| Don McLean – American Pie Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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@[tlspatriot:34483] See mrmacphisto response on the fourth or fifth page. |
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| Don McLean – American Pie Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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@[tlspatriot:34482] Excellent explanation!!...except the last verse is a reference to Billie Holiday not Janis. The last verse, like the first, is slower than the rest of the song. McLean is taking you back to the fifties again. The church bells being broken refer to the fact that there was very little public commentary about her passing. |
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| Don McLean – American Pie Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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@[Ferthuko:33653]...Congrats ,on 13 points. Don't know how but nice try. 1 The last verse is NOT about Janis Joplin; it is about Billie Holiday. See my explanation on page 5. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens and Buddy Holly. The one verse about the marching band: Why does everyone think the meaning is symbolic? Every other verse is literal i.e., events that actually happened. Think literal, not symbolic. |
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| Don McLean – American Pie Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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@[itsstillrockandroll:21964] Verse 3 is about the famous Hyde Park concert the Beatles did from the roof of a house/building(possibly Apple Studios). The police came and broke up the impromptu concert. Verse 4...Hmmm..Nearly everyone says something along these lines. Why does everyone assume this verse is largely symbolic, yet every other verse is literal(an event that actually took place)? Last verse..It is about Billie Holiday not Janis Joplin. |
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| Don McLean – American Pie Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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@[JoeCruzTKO:21962] Jose, An excellent overall synopsis..Perhaps reconsider the last verse. I suggest it is about Billie Holiday..She died 5 months after Buddy Holly. Joplin's death was national news but very little was said about Holiday's death, hence "church bells broken". Also consider the structure of the song. The first and last verse have the same tempo. To conclude or bookend the song, Mclean is taking us back to the fifties where it all began. |
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| The Fray – How To Save A Life Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| This song is a true story about the lead singer of the band. He spent a summer counseling teenagers at a camp for troubled teens. | |
| U2 – Lady With the Spinning Head Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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If you want verification read Willie Williams blog during the U2360 tour. Willie is the producer and light designer for U2's concerts and this is his favorite song. As one other person noted, and correctly so, it is a song about oral sex in an inverted position. Refer to the first verse: Figure of eight Six and nine again In fact, from the same blog post, the original title of the song was soixante-neuf(French gives it a little more decorum). |
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| Don McLean – American Pie Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Last verse: Understandably, most people think the last verse is about Janis Joplin; however, I would suggest otherwise. Instead, I believe the last verse is about Billie Holiday, a.k.a. Lady Day, a.k.a The Angel of Harlem. First, in regard to structure, think what is unique about the song? The tempo of the first verse and the last verse are identical. Now, recall your early English composition classes in college( bonehead English class). The instructor/professor always said the conclusion must refer back to the introduction. Mclean is doing exactly this. By slowing the tempo of the last verse to match the first verse, he is taking us, the listeners, back to the late 1950's. Also, Mclean is publicly on record, stating he knew that the last verse had to be the same tempo as the first verse. Buddy Holly(first verse) died on February 3, 1959. Billie Holiday died on July 17, 1959. I met a girl who sang the blues And I asked her for some happy news But she just smiled and turned away So now we are back in the fifties. Billie Holiday is a famous blues singer, plagued by alcohol and heroin addiction. Thus, no happy "news". I went down to the sacred store Where I heard the music years before But the man there said the music wouldn't play Billie holiday was quite famous in the late forties and early fifties. Later her career went into a downward spiral due to her addictions. Obviously, Mclean refers to her passing and the earlier days when Holiday's music was profound. And in the streets the children screamed The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed But not a word was spoken The church bells all were broken In the aforementioned section the first two lines basically mean that upon Holiday's death, life went on as normal. The last two lines symbolically mean her death, as famous as she once was, was not publicly mourned. Check the New York Times. Her obituary was on the back pages of the newspaper: It was an unfortunate remembrance of a once famous singer who died of unfortunate circumstances. Mclean took us from late fifties through the sixties, then knowingly and intentionally, returned us back to the start. He neatly and expertly placed bookends on his composition. If you still are unpersuaded, juxtapose the deaths of Joplin and Holiday. Joplin's passing made national news not only on television but also in newspapers and magazines. Did the same happen with Holiday? |
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