Franklin Avenue in New Rochelle. Her name was Mrs. Wagner. Any other local musical influences? McLean: There was the House of Music in New Rochelle, run by a lady named Mrs. Cohen. Her assistant, Henry, who also went to Iona and became my good friend, sold records and was the guy that I’d go to after school and talk to about record companies, groups, and anything musical. Is that the “sacred store” reference? McLean: You know, I tried to make the song as poetic as I’m capable of, and therefore I want the imagery to be elusive, vaguely recognizable. In other words, if I’m specific, I lose that effect.
@MRMR-MRMR-MRMR
@MRMR-MRMR-MRMR 14 күн бұрын
Holy crap!
@Nana_Reads
@Nana_Reads 13 күн бұрын
@ Thanks for the info!
@skyshorrchannel3474
@skyshorrchannel3474 21 күн бұрын
An amazing poem about the history of Rock and Roll from 59 to 69... It's all there!! And very accurate.
@metoo7557
@metoo7557 20 күн бұрын
This song is full of metaphors, and eluding to history if you read and can understand the lyrics. There are already quite a few people who have elaborated it before I got to it for you. Just read the popular comments and you'll get a better sense of the meanings in this song. This song is an anthem :)
@CEngelbrecht
@CEngelbrecht 20 күн бұрын
*"The day the music died"* is a nickname for February 3, 1959, when a small passenger plane carrying early rock n' roll icons Buddy Holly (age 22), The Big Bopper (28) and Richie Valens (17) crashed in a snowstorm in Iowa and killed all four onboard including the pilot Roger Peterson, age 21. 12 years later Don McLean composed this musical poem, summarizing a decade of rock n' roll that by 1971 had long lost its innocence. He had seen many fantastic artists die from substance abuse and concerts turn into riots. The lyrics have countless brilliant metaphors to this tragic side of rock. *Examples:* ♪ *_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_* ♪ Late 1950s rock served as positive dance music for youth events. This was the music a teenaged McLean dreamt of composing and performing. ♪ *_But February made me shiver_* ♪ ♪ *_With every paper I'd deliver_* ♪ Besides trying to make it as a singer-songwriter, McLean was a paperboy, where he was shocked one morning by a headline relaying the deaths of the three rock musicians. ♪ *_I can't remember if I cried_* ♪ ♪ *_When I read about his widowed bride_* ♪ Buddy Holly had recently married, and his bride María was pregnant when he was killed, after which she had a miscarriage. ♪ *_Bye bye Miss American Pie_* ♪ "As American as American pie" is an old saying, so maybe McLean is waiving goodbye to the American Dream™. ♪ *_Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry_* ♪ Possibly McLean remembering when kids drove their first cars out to an actual levee to hang out, this innocence now long gone. ♪ *_Them good ol' boys were drinkin whiskey and rye_* ♪ Maybe referencing his parents' generation going to "gin joints" to watch the "Rat Pack" type perform Swing era music, by now looking hopelessly outdated compared to this new rock. ♪ *_Singing 'This'll be the day that I die'_* ♪ In one of Buddy Holly's hits, he sang "That'll be the day... that I die". ♪ *_And moss grows fat on a rolling stone_* ♪ The "rolling stone" could be Bob Dylan, "Like a Rolling Stone" from 1965 was his first smash hit. Dylan didn't tour from '66 to '74 (raking in the royalties?), a significant change from an earlier, angrier Dylan with something to say about America's BS. Could also refer wider rock's musical stagnation and business changes in the 1960s, where some began to earn big bucks. ♪ *_When the jester sang for the King and Queen_* ♪ The jester is likely Bob Dylan. Some think that "king and queen" references Elvis Presley, this "the king of rock n' roll", with the queen being Little Richard (famously que3r back when that was _really_ unfashionable!), and maybe Dylan now took their place in rock. ♪ *_In a coat he borrowed from James Dean_* ♪ In the movie "Rebel Without a Cause", James Dean had sported a red windbreaker, which Bob Dylan copied on the cover of "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" album. Dylan also played a command performance before Queen Elizabeth, with Dylan not being "properly attired". ♪ *_And a voice that came from you and me_* ♪ Bob Dylan's roots are in American folk music, hence "from you and me". ♪ *_Oh, and while the King was looking down_* ♪ ♪ *_The jester stole his thorny crown_* ♪ Could reference Elvis' decline in musical importance and Dylan's ascendance. "Thorny crown" might reference the price of fame. ♪ *_And while Lennon read a book on Marx_* ♪ Literally John Lennon reading about Karl Marx before the world press; figuratively, the introduction of radical politics into The Beatles’ music as the 60s went on. ♪ *_The quartet practiced in the park_* ♪ Perhaps The Beatles performing in Shea Stadium in '65, where all the hysterical screaming from female fans meant no one could hear the actual music. This one concert signaled the end of The Beatles doing live tours until they broke up in 1970. ♪ *_And we sang dirges in the dark_* ♪ A "dirge" is a funeral or mourning song, maybe referencing the first line in Simon & Garfunkel’s "Sound of Silence", some of the new "art rock" which played long pieces not meant for dancing at all. ♪ *_Helter Skelter in a summer swelter_* ♪ "Helter Skelter" is from The Beatles' "white album". Notorious cult leader Charles Manson claimed to have been "inspired" by this song and having both God and the devil speak through him when his deranged followers committed the gruesome Tate-LaBianca murders in '69. "Summer swelter" maybe references "the Summer of Love" of 1968. ♪ *_The birds flew off with the fallout shelter_* ♪ ♪ *_Eight miles high and falling fast_* ♪ ♪ *_It landed foul on the grass_* ♪ The Byrd's "Eight Miles High" was on their '66 release "Fifth Dimension", one of the first records to be widely banned because of, supposedly, drug-oriented lyrics. (Okay, one of The Byrds _was_ busted for possession of marijuana.) ♪ *_The players tried for a forward pass_* ♪ Could be about the band The Rolling Stones waiting for an opening which came when The Beatles stopped touring live and later split up. ♪ *_With the jester on the sidelines in a cast_* ♪ In 1966 Dylan crashed on a motorcycle and spent nine months recuperating. ♪ *_Now the halftime air was sweet perfume_* ♪ Drugs, maaan! Permeating all concerts now, McLean clearly not liking it. ♪ *_While sergeants played a marching tune_* ♪ Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album from '67 defined a decade of rock. Maybe McLean refers to The Beatles' music as "marching" because it's no longer for dancing. "Marching tune" could also refer to the draft for the Vietnam War, where American youth went to die in a geopolitical war none of them understood. ♪ *_We all got up to dance_* ♪ ♪ *_Oh, but we never got the chance_* ♪ The Beatles' 1966 Candlestick Park concert only lasted 35 minutes. Where was the dance music of McLean's youth? *[Post 1 of 2 for character limitations]*
@CEngelbrecht
@CEngelbrecht 20 күн бұрын
*[Post 2 of 2. I really struggle to limit myself here.]* ♪ *_'Cause the players tried to take the field_* ♪ ♪ *_The marching band refused to yield_* ♪ This could reference the towering dominance of The Beatles in rock. The Beach Boys released "Pet Sounds" in '66, which sold poorly because The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper” drowned out all else. Some has also suggested these lines refer to the Kent State college protests in 1970, where students striking against the Vietnam War and the draft were shot at by "the Establishment’s” National Guard, killing four kids. ♪ *_And there we were all in one place_* ♪ Woodstock free concert 1968, the peak of Flower Power. ♪ *_A generation lost in space_* ♪ Perhaps about "hippies", sometimes called the "lost generation" from acute alienation from their parents and partially from preoccupation with drugs. ♪ *_With no time left to start again_* ♪ The "lost generation" wasting their lives, their preference for psychedelia pushing rock irreparably away from Holly's music. ♪ *_So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick_* ♪ ♪ *_Jack Flash sat on a candlestick_* ♪ ♪ *_'Cause fire is the devil's only friend_* ♪ Likely about Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" released in '68. Or possibly about "Jack" Kennedy, Nikita Khruschev and the Cuban Missile Crisis in '61, candlesticks/fire meaning ICBMs and nuclear war. ♪ *_And as I watched him on the stage_* ♪ ♪ *_My hands were clenched in fists of rage_* ♪ ♪ *_No angel born in hell_* ♪ ♪ *_Could break that satan's spell_* ♪ Probably the most powerful lines of the song. Altamont Speedway in 1969 is a notorious free concert and Mick Jagger's attempted follow-up to Woodstock (maybe the biggest "bad gig" in all of rock). The Stones had appointed members of the Hell's Angels to work security (!) for free. Hell's Angels, who Mick Jagger likely didn’t know was a criminal biker gang, decided to sell crystal meth (wot?) to the crowd before and during the day-long concert. The kids' drug of choice at Woodstock had been marijuana which turns you mellow, while meth turns you aggressive, and the concert was one long riot. While The Stones played, a young black man near the stage appeared to try and aim a gun at Mick Jagger performing, but he was beaten and... stabbed to death by one of the Angels bikers. ♪ *_And as the flames climbed high into the night_* ♪ ♪ *_To light the sacrificial rite_* ♪ ♪ *_I saw satan laughing with delight_* ♪ ♪ *_The day the music died_* ♪ Maybe just finishing off the lament of Altamont going horribly awry, sparking the death of Flower Power. Or maybe referencing Jimi Hendrix burning his Stratocaster on stage at Monterey in '67. Hendrix is famously a member of "27 Club", in that he died at age 27, which has happened to several music superstars. McLean’s use of Christian themes in his song also shows his strong Catholic background. ♪ *_I met a girl who sang the blues_* ♪ ♪ *_And I asked her for some happy news_* ♪ ♪ *_But she just smiled and turned away_* ♪ Likely referencing Janis Joplin, a white girl who sang rock like a Sister with a raspy voice straight from rhythm n' blues. McLean once had a talk with Joplin backstage at a gig, suggesting she could sing more positive songs, which she just laughed off. Joplin died of a heroin overdose in 1970, also 27. ♪ *_And the three men I admire most_* ♪ ♪ *_The Father Son and Holy Ghost_* ♪ So many suggestions over the years as to which three he's referencing, and hell, it can be it all all at once: Holly, The Big Bopper and Valens - or - JFK, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, all three murdered in the 60s - or - most obvious one, the Christian aspects of God. ♪ *_They caught the last train for the coast_* ♪ 'Cause all above are dead. ♪ *_The day the music died_* ♪ Most obviously reminding us that maybe their happy rock n' roll already died with Holly, Bopper and Valens in 1959, as the song goes full circle. (Phew!) Of course... these are only interpretations. You can go a whole life trying to interpret this one song and probably still be completely off. Don McLean was once asked by a journalist, "What does American Pie mean?" He quipped, "It means I never have to work again." He probably doesn't fully know what it all means either, maybe his God was speaking through _him_ composing it.
@glenngunnis6642
@glenngunnis6642 19 күн бұрын
You can’t help but sing along. People have sung to this for years, and each time is as good and memorable as the first! Thank you Biss!🤘🎸
@jodyarrington8555
@jodyarrington8555 20 күн бұрын
The song includes references to Elvis, Bob Dylan, The Monotones, The Beatles, The Byrds, the Manson murders, the moon landing, the Cold War, and atomic paranoia, and Vietnam. And is about the loss of innocence that occurred when McLean learned that his favorite musicians, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, died in a plane crash in 1959. The repeated phrase "the day the music died" represents this loss. 🎵🎶
@TheAes86
@TheAes86 20 күн бұрын
And the Song by Buddy Holly and The Crickets, "That'll be the Day that I die"
@Tijuanabill
@Tijuanabill 21 күн бұрын
The Weird Al Yankovich version of this is The Saga Begins, a Star Wars prequel song he wrote before the movie even came out, that is hilariously accurate despite being based only on the trailers.
@DickeyStapleton
@DickeyStapleton 21 күн бұрын
Roberta Flack "Killing Me Softly with His Song" refers to the emotion of listening to Don McLean perform. Please give it a listen.
@randallshuck2976
@randallshuck2976 21 күн бұрын
Don was asked years ago what all of the lyrics of American Pie really meant. He quipped "They mean I never have to work again." He was kidding because he was still singing when he teamed up with Home Free to do an anniversary remake of the song. BTW I always thought it was about the deaths on Feb. 3, 1959, and the loss of our national innocence in a very dangerous world.
@bpora01
@bpora01 21 күн бұрын
It's full of symbolism and people still argue about the meaning of several parts of the song. The main symbol is an airplane crash where 3 rock n roll stars died. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper
@terrydelgado9591
@terrydelgado9591 21 күн бұрын
Waylon Jennings wanted to get on that flight but they drew straws and he got the short one.
@j.woodbury412
@j.woodbury412 21 күн бұрын
@@terrydelgado9591 What I heard and read was he gave his seat to The Big Bopper.
@terrydelgado9591
@terrydelgado9591 21 күн бұрын
@@j.woodbury412 I think you’re right. My bad.
@thomastimlin1724
@thomastimlin1724 21 күн бұрын
I sang this last summer to my class of 1974 reunion, with my guitar, we all sang EVERY WORD together, what a magical 8 1/2 minutes...125 people from a class of 550. We sang it for ourselves and also sang it for our fallen graduates who had passed away.
@Avicenna10
@Avicenna10 20 күн бұрын
In addition to being a song about the death of Buddy Holly and the other two musicians in the plane crash, it’s also in a larger sense a song about loss of innocence in America. A commentary on the rapidly changing culture throughout the 1960s. For those of us old enough to remember those times, this song can definitely bring a tear to your eye. McLean definitely penned an absolute classic when he wrote this one.
@Martin-if6co
@Martin-if6co 20 күн бұрын
We can't expect Biscuit to get the reference to Buddy Holly and John F. Kennedy She is always wise, beautiful and insightful
@johnkent9582
@johnkent9582 20 күн бұрын
The song "Vincent" by Don McLean really showcases the talent also, it's incredible.
@curiousman1672
@curiousman1672 18 күн бұрын
IMHO, the most clever lyrics ever written. A synopsis of that generation, in disguise. Never gets old.
@angelaspanger
@angelaspanger 21 күн бұрын
I have so much sadness in me I didn't expect to get teary watching this hearing it for the 50th billion time but I did and now I feel a little bit better..thank you Biss
@KoaWilson
@KoaWilson 20 күн бұрын
A couple of years ago Don McLean re-recorded this with the great acapella group Home Free. It's a good listen. Also, Weird Al Yankovic did a parody titled The Saga Begins that is an interpretation of Star Wars set to the melody of American Pie and it is very entertaining.
@shallendor
@shallendor 19 күн бұрын
The Weird Al version is so good!
@RoadDoug
@RoadDoug 18 күн бұрын
Reading the comments on your channel always gets me . Your followers have so much to contribute. This is because your genius attracts the best. Love you Bisqute❤❤❤❤
@BisscuteReacts
@BisscuteReacts 18 күн бұрын
@ariconsul
@ariconsul 20 күн бұрын
It seems weird to write this some 53 years later but many Americans were already nostalgic for "classic" rock in 1971. A big part of it was the tremendous upheavals happening - the USA had swung from the explosion of the new music form called Rock n' Roll to the music scene in 1955 and the economic boom and prosperity of the 1960s to the turmoil of the civil rights movements, the assassinations of JFK, Mr Luther King and RFK, and the divisive Vietnam War. In 1974 "Happy Days" would provide nostalgia for a time less than twenty years before when the USA appeared (on the surface) to be able to do no wrong.
@jimfrederick3907
@jimfrederick3907 20 күн бұрын
Folklore has it that when Don McLean was asked "What does this song mean"? He replied "it means I'll never have to work again"!
@koelsch_s_p
@koelsch_s_p 3 күн бұрын
Dear Bisscute, I‘m 27 and this is one of my favourite songs that I have on my walkman. I watched many of your videos and I‘m touched by how your heart burns for music and how many emotions you have.
@patrickpost4294
@patrickpost4294 21 күн бұрын
It's an anthem. Rock and Roll history. Lennon was John Lennon and the quartet practice in the park was the Beatles who disbanded just before the writing of this song. Good luck. It's my favorite song of all time.
@brianite591
@brianite591 20 күн бұрын
The song is about February 3, 1959, when American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper all died in a plane crash.
@KawaTony1964
@KawaTony1964 20 күн бұрын
"Vincent" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written, but I think it will make you cry.
@dagmar.6954
@dagmar.6954 21 күн бұрын
"American Pie" is one of the greatest classic songs of our times. Don McLean is a great songwriter & storyteller. I remember this song growing up. "American Pie" pays tribute to the loss of 3 legends who died so young (Buddy Holly, Richie Valens & The Big Bopper). A lot of references in the song are made to many artists from the early days of music including Elvis, Janis Joplin, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Byrds & others.
@scott3744
@scott3744 20 күн бұрын
I used to play this all the time on my plastic suitcase record player when I was little. It was the 45rpm single version, so you had to flip the record over at the halfway point to hear the second half of the song. I wore that record out 👍😁
@jeffbange6554
@jeffbange6554 21 күн бұрын
Thanks so much for the great content and reactions. Really appreciate your love of music. Merry Christmas!
@AnthonyDavio-yu5ci
@AnthonyDavio-yu5ci 20 күн бұрын
Saw Don McLean in 1982, summer night outside in the park Huntington, long Island. This was an anthem of our youths. When this came on the radio you cranked it up.
@bobschenkel7921
@bobschenkel7921 20 күн бұрын
The "widowed bride" in the lyrics was the wife of Buddy Holly. He wrote many great songs including "Not Fade Away", "Peggy Sue" and "That'll Be The Day". The Big Bopper, aka J.R. Richards, had a hit with "Chantilly Lace" and Richie Valens (Valenzuela) had two hits in his brief career, "Donna" and "La Bamba". They were all killed, along with the pilot, in a single engine plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959 in Spirit Lake, Iowa, after a concert there. That was known as "The Day The Music Died".
@jimcrawford3221
@jimcrawford3221 19 күн бұрын
I can still remember the first morning I heard this on my way to school. 50 years ago! Home Free (an a cappella group that you have reacted to) did a great collaboration with Don to celebrate the anniversary. The song is filled with old references. I'm sure the folks will tell you all about it. :-) He also has another song, Starry Night (about Van Gogh) that is a very beautiful, but sad, song that you might want to listen to.
@RoadDoug
@RoadDoug 18 күн бұрын
Thanks Jim for reminding me it was 50 years ago😂
@danhelphrey6260
@danhelphrey6260 20 күн бұрын
There are a TON of references in this song that not everyone will get, but I think you can get the feel of the song without knowing any of the specifics.
@Reslo
@Reslo 20 күн бұрын
Brilliant song writing. Every line uses some part of Americana that a certain generation experienced.
@allenjessup6266
@allenjessup6266 20 күн бұрын
I was a freshman in High-school when this was released. It always hits my emotions. You did very well with the references for someone, unlike me , who didn’t grown up in the US in the '60s. Another song that covers events of those times was Billy Joel's "We didn't start the fire".
@AndICanTalk2
@AndICanTalk2 17 күн бұрын
One of the great songs of them all. Makes me cry every time. Great channel.
@david-j1r9m
@david-j1r9m 21 күн бұрын
There have been college courses taught on the study of everything going on in this song, so it's not something you can get all of in one listening. But one of the best pop songs ever written, in my opinion. Love the reaction, thank you.
@sailinbob11
@sailinbob11 21 күн бұрын
You have to view this song in the context of the current events of the time. 50s/60s
@rubroken
@rubroken 21 күн бұрын
Your guesses are for the most part right on. As other commenters have said, it's about music and events of the 50's and 60's and you almost have to have been there to "get" a lot of the lyrics. Great song, great reaction
@WiseJoeGaming
@WiseJoeGaming 3 күн бұрын
Great commentary during the video and in the wrap up as always! You are a natural at reactions. I liked that you tried to sing a long, as everyone that is sane does when listening to this song. 😁
@doorofnight87
@doorofnight87 19 күн бұрын
I have always loved this song, and one that I can sing all of, with great enthusiasm. It is such a poetic look at all the tragedy and loss and transformation of the 1960's. loved your reaction and reaction to it. You nailed what the song is about and the tone of it spot on!
@politirel2
@politirel2 21 күн бұрын
The song is about Buddy Holly, Don McLean's idol, who died in a plane crash, February 1959, along with two other famous singers, The Big Bopper and Richie Valens.
@lino9222
@lino9222 13 күн бұрын
I was a young soldier on my Jump course when this came out in 72 and that is what I remember when I hear this song. It the song was very big hit at that time. Thanks Bisscute
@chetstevensq
@chetstevensq 21 күн бұрын
When she locks her lips not to interrupt you KNOW she realizes this is not just another song but an anthem for a generation. I was in junior high when this song came out and we did a lyrics analysis in class for a COUPLE WEEKS. It chronicles the passing of rock and roll from the innocence of the 50s into the fall and corruption of the 60s and 70s. As noted everywhere Buddy Holly, Bopper and Valens sung hits like Peggy Sue, Chantilly Lace and La Bamba. It ends with illusions like Jumping Jack Flash (Mick Jagger) and Angels born in Hell (Hell's Angels) which is reference to Altamont which was supposed to be the Woodstock of the west coast but the Rolling Stones hired the Hell's Angels for security and they end up killing a fan. The song included Bob Dylan the Beatles and many other acts of the 60s. Don McLean also does Vincent and Crying, two songs you should definitely plan on reacting to.
@savethelighthouse
@savethelighthouse 21 күн бұрын
First, excellent review! Perfect analysis of the metaphorical significance of the song in the time it was produced. Your sense of music's place in culture is spot on. Don McLean has often said he is gratified that his song lends itself to analysis and historical review, that it was his intention.
@Qrisqornellfan
@Qrisqornellfan 18 күн бұрын
Ok, you have earned my sub with all of the good stuff that youve chosen to react to. I hope that you and your other subs all have a wonderful and Merry Christmas Eve and Day.
@BisscuteReacts
@BisscuteReacts 18 күн бұрын
@eduardocostadasilva3593
@eduardocostadasilva3593 20 күн бұрын
9:16 He is probably talking about the loss os interest of the people in 50s music, since he wrote this song in 1970 This song has a lot of meanings, but when Don Mclean told what was about, he replies: "It means I never have to work again."😅 This song is one of my favorites, ever! I love it!!!
@AlexTafoya-m5j
@AlexTafoya-m5j 18 күн бұрын
In 2013 my son was 4 yrs old. When I to pick him up from school his teacher told me, He'd spent 30 minutes singing this Great song over & over again.
@ClandOp
@ClandOp 18 күн бұрын
Great reaction, Bisscute. You relate translate your perspective into English in a way that perfectly conveys your meaning! I'm really enjoying your insights.
@BisscuteReacts
@BisscuteReacts 18 күн бұрын
Thank you, glad you loved the reaction
@shallendor
@shallendor 19 күн бұрын
I love that you let the fantastic song take over your body, i have a hard time keeping still every time i hear this song!
@kevinlundgren1169
@kevinlundgren1169 10 күн бұрын
Another fine classic!!
@denniswhitney6147
@denniswhitney6147 21 күн бұрын
It was a tribute song that became an American Anthem. Thanks Bisscute.❤❤❤
@nocalsteve
@nocalsteve 20 күн бұрын
This is one of the first songs I can remember hearing on the radio when I was a child. I remember telling my dad that I like that “drive my Chevy to the levy” song. I can also remember “Wild World”, “Daniel”, “Killing me Softly”, “I Can See Clearly Now”, and “Danny’s Song” as the first songs I could recognize on the radio.
@stereo999
@stereo999 20 күн бұрын
Killing Me Softly was about Don McLean
@Shadowace724
@Shadowace724 21 күн бұрын
This song was banned in my house while growing up. My father was a senior in high school in 1959, and the death of Buddy Holly in particular hit him hard. Great reaction Biss!
@michaelpalerino5276
@michaelpalerino5276 Күн бұрын
"This'll be the day that I die" is a reference to Buddy Holly song "That'll be the day"
@larryfryery4592
@larryfryery4592 17 күн бұрын
This is Americana music at its best....a classic of classics
@robertmysliwski7881
@robertmysliwski7881 21 күн бұрын
Bye Bye Miss American Pie is the end of America’s innocence. He had a Chevrolet pickup truck and he would go to a bar called the Levee in his hometown. At the Levee it was dry of good music that was happy and innocent. But his friends who were sad because the music had died they were drinking to forget the reality of the music dying so they drank and sang this is the day we will die. The song is how he sees music and entertainment in his life from 1959 through to 1969. He begins with going to the prom but the girl he wanted to take was with someone else but he danced and had a good time anyway. The jester is Bob Dylan and the King and Queen he sang for was President Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy at the White House with a voice from you and me is he sang folk music. He also borrowed a coat from the actor James Dean before he performed. Then when the king was looking down the jester stole his thorny crown that was Elvis and he got his start in gospel. No verdict was returned about what happened because the British Invasion had started. The Byrds is the group the Byrds and their break out album 8 miles High. This deals with entertainment in that the jester Bob Dylan was at the first Super Bowl game and it was John Lennon who read a book on Marx because Lennon they were bigger then God. The Sargents playing a marching tune is the Beatles and their popularity and they were still more popular than the Super Bowl which they wanted to turn into high entertainment. Jack Flash sat on a Candle Stick was The Rolling Stones playing Candle Stick Park in San Francisco. As you guessed he didn’t like The Rolling Stones he thought of them as from Satan. He was there and was not happy with Mick Jagger. The Angels born in hell that could not break that Satan spell was The Rolling Stones playing in Altamont California and they hired the Hells Angels mother cycle group to protect them but they instead injured and killed people. The girl that sang the Blues was Janis Joplin who he toured with in the late sixties. The sacred store is a music store that used to exist where you could go listen to an entire album before buying it in booths. As time went on through the sixties these stores disappeared. That music even in churches was meaningless. There were people deeply effected by the lose of the countries innocence. By 1969 God has left and we entered an era of the unknown which is the ending song.
@roberormonde
@roberormonde 18 күн бұрын
Your welcome biss we what a great music & writing stay the buitiful person you are,your adorable ❤😊
@leftcoaster67
@leftcoaster67 21 күн бұрын
Don McLean was once asked, what the song means. His perfect answer is "It means I never have to work again..." .
@Benny_painter
@Benny_painter 19 күн бұрын
Excellent song choice Biss! One of the greatest songs. Just covers so much stuff in it and the way it flows is so good. Glad you liked it, I mean how could you not lol.
@BisscuteReacts
@BisscuteReacts 18 күн бұрын
Thank you, glad you loved the reaction
@lorvaton
@lorvaton 20 күн бұрын
Love the reaction ❤
@jesseduke694
@jesseduke694 21 күн бұрын
It's funny you have to say, "don't come at me if I'm wrong". Lol! I can only imagine some of the msges you must get?! Lmao!😂
@russallert
@russallert 21 күн бұрын
This song always baffles reactors at first listen, especially those who didn't live through the period in question, but you seemed to have a good grasp on the basic idea of the song. It's pretty much a history of rock & roll and the youth counterculture from the mid 50s to the end of the 60s (the song was recorded in 1971). Don McLean has confirmed that the first verse is about the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, but leaves the rest of the song for others to interpret as they wish. Some of it is reasonably easy to interpret (references to The Beatles, Elvis, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, etc.), but other parts are still puzzling to longtime listeners. There are entire websites devoted to interpreting the song, so happy hunting! BTW back in the mid 60s, before he became famous, McLean was a traveling folk singer, and at one point he was touring Canada and played in Winnipeg, where a young local folkie/rocker named Neil Young met and hung out with him. Young remembered that McLean had a beat-up old Dodge van, with two letters from the DODGE logo missing, so that it read "DOG".
@apulrang
@apulrang 20 күн бұрын
There are certainly some correct answers to the question of what all of these lyrics mean and how they connect in real life to moments in history. Basically the song traces the history of Rock 'N Roll from the innocence of the '50s and early '60s, through the more complex eras and genres of the late '60s and into the '70s -- all while connecting that history with actual history where an era of optimism become an era of uncertainty, idealism, and finally disappointment (by the early to mid '70s when this song was first published). But there's also a lot of room for slightly different interpretations too.
@JustDave59
@JustDave59 20 күн бұрын
This was a huge hit at just about the time that I started paying attention to music. The poetic lyrics reference the generation that came of age in the sixtes and early 70s, a bit ahead of me. ¡Feliz Navidad, señorita Biss!🎄
@havok6280
@havok6280 21 күн бұрын
Weird Al did a version of this called The Sage Begins. It's about Star Wars...
@edittheworld-ct5yu
@edittheworld-ct5yu 21 күн бұрын
Don McClean has said in interviews that he has almost sung Al's lyrics at concerts by accident.
@mynameisnotearl4383
@mynameisnotearl4383 21 күн бұрын
I can’t listen to this without thinking of weird als awesome version
@Bekka_Noyb
@Bekka_Noyb 21 күн бұрын
An all time classic! Extremely catchy! Even more powerful when you understand the *many* references You can search: Don McLean - American Pie lyric references. 'The Annotated American Pie' is pretty good
@OldGeezerstoolbox
@OldGeezerstoolbox 21 күн бұрын
In that era people were so intrigued by the hints in the lyrics that some colleges even had classes specifically digging into hidden meanings within this tune. Impactive ( and a brand new sound on the radio) enough that I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard it...50ish years ago.
@sab4211
@sab4211 18 күн бұрын
So many of you guys have an incredible knack for pausing at the worst times
@fugazi225
@fugazi225 21 күн бұрын
thanks for reaction
@edmason9359
@edmason9359 19 күн бұрын
It's not ♪ Them good ol' boys were drinkin whiskey and rye ♪ it really is ♪ Them good ol' boys were drinkin whiskey in Rye ♪. Rye is a town, Don McLean lived near.
@brian_mighty9663
@brian_mighty9663 19 күн бұрын
I feel I love your reactions to older songs the best!❤
@s.c.6367
@s.c.6367 18 күн бұрын
Love love love your reactions thank you very much
@AlanKeimig
@AlanKeimig 21 күн бұрын
Thank you, Biss, for your reaction of this song. I think that for a young European lady, you did an amazing job of deciphering the meaning. Keep up the good work, Biss! Merry Christmas!
@BisscuteReacts
@BisscuteReacts 18 күн бұрын
Thank you, glad you loved the reaction
@barn_ninny
@barn_ninny 19 күн бұрын
A chorus so anthemic that even Biss can't resist singing along.
@stornowayscotland
@stornowayscotland 21 күн бұрын
Thanks beautiful for the reaction hope your having a lovely weekend
@ThistleAndSea
@ThistleAndSea 20 күн бұрын
Good one, Miss Biss! Yes, this song is loaded with references to the happenings of the 50's & 60's and in general note with sadness the loss of innocence that the boomer generation experienced at that time. The 1959 plane crash is the starting point, and there are a few really good videos here on YT discussing the exact meaning of each lyric, but it's been a matter of debate for decades now, so unless Don McLean ever tells us explicitly what it all means, the truth of it is really anybody's guess. I will say though that in 2015 the original lyrics were auctioned off for about $1.2 million. That's kind of cool. Thanks for sharing tis one!
@JimFlickinger
@JimFlickinger 18 күн бұрын
There are so many references to the many things happening back then and the people involved. College classes have spent time trying to dissect all the meanings. I prefer just to enjoy the music and remember.....
@RonHouck-eb1cn
@RonHouck-eb1cn 21 күн бұрын
Great song. What a blast from the past. Good reaction. I think also that Weird Al Yankovic used this song for one of his parodies. It will take people like you to keep this music alive.
@mikefetterman6782
@mikefetterman6782 21 күн бұрын
Ritchie Valens was famous for the songs Donna, and LA BAMBA. The Big Bopper had a hit with "CHANTILLY LACE" (and a pretty face.....) Buddy Holly was a big inspiration for the Beatles with his band the Crickets. His big hit was "THAT"LL Be the Day that I die. All 3 in the same fateful plane ride. This happened just as rock and roll was getting accepted and popular, and this accident was a major blow to the world, just like Losing John Lennon, Elvis, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison.......an icon or icons are suddenly gone.
@vernhoke7730
@vernhoke7730 21 күн бұрын
I was only 3 months old "The day the music died". I do remember hearing both versions of this song, the shorter single and 8 minute album, on the radio back in the seventies.
@Donald-u6n
@Donald-u6n 20 күн бұрын
Life was simple and pure at the time of the plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens. Afterward America changed profoundly, and Don Mclean' references to the bible, and faith in God above are a subtle hint to his listeners that in times of tragedy God is always there to comfort those in need. Just my take as a Christian on one aspect of the song Bisscute, and American Pie is a deep dive that has many messages which takes a lot of time to process. Great reaction Bisscute as always and look forward to see another of your videos.
@kennywilkus1632
@kennywilkus1632 21 күн бұрын
Fantastic job of deciphering the meaning of the lyrics! For someone your age you really got it! This is an American classic! Don never really told people what all the references refer to, so like the Bible, it’s still open to anyone’s full interpretation! Great Job Biss!
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