FIRST TIME HEARING Don McLean - American Pie REACTION 

This is the greatest songwriting effort in music history. It is a about the tragic plane crash which claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson and Richie Valens on Feb. 3rd, 1959, which McLean called "the day the music died". It is also an encapsulation of the 1960's with references to many artists: The jester is Bob Dylan.. Rolling Stones ' frontman Mick Jagger is cast as Satan, with references to two Stones songs ("Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Sympathy For The Devil"), in the lyrics: "Jack flash sat on a candlestick, 'cause fire is the devil's only friend"..and the quartet" and "the marching band" is, of course, The Beatles....the "girl who sang the blues" is Janis Joplin...it contains references to the riots, political assassinations and The Woodstock festival. McLean, a devout Catholic, also expresses his sadness how America changed in the 1960's and he felt became ungodly and lost its values. This is best expressed in the lyrics: "And the 3 men I admire most, The Father, Son and The Holy Ghost..they caught the last train for the coast".. Also in the lyrics, "Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie" It is an absolute masterpiece.

According to McLean, "American Pie" was originally inspired by the death of Buddy Holly. "I loved his music," he told Songfacts. "When that whole crash happened, it was a real ache in my heart. So, I ended up bringing back all those memories of 1959 and the things that happened later." "The Day The Music Died" is February 3, 1959, when Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash after a concert. McLean wrote the song from his memories of the event ("Dedicated to Buddy Holly" was printed on the back of the album cover McLean was a 13-year-old paperboy in New Rochelle, New York when Holly died. He learned about the plane crash when he cut into his stack of papers and saw the lead story.

"This will be the day that I die" is a reference to Buddy Holly's song, "That'll Be The Day" in which the end of the chorus says, "that'll be the day that I die". It was one of Holly's most famous songs.

One of the best songs ever written. Glad you got to hear this😊

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens , the big Bopper die, that nigh on February 3, 1959 . the day that's the music died.

We played this at my favorite aunts funeral. One of my favorites. Proud all my children know every word of this song as well. There's nothing like real music played from instruments.

I Grew up with this one and it still souds as good as the first time i heard it all those years ago.

This song is so rich with metaphors, you either had to be there to get all the historical references, or have it explained. Many scholars have dissected this song, but McLean eventually explained what it meant to him.

One of the greatest songs ever written and sung so beautifully..

"What's a Chevy on a levee?" was the question I asked my mom the the first time I heard this song when I was four or five years old way back in 1972 or thereabouts. I bet she was glad I didn't ask her about whiskey and rye! The day the music died is the day Buddy Holly died in a plane crash in 1959. One of his biggest hits was "That'll Be The Day", with a chorus that ends with the line "Because that'll be the day when I die". So the good old boys drinking whiskey and rye were singing an ode to the late Buddy Holly. If you're not familiar with the songs of Buddy Holly and want a taste of their inspiration for this song, start with "That'll Be the Day" because this song points back to it directly. After that, check out "Words of Love", "Maybe Baby", "Not Fade Away", "Bo Diddley", "Everyday", "Peggy Sue", "Oh Boy", and "Rave On" among many many others.

I had the great honor of viewing seventy (70) original Van Gogh original paintings at Los Angeles back in the 90's. Let me say this... are you f%cking kidding me! I'm standing 3 feet in front of THIS! It was once in a lifetime and immortal. Including his last painting. OMG. OMG. OMG. Just no words. An experience of not only a lifetime, but experience unique across billions around the world.

This song was great for those of us born way before the first event referenced, the crash and the follow on history lessons of what came between that 1959 event and the time that this song was written. If a history class dissected this song and "We Did'nt Start The Fire", it would be a great overview of the second half of the 20th century.

@Sarah- Don MClean is talking about the day the music died is when Buddy HOlly, Big bopper, and Richie Valance died in a plane crash.

If you can sing EVERY SINGLE word, you are lucky enough to have grown up with the BEST music!!😃

Keep bringing the beautiful music you and yours have a beautiful weekend Sarah 👍

This song was one of my favorite 45rpm records when I was a little kid, so it's a lifelong favorite. I used to play it over and over on my plastic suitcase record player, had to flip the record over halfway through the song to hear the second half of the song. I wore this record out! 👍😁

This was my favorite song when it came out. I asked my father to buy me the album, and he did. My very first real rock LP. I had 45s, and kids music albums but not like this. I played it over and over. I knew every word (a lot of them wrong, I now realize, because I understand the references). The next song on the album is Vincent, about the painter, Vincent Van Gogh. You should listen to that one too.

This song is for everyone who loves Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues, and Rock, with a lot of allusions to this music in the 50s and 60s. One of the big tensions highlighted in the song is between people who expect it to have a beat for dancing and those who don't. "While 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 refuse to yield" is a reference to the dominance of The Beatles and their (mostly) undanceable music.

Have you ever heard his song VINCENT? Absolutely beautiful.

"American Pie" is one of the greatest classic songs of our times. Don McLean is a great songwriter & storyteller. I remember this song growing up. "American Pie" pays tribute to the loss of 3 legends who died so young (Buddy Holly, Richie Valens & The Big Bopper). A lot of references in the song are made to many artists from the early days of music including Elvis, Janis Joplin, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Byrds & others. Don McLean did an awesome version with Home Free to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this song. Please check it out.

What an amazing song! People below me here have explained whose death inspired the song, so I won't expand on that... other than to say Mr Mclean goes on to explain, with metaphors, what happened to our generation after that period passed.

Drove my Chevy to the Levee but the Levee was dry , them good Ole boys were drinking whiskey in Rye . Is actually a nod to his hometown Rochelle where the only bar in town was the Levy, but it closed down. So the had to drive across the bridge to another small town called Rye.

My son and I stopped at the Surf Club in Clear Lake, Iowa a few years ago, where Holly, Valens, and Big Bopper played their last show. It is amazingly unchanged from 1959. The plane crashed a few miles out of town. That was the night that "The Music Died". Don McLean was my first "real" concert in 1971. He opened for Blood Sweat and Tears.

I don't know if you know the song Killing Me Softly with His Song, originally recorded by Roberta Flack, but that song was inspired by the feeling of singer/songwriter Lori Lieberman when she first saw Don McLean perform. She wrote down her impressions and thoughts in poetic fashion and shared it with a couple of corporate songwriters, Gimbel and Fox, with whom she was working on material for her album, and they came up with Killing Me Softly with His Song. Later, in the 90s the two songwriters denied her involvement in their songwriting, but as their own description of their collaboration and method of working with her was covered in magazine articles at the time (which I remember reading), once they were unearthed it proved she was correct.

To me, this song was both a celebration of and a farewell to the idealism of youth expressed through images of popular musicians of the 60s. It was a huge hit and played constantly on the radio for months. Despite its length I don't think there was ever a cut down radio version which was very unusual in the day of 3 minute hits.

This is probably my favorite song. It has deep meaning and memories to me. The crux of the song is about the 1959 plane crash that killed rock stars Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper. Lots of metaphors and mysteries in this song. It came out I believe in 1971❤

When asked what this song meant , Mclean said jokingly "It means I'll never have to work another day in my life"

A month ago you reacted to his very poetic song "Vincent" about Vincent van Gogh ... that was a great reaction too. Thanks for doing this one. So sweet and nostalgic.

The death of music is referring to Buddy Holly, Big bopper, and Richey Valens plane crash... The band who took the field is referring to the Beatles... The King and Queen is referring to Elvis Presley and Joan Baez... The Jester is Bob Dillan... Bob Dillan was in a cast due to a motor cycle crash, broke his arm... Helter Skelter is referring to the Manson murders... Sweet Perfume is referring to Agent orange or tear gas... Jack Flash is a song by the Rolling Stones... Rolling stones had problems performing at candle stick park in the late 1960's... The Hells Angels were security at the concert... The devil he was referring to was Mick Jagger... The girl who sang the blues is referring to Janis Joplin... The three wise men are referring to John F Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King... This song has so many different meanings that trying to interoperate them is hard...

This song always rips my heart in the best way 🥹

Genius reaction Sarah. You went straight to the heart of the song without knowing the story behind it.

Such memories when hearing this song.

A forever GRAND CLASSIC.

think of your three favorite singers (different bands) getting on a plane, on top of the world, true songbirds of their profession and never to be seen again.

Seen McLean at Crown Court in downtown Kansas City before, we all sang American Pie it was the last song of the night it was a religious experience I tell you 😁🍺🍻✌️💓

I love watching Tyson Fury singing this in the boxing ring. It's a fun song about a very sad day in American history. It's basically the Forrest Gump of songs. haha, so many stories, so fun to sing "For several years after "the day the music died", popular music really lost it's direction. There were few huge headliners. No one really replaced Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. Elvis was off serving in the army. We saw slightly religious themed music along with Rhythm and Blues beginning to take the lead. This was a time when Rock n Roll was growing up and discovering itself. When this era dies it is lamented by a young adults who are about to join the workforce. The British Invasion of the early 60's brought back stars and big names. The third and fourth verses of the song are loaded with characters and metaphors for the time."

Dissected in those lyrics you’ll find, Buddy Holly of course, but also Elvis, JFK, the BEATLES, BOB DYLAN, the BYRDS, the Rolling Stones, and the American mood throughout.

This song was such a huge international hit that, when asked years later, what it meant, Don replied: "It means I never have to work again."

Thank you for your beautiful reaction, Sarah!

Events and people of the late 50s and 1960s. The king (Elvis), the jester (Bob Dylan), the quartet in the park that refused to yield ( The Beatles)., my hands clenched in rage (at the Rolling Stones), a girl who sang the blues (Janis Joplin) , this will be the day I die refers to the Vietnam war......

I have difficulty understanding lyrics b/c I feel the music, and I get overwhelmed, I get overload, however this song when it came out back in the day for me was just simple enough, just complex enough, just enough that I could whole hardheartedly, feel, comprehend, and sing along with having tears running down my cheeks.

Don Mc Lean came to Pittsfield, MA and performed this song at South Junior High School. Those of us who went to North Jr. High were bussed there to see and listen to him. This happened at the height of this classic song . What a very cool thing to see and to take part of as a teen in the 70's.

Too many died young, we lost many great artists in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. RIP

Yes - she already listened to Vincent.

buddy holly was the main guy he loved. but tbuddy holly, the big bopper and Ritche Valens were all buddying young super rock stars and al died on a tragic plane crash that day

There are so many references in this song . . . Buddy Holly and Sergeant Pepper's and Janis Joplin and Altamont. Every damn line--I rather suspect that the 'sweet perfume' is tear gas, for example. Fucking Kent State or whatever.

I've watched a number of your vids and I really enjoy them. If you haven't seen Abbot & Costello's "Who's on First" you need to do it ASAP. It's one of the really classic comedy routines of all time.

It was a huge thing for us in my senior year of high school working out the puzzle of the lyrics. The whole nation of teenagers was working on it.

This song was one big metafor

Classic SONG 🎵

Poetry in music!

Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens....there is a Doku about this song.....look this its amazing❤

React to all the songs of buddy holly and the crickets. When Buddy's playing went down that was the day the music died but we still have him on tape to listen to his great early rock and roll songs

Charles Hardin Holley R.I.P. ❤

Thank you for your lovely reaction

Have you reacted to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s song TEXAS FLOOD, LIVE AT El Mocambo? It’s absolutely amazing.

We stay.agood song but only a song ýou heart and soul is beautiful. ⁹

Please react to Home Free featuring Don McLean who made an amazing cover of this classic song for the 50th anniversary, you will be glad you did.

Thanks!

The day the music died refers to the day that Buddy Holly died in a plane crash. Watch The Buddy Holly Story.

it's for everyone...who remembers...just saying:)

Ma'am I'm a new sub and love the channel thank you for sharing this Daniel army strong

My #1 and Only Channel for reactions to 'REAL MUSIC' ... 'GODSPEED ALWAYS!' Recommend the following two Wonderful Classics ... 1. 'Song For America' by Kansas. 2. 'It's A Long Way There' from The Little River Band's Debut Album.

Buddy Holly 😢❤

batmanforpresident9655 is correct, upon that moment many thought rock n roll was dead, which turned out not to be true.

Classic Awesome

Sarah, please give us a reaction video to the song “Crystal Blue Persuasion”by Tommy James. Also, how about some Jim Croce? You are the best!❤

I know I am not a patreon member, but since you liked this try Starry, Starry Night. Tribute to Vincent Van Gogh

The great Buddy Holly.

please react to "The Warning",rock band that takes many of us back to the past

Listen to "Vincent" same artist!

It’s about the death of Buddy Holly and the turbulence of the 1960’s

please listen to Winterwood from the same album ?????? beautiful

❤

Google February 3rd 1959 for the answer

American Pie 2

Have you ever listened to 'Five years', by David Bowie? About the world comming to end for one...

No. It's NOT "insane" It's just very good.

Buddy Holly

Stupid maybe but keep believing in goodness. It will always win.have no fear,only the fear within yourself and you can defeat that fear.then you have strength

if you were born in USA many years ago...this is easier to understand.

Hard to understand the meaning to this song if you’re under 60… but trust me,he is saying a lot in code about the late 1950’s -early 1970’s music & culture. It’s like when I watch a movie from the 1940’s that is referencing culture,politics & events from that time period, I get lost

Now Sarah, just try to get this tune out of your head. Ha ha

Thanks!