Editing American Pie (song) (section)

===McLean's responses===
{{Quote box|quote=For McLean, the song is a blueprint of his mind at the time and a homage to his musical influences, but also a roadmap for future students of history:

"If it starts young people thinking about Buddy Holly, about rock 'n' roll and that music, and then it teaches them maybe about what else happened in the country, maybe look at a little history, maybe ask why John Kennedy was shot and who did it, maybe ask why all our leaders were shot in the 1960s and who did it, maybe start to look at war and the stupidity of it — if that can happen, then the song really is serving a wonderful purpose and a positive purpose." |source=Mark Kennedy, "Don McLean looks back at his masterpiece, 'American Pie'" (2022)&nbsp;<ref name= ap2022/>|align=right|salign=right|width=50%}}

When asked what "American Pie" meant, McLean jokingly replied, "It means I don't ever have to work again if I don't want to."<ref name=DonMcLeanstory>{{cite web|url= http://www.don-mclean.com/articles/play.asp?p=15|title=The Don McLean Story: 1970–1976|website=Don-McLean.com|author=Howard, Dr. Alan|access-date =June 3, 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070711220735/http://www.don-mclean.com/articles/play.asp?p=15|archive-date=July 11, 2007}}</ref> Later, he stated, "You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me...  Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence."<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_398b.html|title=What is Don McLean's song "American Pie" all about?|website=[[The Straight Dope]]|date=May 14, 1993|access-date =June 3, 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070528162305/http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_398b.html|archive-date=May 28, 2007}}</ref> He also commented on the popularity of his music, "I didn't write songs that were just catchy, but with a point of view, or songs about the environment."

In February 2015, however, McLean announced he would reveal the meaning of the lyrics to the song when the original manuscript went for auction in New York City, in April 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31451271|title=Don McLean to reveal meaning of American Pie lyrics|work=BBC News|date=February 13, 2015|access-date=February 13, 2015|archive-date=February 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213113510/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31451271|url-status=live}}</ref> The lyrics and notes were auctioned on April 7, 2015, and sold for $1.2&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32208584|title=American Pie lyrics sell for $1.2m|work=BBC News|date=April 7, 2015|access-date=June 21, 2018|archive-date=August 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820184703/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32208584|url-status=live}}</ref> In the sale catalogue notes, McLean revealed the meaning in the song's lyrics: "Basically in 'American Pie' things are heading in the wrong direction.  It [life] is becoming less idyllic. I don't know whether you consider that wrong or right but it is a morality song in a sense."<ref name="telegraph4915">{{cite news|title=American Pie: 6 crazy conspiracy theories|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/11518980/American-Pie-6-crazy-conspiracy-theories.html |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/11518980/American-Pie-6-crazy-conspiracy-theories.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|first=Rupert|last=Hawksley|date=April 7, 2015|work=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The catalogue confirmed that the song climaxes with a description of the [[killing of Meredith Hunter]] at the [[Altamont Free Concert]], ten years after the plane crash that killed Holly, Valens, and Richardson, and did acknowledge that some of the more well-known symbols in the song were inspired by figures such as [[Elvis Presley]] ("the king") and [[Bob Dylan]] ("the jester").<ref name="telegraph4915" />

In 2017, Bob Dylan was asked about how he was referenced in the song. "A jester? Sure, the jester writes songs like '[[Masters of War]]', '[[A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall]]', '[[It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)|It's Alright, Ma]]' – some jester. I have to think he's talking about somebody else. Ask him."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bob-dylans-surprise-new-interview-9-things-we-learned-w473397|title=Bob Dylan's Surprise New Interview: 9 Things We Learned|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=March 23, 2017|access-date=March 26, 2017|archive-date=March 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325174348/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bob-dylans-surprise-new-interview-9-things-we-learned-w473397|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2022, the documentary ''The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean's American Pie'', produced by Spencer Proffer, was released on the [[Paramount+]] video on-demand service. Proffer said that he told McLean: "It's time for you to reveal what 50 years of journalists have wanted to know." McLean stated that he "needed a big song about America", and the first verse and melody ("A long, long time ago...") seemed to just come to mind.<ref name=ap2022>{{cite news |url= https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-iowa-07402e6a24c1773ddcec57b1a1f0575f |title= Don McLean looks back at his masterpiece, 'American Pie' |first= Mark |last= Kennedy |date= July 20, 2022 |work= AP |access-date= July 24, 2022 |archive-date= July 24, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220724205237/https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-iowa-07402e6a24c1773ddcec57b1a1f0575f |url-status= live }}</ref>

McLean also answered some of the long-standing questions on the song's lyrics, although not all. He revealed that Presley was not the king referenced in the song, Joplin was not the "girl who sang the blues", and Dylan was not the jester, although he is open to other interpretations.<ref name=timetoreveal/> He explained that the "marching band" refers to the [[military–industrial complex]], "sweet perfume" refers to tear gas, and Los Angeles is the "coast" that the Trinity head to ("caught the last train for the coast"), commenting "even God has been corrupted". He also said that the line "This'll be the day that I die" originated from the [[John Wayne]] film ''[[The Searchers]]'' (which inspired Buddy Holly's song "[[That'll Be the Day]]"), and the chorus's line "Bye-bye, Miss American Pie" was inspired by a song by [[Pete Seeger]], "Bye Bye, My Roseanna". McLean had originally intended to use "Miss American apple pie", but "apple" was dropped.<ref name=ap2022 />

On the whole, McLean stated that the lyrics were meant to be [[Impressionism (literature)|impressionist]], and that many of the lyrics, only a portion of which were included in the finished recording, were completely fictional with no basis in real-life events.<ref name=timetoreveal>{{Cite web |last=Farber |first=Jim |date=July 19, 2022 |title='I said, Don, it's time for you to reveal': 50 years later, the truth behind American Pie |url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/19/don-mclean-american-pie-documentary-the-day-the-music-died |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220719061844/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/19/don-mclean-american-pie-documentary-the-day-the-music-died |archive-date=July 19, 2022 |access-date=July 19, 2022 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref>