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American Pie
Verse One: "I saw you dancing in the gym"
Did you write the book of love and do you have faith
in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock and roll, can music save your
mortal soul
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Well, I know that you're in love with him 'cause I saw
you dancin' in the gym,
You both kicked off your shoes, Man, I dig those rhythm
and blues.
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck with a pink carnation
and a pickup truck.
But I knew I was out of luck the day the music died.
I started singing...
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Contents
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"American Pie" chronicles the history -- and decline
-- of rock and roll music from the time of Buddy Holly's death to the end
of the 60s. This will become more and more apparent as we look at each
verse in sequence. Since the prologue is about the death of Holly, we should
begin dating the sequential verses from this point, 1959. Thus, verse one
is a symbolic picture of the first step downward rock music took after
it's early days, it's American Pie days.
So, what was happening in the years following Holly's death?
Teen idols. Frankie Avalon. Fabian. Bobby Rydell. These handsome, cleancut
young men are the "him" in this verse (I know that you're in love with
him). And who's the "you" that's in love with these teen idols? Undoubtedly,
it's the youth of America, the rock and roll consumers, and especially
the young ladies who swooned over the teen idols, the "him" in this verse.
On the surface, this verse of the song seems positive. It
appears that Don McLean equates this period with the innocence he admires
so much in Buddy Holly. He talks about love (The Book of Love: Monotones),
describing the relationship of the "you" and "him" in romantic terms. (Well,
I know that you're in love with him.)
But Don McLean is distant from them, they're sock-hopping;
he's digging rhythm and blues. They're dancing in the gym; he driving around
by himself looking for love with a pink carnation (White Sports Coat: Marty
Robbins) on his way to the prom, alone, out of luck. Don McLean is out
of luck because he wants to be to the one who seduces the young girls with
his music, the Buddy Holly music, but Fabian and others have won their
hearts.
It's important to see that, just as the rock music in this
song grows up during this period, so does McLean, the would-be performer.
From his early days of delivering newspapers and dreaming of making those
people dance, Don McLean is striving to be a part of the music scene. Clearly
this isn't the music that touches him deep inside: it's generic, cheap,
corny, maudlin. He is still awaiting his chance.
Another important thing happens in this verse: McLean establishes
a sacred aspect to music. While this makes sense in any epic (see the definition
on the Prologue page), it is directly applicable to the theme of this song.
This aspect is certainly a reference to rock's roots in the church and
the fact that many of the early performers were reared in the church, many
even singing religious songs (Elvis had an entire album of hymns).
This doubling up of symbols is an important artistic device
that the author uses throughout the song. In some cases, McLean uses outrights
puns (see the explanation of Lenin/Lennon in the coming verse); in others
he simply uses imagery and symbolism to obtain more than one effect. It
is extremely clever and enriches the song greatly.
One last important note: McLean is presenting rock's history
thematically. Actually, the teen idol rock began appearing before Holly's
death. But it wasn't until after his death that it flowered into beach
movies with pretty boys and girls running around the beach singing badly
and acting cute.
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