McLean has always refused to specifically discuss the meaning of the lyrics to American Pie except for admitting the song is dedicated to Buddy Holly. There are quite a few different interpretations. Sometimes I have given multiple interpretations. Other times I have simply given what I believe makes sense.

General comments

The entire song is a tribute to Buddy Holly and a commentary on how rock and roll changed in the years from his death through 1971. McLean repeatedly laments the lack of "danceable" music in rock and roll. McLean traces the problems with contemporary (1971) rock to the absence of Buddy Holly in particular and the demise of R&B influences in general.

"American Pie" reached #1 in the US in 1972. The album containing the song was released in 1971. Buddy Holly died in 1959.

Rock and roll's earliest function was to provide dance music for social events. Now (and in 1971), rock has/had become tainted by money. McLean recalls his desire to become a musician playing early R&B and rockabilly solely to make people happy.

Buddy Holly died on the snowy night of February 2, 1959 in a plane crash in Iowa. The news came to most of the world on the morning of February 3.

Don McLean was a paperboy. I really don't know if that is true, but this never seems to be questioned.

Holly's recent bride (Maria Elena) was pregnant. She had a miscarriage shortly after Holly's death.

The plane crash that killed Buddy Holly also took the lives of Richie Valens and J. P. Richardson (The Big Bopper). February 3, 1959 became known as "The Day The Music Died".

Miss American Pie seems to be McLean's metaphor for rock and roll music. A lyrical device created to tie the song together.

Rumors that American Pie was the name of the plane carrying Holly, Valens, and Richardson are untrue. The plane was unamed, designated only by the registration number N3794N. Rumors that McLean once dated a Miss America contestant and got the idea from that experience are also false.

Holly's hit "That'll be the Day" contains the chorus "That'll be the day that I die".

"The Book of Love" by the Monotones (1958).

"The Bible Tells Me So" by Don Cornell (1955).

"Do you Believe in Magic?" by the Lovin' Spoonful (1965) has the lines "Do you believe in magic" and "It's like trying to tell a stranger about rock and roll.

Slow dancing was an important part of early rock and roll dances, but began to disapear through the 60's as things like psychedelia and the 10 minute guitar solo gained prominence.

This reference to slowdancing could just be dancing, or could be the horizontal bop. Watching a couple slow-dancing is an easy way figure out whether they have (or will have) some sort of relationship.

A reference to the "sock hop".

White teens began listening to rhythm and blues in the mid 50's. The melding of rhythm and blues with country led to the Sun Record sound and the rockabilly style of Buddy Holly.

"A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)" by Marty Robbins (1957). The pickup truck is a symbol of sexual independence and potency. Especially in the context of Holly's Texas roots.

I started singin'
{Refrain}

{Verse 3}
Now for ten years we've been on our own

McLean was writing the song in the late 60's. Holly died in '59.

Probably a reference to the stagnation of rock and roll in general. This could also be a reference to changes in the music business in the late 60's. Especially the huge amounts of cash record companies and some artist were beginning to make.

I have also seen this viewed as a reference to Elvis begining to gain weight, Dylan and the Beatles no longer touring, or the Rolling Stones selling out. However, these figures all have specific characterizations and prominent roles later in the song.

Dylan is the jester, Elvis is generally viewed as the King, and Little Richard as the Queen. I have also seen the King and Queen interpreted as the Kennedys who actually heard Dylan perform at a civil rights rally hosted by MLK Jr. That seems a bit early in the 60's for this verse.

In the movie "Rebel Without a Cause", James Dean has a red windbreaker. Dylan wears the same type of coat on the cover of "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan".

Dylan's roots are in American folk music, the music of the "masses". This could also be a reference to Dylan not having a better singing voice than the average person.

A reference to Dylan and his type of music becoming more popular than Elvis. The thorny crown could refer to the price of fame or could be a reference to the controversy of John Lennon comparing the popularity of rock stars (specifically the Beatles) to Jesus.

Arguments between Dylan and Elvis fans could not be settled. This seems to be about more than just music, but hints at general lifestyle issues between grown up 50's fans of Elvis and hippie fans of Dylan.

John Lennon, Karl Marx, and the introduction of politics to music. Although this could also refer to Groucho Marx, since Lennon was also incorporating farce into music through his actions.

Generally thought of as a reference to the Beatles last live performance at Candelstick Park. They played for 35 minutes and no one could hear a sound.

A reference to some of the new "art rock" groups which played long pieces not meant for dancing.

We were singing
{Refrain}

{Verse 4}
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter

"Helter Skelter" by the Beatles (1968). Of course this adds a sinister tone due to Charles Manson claiming to have been "inspired" by the song through which he thought God and/or the devil were taking to him. Charlie of course instructed his followers to paint the song title in blood on the walls during the Tate-LaBianca murders.

The summer swelter could refer to the Summer of Love ('67) or the long hot summer of Watts ('65). Take your pick. The general tone at this point seems to suggest the Watts riots.

"Eight Miles High" by the Byrds (1966). This was one of the first records to be widely banned because of supposedly drug-oriented lyrics. This is also one of the first overtly psychelic songs and not much of a dance number.

A member of the Byrds was busted for possesion of marijuana in a well publicised case.

The Beatles and others were trying to advance rock after Sgt. Pepper, but no one considered returning to their roots and a ground breaking album was not forthcoming.

In July of '66 Dylan crashed his motorcycle near his home in Woodstock. He spent nine months recuperating in seclusion.

Either incense, marijuana smoke, or tear gas at the '68 democratic convention.

Reference to the inabilty to dance to the music of Sgt. Pepper or other popular music of the time.

A comment about how the Beatles stopped touring and started experimenting with more psycedelic music, leading in turn to a dearth of traditional rock and roll.

We started singing
{Refrain}

{Verse 5}
Oh, and there we were all in one place

Woodstock.

Probably a veiled comment about hippies taking drugs and listening to psychedelic music. I have also seen this taken as a literal commentary on the public's fascination with the space race, but I am not sure how that fits in with the rest of the song.

Could mean too much time was spent being stoned causing a generation to waste their potential. More in the context of the song, this could refer to the preference for psychedelia pushing rock and roll so far from Holly's music that it couldn't be retrieved.

References to Mick Jagger and the Stones hits "Jumpin Jack Flash" and "Sympathy for the Devil".

I have also seen this portrayed as a reference to JFK's actions during the Cuban missle crisis. In fact, there have been a number of political interpretations to previous lyrics that I have not bothered to mention. The time of the Cuban missle crisis as opposed to the time line of the song make this interpretation unlikely. McLean has never really written any other politically charged songs, so I generally tend to ignore most political interpretations.

At a concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1968, the Stones appointed members of the Hell's Angels to work security. This was suggested by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. How many drugs were these guys taking? A man was beaten to death by the Hell's Angels in front of the stage. 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".

The most likely interpretation is that McLean is still talking about Altamont, and in particular Mick Jagger's prancing and posing with the bonfires around the area provide the flames.

This could also refer to Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar at the Monterey Pop Festival, but we are really on a roll with the Stones.

Mick Jagger gets to play the role of satan.

He was singing
{Refrain}

{Verse 6} I met a girl who sang the blues

Janis Joplin.

Joplin died of a heroin overdose on October 4, 1970.

Believed to be a reference to independent record stores being taken over by national chains and the discontinuation of the practice of allowing customers to sample music. The introduction of chain stores led to more of an influx of money into the music industry, the death of independent record labels, and the comercialization of rock.

'69 and '70 riots in Berkeley. Race riots in northern cities. Kent State.

Ballads are out of favor and slow dancing is a lost art. Even Dylanesque poetic lyrics of the mid-60's have lost out to drug induced ramblings.

The people who could have saved rock, including Holly, Joplin, and Hendrix have died. The Beatles, who had the influence to push rock back to it's R & B roots have broken up.

Holly, Valens, Richardson or JFK, MLK Jr, RFK or the literal Catholic interpretation of the Holy Trinity. After all, McLean attended catholic school. I personally like going with the first option to tie together the song.

Could be a reference to the influence of R&B and rockabilly on rock and roll fading into the sunset. Sometimes interpreted as a commentary on how rock and roll had moved from grass roots, middle America to Hollywood big business. Might also just be a sad musing that the memory of Holly, Valens, and the Big Bopper becomes less vivid with the more time that passes.

And they were singing
{Refrain}

They were singing bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die