# Don Mclean question (pop culture lesson for a young'n) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2002, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-mclean-question-pop-culture-lesson-for-a-youngn/116213 "2002-06-27T12:34:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-mclean-question-pop-culture-lesson-for-a-youngn/116213/1 "2002-06-27T12:34:13Z")
Listening to “Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot” in the car yesterday, I heard Al Franken quote a line from a Don Mclean song while listening to a speech by Newt Gingrich. It said, “And as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage.” Al went on to say that’s what Don Mclean would have said, assuming he hates Newt Gingrich as much as he hated Mick Jagger. Could someone tell me (a) what song this is from and (b) why Don Mclean hated Jagger so much? ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-mclean-question-pop-culture-lesson-for-a-youngn/116213/2 "2002-06-27T12:37:00Z")
Well, the song is “American Pie,” but I have no idea why he would have hated Mick Jagger. In fact, I’m not sure he was referring to Mick in that part of the song… ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-mclean-question-pop-culture-lesson-for-a-youngn/116213/3 "2002-06-27T12:42:11Z")
The verse in question > [@](#): > > 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 > > 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 sacrifical rite > I saw Satan laughing with delight > The day the music died It’s from _American Pie_, his famous epic song. He’s referring to the Stones hiring Hells Angels as security at their concert at Altamount (Altamont?) Speedway. They ended up stabbing an innocent man, and the concert went on despite the death. McLean is referring to Jagger in the previous verse by saying “Jack Flash sat on a candlestick” because I believe they were playing _Jumping Jack Flash_ when the Hells Angels stabbed the guy. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-mclean-question-pop-culture-lesson-for-a-youngn/116213/4 "2002-06-27T12:45:59Z")
That verse is about the concert disaster at Altamont were the Hells Angels were hired as security and things got really ugly during the Stones set, including deaths. I’m not sure exactly why Mclean hates Jagger, but alot of people blamed the Stones for doing things badly and being arrogant, like starting late and not stopping playing immediatly when the shit hit the fan. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-mclean-question-pop-culture-lesson-for-a-youngn/116213/5 "2002-06-27T12:46:19Z")
One interpretation: > [@](#): > > \*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 \* > > While playing a concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1968, the Stones appointed members of the Hell’s Angels to work security (on the advice of the Grateful Dead). In the darkness near the front of the stage, a young man named Meredith Hunter was beaten and stabbed to death – by the Angels. Public outcry that the song “Sympathy for the Devil” had somehow incited the violence caused the Stones to drop the song from their show for the next six years. This incident is chronicled in the documentary film “Gimme Shelter”. > > ``` > It's also possible that McLean views the Stones as being negatively inspired (remember, he had an extensive religious background) by virtue of "Sympathy for the Devil", "Their Satanic Majesties' Request" and so on. I find this a bit puzzling, since the early Stones recorded a lot of "roots" rock and roll, including Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away". > > ``` This is from a [line by line interpretation at the Urban Legends site](http://www.urbanlegends.com/songs/american_pie_interpretations.html). ---
**Author:** ![Threadkiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@Threadkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threadkiller)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-mclean-question-pop-culture-lesson-for-a-youngn/116213/6 "2002-06-27T14:41:03Z")
The Master speaks: [What is Don McLean’s song “American Pie” all about?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_398b.html) The page listed even includes a letter from Don McLean to Cecil stating that he has _never_ divulged exactly what the lyrics are about. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Green\_Fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Fool)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-mclean-question-pop-culture-lesson-for-a-youngn/116213/7 "2002-06-27T23:06:59Z")
My favorite thing about the Altamont event is that NOBODY ever puts even some of the blame on the Grateful Dead. It was their idea to hire the the Hell’s Angels in the first place. And weren’t they supposed to play but cancelled? I’m sure that helped agitate the crowd even more. ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-mclean-question-pop-culture-lesson-for-a-youngn/116213/8 "2002-06-27T23:29:59Z")
green Fool, No, it was the Stones idea to have the Hells Angels as security, because the Stones had used English Hells Angels as security at the concert they held in Hyde Park after Brian Jones death. Unfortunately, Mick & Keiff didn’r realize that the English & US hells Angels were two completely different breeds of scum. The English Angels played at being scum, while the US Angels **were** scum. As for the Grateful Dead, they were very upset after hearing what had happened during Jefferson Airplanes set, (Marty Balin getting punched out by an Angel and being knocked unconscious) that they decided not to play. As for the Stones starting late, they refused to go on until sunset because they were filming and they wanted the “groovy” light that sunset would give them. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-mclean-question-pop-culture-lesson-for-a-youngn/116213/9 "2002-08-19T18:30:06Z")
Re: interpretations of the lyrics of American Pie, there is one interpretation of a section put forth by a friend in college that I’ve never seen printed anywhere else. The common belief is that the Jester is Bob Dylan. However, the alternate explanation from my friend was that the Jester was Elvis Presley. The King would probably be Chuck Berry, who was big up until about the point that Elvis became popular. Elvis stole Berry’s crown to become the new King of Rock 'n Roll. Elvis, like Dylan, had his routes in Folk music. He also was a professed admirer of James Dean, and both Presley and Dean became icons outside of mainstream society. And the whole thing with the “Jester on the sidelines in a cast,” is a reference to the fact that around this part of the songs timeline, Elvis was essentially trading his career as a musician for his career as a movie star. Hence, he was on the sidelines of the music profession, as part of a “movie cast.”