[Don McLean] American Pie / Vincent MUSIC MUSIC NEWS

Flashback: Don McLean Plays a Stirring ‘American Pie’ in 1972

In honor of the 60th anniversary of "The Day the Music Died," see McLean perform the hit at the BBC in 1972

BY ANGIE MARTOCCIO

FEBRUARY 3, 2019

A LONG, LONG time ago — 60 years ago today, to be exact — Buddy Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Richie Valens plummeted to their deaths as their plane crashed in the fields of Clear Lake, Iowa. Eleven years later, a singer-songwriter in Cold Springs, New York, poignantly wrote about the tragedy in the intro to his magnum opus “American Pie,” dubbing it “The Day the Music Died.”

 

A 13-year-old paperboy at the time of the plane crash (“But February made me shiver/With every paper I’d deliver”), Don McLean was devastated over Holly’s death; he later said that the fallout from the event “created a sense of grief that lived inside of me, until I was able to exorcize it with the opening verse of ‘American Pie.’”

 

Though McLean has always claimed that except for the first verse of “American Pie,” the rest of the song’s lyrics are pure poetry, references to the 1960s are blatantly obvious, from allusions to icons like Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin to dark events like Altamont and the Charles Manson murders that signified the end of the era. Released only two years after the decade had ended, “American Pie” marks the first inkling of 1960s nostalgia, paving the way for Happy Days, American Graffiti and Grease.

 

In the above video, McLean performs the nearly nine-minute song live at the BBC in 1972. “You can sing all the words with me all the way through if you want, I don’t care,” he tells the crowd, but he doesn’t have to: The attendees, the women in their headbands and turtlenecks and the men in their mustaches and shag haircuts, are already game. McLean guides them through all six verses, happily singing and strumming along.

McLean never expected “American Pie” to turn into the iconic hit that it became. “’American Pie’ will self-destruct in a number of months as if it has never been there before,” he predicted to Rolling Stone in 1972. “There might even be a considerable backlash from putting that chorus in millions of people’s heads.”

 

There are four handwritten copies of the handwritten lyrics to “American Pie.” In April 2015, one copy — 237 lines of manuscript — sold for $1.2 million at an auction. “I have two children and a wife, and none of them seem to have the mercantile instinct,” he said. “I want to get the best deal that I can for them. It’s time.” A second copy sold for $100,000 in August 2017.

 

Last week, McLean announced a tour to commemorate the 60th anniversary of “The Day the Music Died.” He’s scheduled to appear at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on March 25th, where he’ll perform and conduct a Q&A. Odds are high that his set will include “American Pie.”

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IN THIS ARTICLE: 1960s, American Pie, Buddy Holly, Don McLean

MUSIC   MUSIC NEWS

 

 

Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known to fans as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail",  he is best known for his 1971 hit song "American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone"  about the loss of innocence of the early rock and roll generation.  His other hit singles include "Vincent" (about Vincent van Gogh), "Dreidel", and "Wonderful Baby"; as well as his renditions of Roy Orbison's "Crying" and the Skyliners' "Since I Don't Have You".

 

McLean's song "And I Love You So" has been recorded by Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Helen Reddy, Glen Campbell, and others. In 2000, Madonna had a hit with a rendition of "American Pie".

 

In 2004, McLean was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In January 2018, BMI certified that "American Pie" and "Vincent" had reached five million and three million airplays respectively.

 

 

돈 맥클린은 어린 시절 천식으로 인해서 스포츠 등 육체적인 활동에 제약을 받았다.

따라서 그는 스스로 음악에 몰두했고 특히 리틀 리처드, 프랭크 시나트라 그리고 버디 홀리에 심취했다.

 

그는 아이오와 대학 시절 파티장에서 밴조와 기타로 연주 활동을 하면서 포크 뮤지션들인 조쉬와이트, 피트 시거 등에게서 포크를 익혔다.

 

돈 맥클린은 1971년, 대히트 앨범 ‘American Pie’를 발표한다. 동명 타이틀곡인 'American Pie'는 72년이 시작됨과 동시에 미국 차트 정상에 4주간 올라섰다. 당시 3분 언저리의 곡들이 라디오를 장악하고 있던 미국의 음악계에서 8분 27초 짜리 긴곡이 라디오 방송을 정복한 것 또한 대단한 이변이었다.

 

돈 맥클린의 대표곡인 이 곡은 비행기 사고로 세상을 떠난 버디 할리를 소재로 한 곡으로 버디 할리가 죽은 날을 'The day the music died.....'로 표현하고 있다. 이 노래는 장국영의 가수 데뷔곡이기도 하다.

 

 

돈 맥클린은 이 앨범에서 또 하나의 명곡을 들려준다.

빈센트 반 고흐의 'Starry Night'이라는 그림을 보면서 그 영감을 노래로 만들었다는 'Vincent'는 가사 속에 담긴 회화성과 아름다운 멜로디로 그에게 영국차트 첫 1위의 성공을 안겨주게 된다.

 

 

American Pie 1970 (한글자막) / Don McLean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkxCSb233Rw 

 

 

American Pie Lyrics

 

[Intro]
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
But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
Something touched me deep inside
The day the music died

 

[Chorus]
So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

[Verse 1]
Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now, do you believe in rock 'n' roll
Can music save your mortal soul
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died

[Chorus]
I started singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

 

[Verse 2]
Now, for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin' 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
And a voice that came from you and me
Oh, and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lennon read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died

[Chorus]
We were singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

[Verse 3]
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and fallin' 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?

 

[Chorus]
We started singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

[Verse 4]
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 spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died

[Chorus]
He was singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die..."

[Bridge]
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 the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died

[Deleted Verse]
And there I stood alone and afraid
I dropped to my knees and there I prayed
And I promised Him everything I could give
If only He would make the music live
And He promised it would live once more
But this time one would equal four
And in five years four had come to mourn
And the music was reborn

[Chorus]
And they were singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

[Outro]
They were singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die"

 

sauce:Don McLean – American Pie Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

 

 

Vincent - Don McLean(가사 번역)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLc1Azr3LEE 

 

천재화가 빈센트 반 고호..

 

빈센트는 어느 화창한 오후에 자신의 몸에 총을 겨누고는 방아쇠를 당겼습니다.

그때 그의 심정이 어땠을 지 감히 상상하지 못하겠습니다. 그러나 그가 하려던 말이 무엇인지 이 노래를 통해 대강 알 것 같아요.

 

별은 빛나고.. 세상은 별과 달리 불공평해요. 누군가에게는 너무 가혹한 현실을 가져다 주고, 누군가에게는 암울한 미래를 보여주곤 해요..

 

고흐는 세상을 떠나기로 결심했지만, 그와 동시에 하나의 별이 되려 날아갔어요 별이 빛나는 밤에