# American Pie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 2, 2000, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie/18345 "2000-05-02T06:51:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kutter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/65b543/32.png) [@Kutter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kutter)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie/18345/1 "2000-05-02T06:51:49Z")
I know I’m posting probably old news, but I was digging through the Archives and ran across the “What is ‘American Pie’ all about?” column and the meaning of the song occured to me… Its a history of Rock and Roll…More importantly its about the loss of innocence in Rock and Roll from the days of Buddy Holly to the time the song was written…And, paralleling that, the lose of innocence in our culture… This is pretty easy to track, just follow the imagery and tone…they start simple, much as the songs of the 50’s were, and get increasingly dark and editorial, mirroring the music of the Vietnam era… Further, McLean doesn’t seem happy about this change…The music that used to make him smile in his youth is eventually the cause of a riot at a Rolling Stones concert…His last verse is mourning for the music, and innocence, of his youth… Not that this is only meaning that can be drawn, but I think its the one that was originally intended… ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie/18345/2 "2000-05-02T07:59:09Z")
Cecil’s column: [What is Don McLean’s song “American Pie” all about? (14-May-1993)](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_398b.html) Kutter, I think your interpretation seems to fit the song pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![Anachronism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Anachronism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anachronism)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2000, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie/18345/3 "2000-05-07T22:54:07Z")
Cutter has the right general idea but if you are interested in more details, check out this site[The Meaning of American Pie](http://www.angelfire.com/biz5/ultimatepay/americanpie.html), It will open in a new window. It has a meaning for every line in the song and details about Altamont (Verse 5). ---
**Author:** ![T.Mehr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@T.Mehr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T.Mehr)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie/18345/4 "2003-08-07T11:14:43Z")
I just heard a radiofeature on American Pie the other day. They claim, Don Mc Lean answered to the question what his song means: “It means I never have to work again”, hinting at the fact, that he never gave up his commercial rights on the song. ---
**Author:** ![Svt4Him](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@Svt4Him](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svt4Him)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie/18345/5 "2003-08-07T23:26:21Z")
that’s probably true, and that’s what every artist wants their song to mean, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie/18345/6 "2003-08-08T02:45:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Cutter has the right general idea but if you are interested in more details, check out this siteThe Meaning of American Pie, It will open in a new window. It has a meaning for every line in the song and details about Altamont (Verse 5). This page just shows: \*\*This page has moved please update your bookmarks, you will be redirected in 5 seconds or use the link below \*\* Then when it redirects it takes me to ‘404 this page cannot be found’ ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie/18345/7 "2003-08-08T03:11:16Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by peter morris_ > This page just shows: > **This page has moved please update your bookmarks, you will be redirected in 5 seconds or use the link below** > > Then when it redirects it takes me to ‘404 this page cannot be found’ Yes, that page has been taken down, but the analysis (or one just like it) still remains [here](http://www.rareexception.com/Garden/Pie.php). The original page consisted of the lyrical analysis, plus a shameless plug for the pyramid scheme that was [AllAdvantage.com](http://AllAdvantage.com). Maybe when AllAdvantage went down the tubes, the page author wanted to distance himself from its stigma, and moved his content to another server, hence the different URL.