Semiotics of "American Pie" and American culture

American Pie

On February 3, 1959, three American music legends died in a plane crash: Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the "Big Bopper," Jiles Perry Richardson. The event affected songwriter Don McLean so deeply that he etched the event into public memory, calling it "the day the music died." Not only did Holly, Valens, and the Big Bopper die but their music perished along with them. Moreover, Holly, Valens, and the Big Bopper symbolized an era of innocence in American popular music. Their songs epitomized the 1950s and so their deaths at the end of the decade demarcated one era from another in the history of American music. Furthermore, the type of music that Holly, Valens, and the Big Bopper represented would change from the catchy, snappy tunes of 1950s rock and roll to the darker themes and heavier riffs of 1960s rock. When McLean wrote about the plane crash that took the lives of three American musical heroes, he took the opportunity also to weave in similar historical events and therefore crafted one of the most iconic American songs: "American Pie."

American Pie" includes a wealth of cultural references. Its semiotics are sometimes overt references to popular culture but some of McLean's lyrics are cloaked in symbolism. Moreover, many of the references refer specifically to music. McLean's liberal use of musical references demonstrates the central role music and especially rock and roll played as a chronicle of American culture. "American Pie" describes the changes taking place in the United States during the 1960s, changes that are mirrored at least in part by the popular music scene. McLean therefore uses music as a springboard to critique American culture during the 1960s.

The second verse of the song is almost entirely comprised of allusions to American pop songs including "The Book of Love" and "The Bible Tells me So." In the third verse, McLean mentions Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," and also critiques Dylan's music. McLean's subtle references to Dylan as being a "jester" reflects the central concept that the "music died" when rock and roll transformed from the lighthearted 1950s to the psychedelic 1960s. McLean mentions not being able to dance to music in the 1960s because of the nature of psychedelic songs. In the third verse of the song, McLean sings, "We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance." In the sixth verse McLean continues to lament the passing of 1950s popular music when he writes, "I went down to the sacred store / Where I heard the music years before, but the man said the music wouldn't play." The music of the 1950s, and the culture of the 1950s, had died at the end of that decade. McLean seems bitter, sorrowful about the changes taking place in American society during the 1960s.

The changes in American popular music reflected changes in American society, which is why McLean uses music as a semantic vehicle to discuss his viewpoints and critique American culture. The changes in American society that took place during the 1960s included those related to the rise of hippie youth culture and the political protest movements during the 1960s. For example, McLean suggests that the Byrd's cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" marked the start of hippie drug culture in the United States: through thinly veiled references to marijuana like "foul grass" and the "sweet perfume" in the air. The cover version was far more psychedelic-sounding than the original, but even Bob Dylan's music changed from pure American folk to more rock-oriented folk that helped define the 1960s American sound. References to Janis Joplin and other 1960s-era musicians come across as derogatory in "American Pie" because of McLean's distaste for psychedelic sounds.

In the fourth verse, McLean mentions the "marching band" that "refused to yield," which is a reference to the politicization of music through increased activism among popular music stars like John Lennon. Therefore, the "day the music died" was the day music and politics became fused. The Vietnam War, the Kennedy assassination, the Civil Rights movement, and other historical events also evoke imagery associated with death. "The day the music died" also marked the day America's Golden Age died too. During the 1960s music became associated with sex, drugs, and violence: in stark contrast to the childlike "doo-wop" days of the 1950s.

McLean weaves in references to British groups the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to show how the British invasion altered the landscape of American music. In addition to using musical references, McLean also writes about American popular culture through film stars like James Dean, who also died tragically and whose iconic career embodies the central themes of "American Pie." Like Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, James Dean was also a 1950s icon. His death also marked the "day the music died," the day innocence in America died.

American Pie" progresses chronologically from the "day the music died" until the late 1960s. In verse five, McLean mentions the Woodstock festival in 1969 and refers to "a generation lost in space." McLean also mentions Satan and the Devil to underscore his view that the 1960s was a time of debauch. The songwriter views the 1960s as being a generation "lost" to drugs. Music concerts and public events became spectacles and often erupted into violent protests. For instance, McLean refers to a concert the Rolling Stones played at, during which the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang overstepped their authority as chief security officers. McLean likens the event to a "sacrificial rite." Therefore, the songwriter describes the changes in American culture in Biblical terms, continuing to use imagery relating to death.

The title of the song is itself conveys the semiotics embedded in "American Pie." Pie is one of the only foods considered quintessentially American. The reference evokes mom's apple pie, an image of idyllic domesticity in the suburbs, of traditional gender roles, of sweetness, family, and the American Dream. The "day the music died" was the day that American woke up from its Dream. Gender roles were shifting rapidly so that women were no longer geared to be housewives. American culture seemed to be coming apart at the seams. The happy-go-lucky energy of the 1950s, captured in the songs of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper, had died when those musicians perished in a plane crash. Those were the "good old boys" McLean refers to in the central refrain of the song. Likewise, when McLean writes about driving his "Chevy to the levee," he also uses another icon of American culture: the Chevrolet automobile.