American Pie

Since the song has been "rediscovered" with the recent Madonna version, I thought this might be a good time for a bit of music history for the kids. My seven year old found this incredibly interesting. If you want to color a few pages together while telling your child(ren) the history of this song, check out the music coloring section.

On February 3, 1959 a private plane crashed during a snow storm in Iowa. All four of its passengers died.

Three of the passengers were famous singers: Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. To put it in perspective, it would be like Britney Spears, Christina Agulara and Jessica Simpson all dying in one crash.

It has become known as ''the day the music died.''

About a decade after the crash, a musician named Don MacLean began writing a song in tribute to Buddy Holly. That song was American Pie.

There are a lot of "annotated" versions of the song, but past the first verse and chorus is a bit much for the preschool/early grade school set -- it's a long song (a bit too involved in flower power, the Beatles, Dylan, etc for a 7 year old's first music history lesson *grin*).

Just before I start the lyrics, one last tidbit... "Killing Me Softly With His Song", sung by Roberta Flack in 1973 was about Don MacLean ("his song" was likely American Pie). "Killing Me Softly" was also recently remade (by the Fugees).

The Lyrics:

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.	Keeping in mind that Don MacLean's song was released in 1971, the first piece of the song talks about remembering back to when the music used to make him smile (and made him want to become a musician too).
But February made me shiver, With every paper I'd deliver, Bad news on the doorstep... I couldn't take one more step.	February is the month the crash occurred. Don was a newspaper boy at the time.
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.	Buddy Holly's wife was pregnant when the plane crashed. Feb. 3rd became known as the day the music died because so many hit singers were killed in one crash.
So..Bye, bye miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry And good ol' boys were drinking whisky and rye? Singing this will be the day that I die This will be the day that I die	One of Holly's hits was "That'll be the Day"; the chorus contains the line "That'll be the day that I die"
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 Then you can teach me to dance real slow Well I know that you're in love with him 'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym You both kicked off your shoes Then I dig those rhythm and blues I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck With a pink carnation and a pickup truck but I knew that I was out of luck The day the music died I started singin'... Bye, bye miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry And good ol' boys were drinking whisky and rye? Singing this will be the day that I die this will be the day that I die Now for 10 years we've been on our own And moss grows fat on a rolling 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 In a voice that came from you and me And while the King was looking down The jester stole his thorny crown The courtroom was adjourned No verdict was returned While Lennon read the book of Marx The quartet kept practice in the park And we sang dirges in the dark The day the music died We were singin' Bye, bye miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry And good ol' boys were drinking whisky and rye? Singing this will be the day that I die this will be the day that I die Helter Skelter in a summer swelter The birds flew off with the 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 Now the halftime air was sweet perfume 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 refused to yield. Do you recall what was revealed, The day the music died? We started singing Bye, bye miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry And good ol' boys were drinking whisky and rye? Singing this will be the day that I die this will be the day that I die 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 candle stick 'Cause fire is the devil's only friend. 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 flames climbed high into the night To light the sacrificial rite I saw satan laughing with delight the day the music died. 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 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 Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast The day the music died They were singin' Bye, bye miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry And good ol' boys were drinking whisky and rye? Singing this will be the day that I die this will be the day that I die