Electrophonic Tonic

Pretty much this is what I had to do and the way I interpreted them. In no way fact.

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.

This talks about how rock and roll influenced Don McLean.

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.

This talks about his reaction to the news of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper's deaths. The widowed bride was Buddy Holly's fiancee.

So bye-bye, miss american pie.
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Miss American Pie was a Miss America and pie, which are two very American things. And Don is equating that to rock and roll being just as American. Chevy to the levee was a reference to an old Chevy commercial.

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,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Don McLean is a very christian man and he included that into his song.

Well, I know that you’re in love with him
`cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

Not much here. Probably a reference to school dances and childhood.

I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died.

References to being young, again. Probably in some way relating to how young Buddy Holly and company were when they died.

Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ 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
And a voice that came from you and me,

Ten years is roughly the time between Holly's death and the release of American Pie. Moss on a rolling stone may be a reference to rock music moving, but still be stagnant at the same time. The jester is Bob Dylan, the king is Elvis and the queen might be Connie Francis. Or the king and queen could be the Kennedy family. The jacket is what Dylan wore. The voice line is a reference to Dylan's folk music and it's common man popularity.

Oh, and while the king was looking down,
The jester stole his thorny crown.
The courtroom was adjourned;
No verdict was returned.
And while lennon read a book of marx,
The quartet practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.

The first line is either Dylan surpassed Elvis in popularity. Or the crown of thorns could be relating Jesus' death to the Kennedy assassination and Dylan becoming a Jesus-like figure in America. Lennon read a book of Marx is either about John Lennon being a fan of the Marx bros, or Lennon/Lenin reading Karl Marx. The quartet could be the Beatles and dirges are sung at funerals and that could be Kennedy, MLK, ect...

Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
It landed foul on the grass.
The players tried for a forward pass,
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Helter Skelter is obviously back to the White Album and Charles Manson. The birds (Byrds) and their song Eight Miles High are mentioned. Fallout shelters are a reference to cold war tension. The jester is still Dylan and he actually broke his leg on his motorcycle. Trying for a forward pass is how music became stagnant other than Bob Dylan.

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune.
We all got up to dance,
Oh, but we never got the chance!
`cause the players tried to take the field;
The marching band refused to yield.
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?

This passage is all about the Beatles. Sergeants are now the Beatles (Sgt. Pepper), evolving from a quartet. Ever having the chance to dance was how music was moving away from a danceable music. The band refused to yield is about how the Beatles took over all music and no one else could compete with them.

Oh, and there we were all in one place,
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on: jack be nimble, jack be quick!
Jack flash sat on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil’s only friend.

References to the show 'Lost in Space'/space exploration and about how this generation separated themselves from the previous one. Jack flash gets back to the Rolling Stone's song "Jumpin Jack Flash". The devil can go back to the Rolling Stones again (Sympathy for the Devil).

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
Could break that satan’s spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died

The first four lines are about the reaction to the Rolling Stones hiring Hell's Angels as security for their Altamont concert. Satan laughing is likely to how Altamont ended the peace, love, freedom attitude of the 60's. And Satan would be happy with that, according to McLean.

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just smiled and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play.

The girl who sang the blues is likely Janis Joplin and her death at 27 was just another nail in the 60's coffin. Sacred stores could be record stores, and they're the churches to the music and McLean's religious application. The music wouldn't play is likely a mourning period for all the death surrounding the late 60's.

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.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.

Screaming children could be Vietnam and that infamous picture of the naked girl running down the road. But I think it goes to Kent State, another 60's nail in the coffin. Lovers and poets are hippies. Again, references to mourning with church bells and no words spoken. More christian imagery and going to the coast is leaving and saying 'goodbye'.


Overall, lots of references to loss and the end of the 60's, and relating it back to the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper.