This is American Pie by Don McLean:
A long, long time ago… 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.
But February made me shiver,
With every paper I’d deliver,
Bad news on the doorstep…
I couldn’t take one more step.
I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside,
The day the music died.
Soo..Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol’ boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die
Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so
Do you believe in rock n roll
Can music save your mortal soul
Then you can teach me to dance real slow
Well I know that you’re in love with him
‘Cause I saw you dancing in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Then I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
but I knew that I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin’…
Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol’ boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die
Now for 10 years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
But that’s not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
In a voice that came from you and me
And while the King was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
While Lennon read the book of Marx
The quartet kept practice in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
This song identifies Buddy Holly by the month he died, February. He left behind a widowed bridge. “American Pie” was not the name of the doomed aircraft, but rather a simile to that great American symbol, the apple pie. The Chevy is a familiar icon of the 1950s. The pink carnation is a reference to Marty Robbins’ hit single. The crash killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper. A “dirge” is a funeral song. The girl who sang the blues was Janis Joplin. Waylon Jennings was Holly’s bassist, who was asked by Holly to give up his seat to Valens. The jester is clearly Bob Dylan.
Monument to Holly, Valens, and Bopper
But the point I want to make, via this great song and my friend Sian, is that we seem to be losing so many of our great musicians and singers. Yesterday, it was Etta James. In the months and years before, we lost Clarence Clemons (of the E Street Band), Amy Winehouse, Dobie Gray, Mary Travers, Norton Buffalo, Les Paul, Michael Jackson, Levi Stubbs, Isaac Hayes, Bo Diddley, Dan Fogelberg, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Preston.
My message to you is simply this. When the great musicians appear in our area, make sure you get a chance to see and hear them. Otherwise, you may regret it. While it was not fun to see the fat and drugged up Elvis at Harrah’s in Tahoe in 1971, it was my one and only chance to see “The King.” Likewise, many old timers who are making the rounds, a little over their prime perhaps, but true legends of the music business. It does not matter if it is Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Dave Brubeck, or Tony Bennett. Go see them before they are forever gone!!!!!
A long, long time ago… 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.
But February made me shiver,
With every paper I’d deliver,
Bad news on the doorstep…
I couldn’t take one more step.
I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside,
The day the music died.
Soo..Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol’ boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die
Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so
Do you believe in rock n roll
Can music save your mortal soul
Then you can teach me to dance real slow
Well I know that you’re in love with him
‘Cause I saw you dancing in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Then I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
but I knew that I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin’…
Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol’ boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die
Now for 10 years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
But that’s not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
In a voice that came from you and me
And while the King was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
While Lennon read the book of Marx
The quartet kept practice in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
This song identifies Buddy Holly by the month he died, February. He left behind a widowed bridge. “American Pie” was not the name of the doomed aircraft, but rather a simile to that great American symbol, the apple pie. The Chevy is a familiar icon of the 1950s. The pink carnation is a reference to Marty Robbins’ hit single. The crash killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper. A “dirge” is a funeral song. The girl who sang the blues was Janis Joplin. Waylon Jennings was Holly’s bassist, who was asked by Holly to give up his seat to Valens. The jester is clearly Bob Dylan.
Monument to Holly, Valens, and BopperBut the point I want to make, via this great song and my friend Sian, is that we seem to be losing so many of our great musicians and singers. Yesterday, it was Etta James. In the months and years before, we lost Clarence Clemons (of the E Street Band), Amy Winehouse, Dobie Gray, Mary Travers, Norton Buffalo, Les Paul, Michael Jackson, Levi Stubbs, Isaac Hayes, Bo Diddley, Dan Fogelberg, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Preston.
My message to you is simply this. When the great musicians appear in our area, make sure you get a chance to see and hear them. Otherwise, you may regret it. While it was not fun to see the fat and drugged up Elvis at Harrah’s in Tahoe in 1971, it was my one and only chance to see “The King.” Likewise, many old timers who are making the rounds, a little over their prime perhaps, but true legends of the music business. It does not matter if it is Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Dave Brubeck, or Tony Bennett. Go see them before they are forever gone!!!!!
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