Outside reading #4 (I hope this is a valid topic)

Ok well hopefully this song will continue my theme of strange topics for outside reading. The song is American Pie, written in 1971 by Don McLean. I decided to choose this song because it has many interpretations. One fact is fairly clear, however. The song is very likely about the death of Buddy Holly, and how when he died, the "music died" for McLean. McLean actually said as much in an interview. The interesting part, however, is that the song seems to reference other musical artists as well, although this can not so easily be confirmed. I think the line that mentions "the Jester", (with the jester/ on the sidelines/ in a cast), actually refers to Bob Dylan, (he is sometimes called the jester, and I believe that when he sang about the joker in 'All Along the Watchtower', he was referring to himself, since he seemed to be on the joker's side). The song also possibly mentions the Byrds. They actually say the word birds once, and on songmeanings.com, the administrator actually spelled the word 'Byrds'. Also, the line 'helter skelter/ in a summer shelter' may refer to a Byrds CD, fallout shelter. Finally, the line 'eight miles high/ and falling fast' refers to the Byrds song Eight Miles High. I couldn't find actual evidence of any of these tree references anywhere, but it seems really coincidental. The line may, however, refer instead to the plane crash that killed Holly. Online, I found many more possible interesting references, such as to the Rolling Stones and to the Beatles. I think the overall topic of the song is the decline of music in McLean's life. The song has an overall negative tone, and I think an era of music ended for McLean when Holly, (the American Pie?) died.

American Pie." Lyrics007. 27 May 2008. Lyrics007. 30 Oct 2008 http://www.lyrics007.com/Don%20McLean%20Lyrics/American%20Pie%20Lyrics.html.