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Ten years? What ten years is McLean talking about here? It
has to be the decade of the 60s. Holly's death in '59 marks the end of
the inital era of rock. This song was being written in 1970.
The "we" in this verse (as in the line "We've been on
our own") is undoubtedly a reference to the developing youth culture
in America, a new concept in modern life. Suddenly young people had an
identify and had expendible income. Rock music was a big part of this developing
sub-culture.
With this verse, the theme of the song is fully established:
it's about the decline of rock. We can be sure McLean is unhappy with the
current (1970) state of affairs: moss growing fat on a rolling stone is
a triple pun/symbol (linked to Dylan's song "Like a rolling stone," the
group The Rolling Stones, and the aphorism, "A rolling stone gathers no
moss") and it is negatively portrayed. The music is gathering moss, growing
stale.
"But that's not how it used to be." Here we will see
that McLean liked Dylan's early music. Dylan, dressed like cult-hero James
Dean in a leather jacket, is the jester. His songs were riddles, sometimes
prophetic, sometimes just strange. Because of a spiritual quality in his
and all folk-rock, it is appropriate that he steals King Elvis' thorny
crown, a double reference connecting Christ's crown of thorns to Elvis'
religious side and kingly status. Elvis "looked down" when he was forced
from the rock scene by being drafted into the military.
And, as in the previous verse, while McLean has some praise
for te music of this era, he has deeper criticism. For even though Dylan
has grabbed (stolen) the mantle of rock's spokesman, the verdict
is out. There is no true king during this period.
Lurking in the background, on a distant shore, is the "quartet"
that would change rock music forever. They were already making a hit for
themselves in Liverpool, England and Hamburg, Germany (Europe is "the
park") prior to their onslaught in January 1964. But this was just
practice. The true arena is America for this is, indeed, "American Pie."
McLean's line "While Lennon read a book on Marx" is a superb
example of layered language. This an excellent pun connecting John Lennon
with Vladimir Lenin, two Marxists in their own write.
So while he thought the early Dylan stuff was pretty good,
Don McLean was not happy. "We sang dirges in the dark."
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