It is a masterpiece lamenting the loss of innocence and idyllic life to a darkening mood changing America.
Its nostalgic, ambiguous lyrics tell not just of the plane crash as the death of early rock and roll, but American society nosediving toward its own crash. 3, 1959.Īmerican Pie (‘American as apple pie’) has been described as one of the most successful and debated songs of the 20 th century. Richardson Jr.) who died in a plane crash on Feb. McLean wrote American Pie as a tribute to rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper (J. For him, February is the month in which “the music died.” It isn’t February cold that makes McLean shiver. It’s February, and as the singer-songwriter Don McLean wrote in his 1971 smash hit American Pie: February makes you shiver.
