Songs with cool stories behind them

[J-Mac]

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As an added layer, the song "American Pie" is about the day Terry Jacks died of cancer.

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As someone else mentioned earlier, the song is widely regarded to be about the plane crash that killed Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and the Big Bopper. Additionally, however, there are many interpretations of the songs lyrics that treat it as a sort of catalogue of music and events that happened between the plane crash and the writing of the song. Here's a link with some interpretations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycgegp0KdE4

Some popular interpretations of the lyrics include that "the jester" is Bob Dylan, "in a coat he borrowed from James Dean" because Dylan wears a coat very similar to the bright red coat worn by Dean on one of his album covers. Also, the "girl who sang the blues" is Janis Joplin, and "Jack Flash sat on a candle stick 'cause/ Fire is the Devil's only friend" refer (pretty overtly, imo) to "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones, and the subsequent lyric about "angel born in hell" refers to the Hell's Angels at the tragic Altamont Rolling Stones concert. "The three men I admire most" has been interpreted to mean the Holy Trinity, the three musicians who died in the title plane crash, or the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK.

Don McLean himself has been notoriously cryptic as to the "true" meaning of the lyrics, once saying, "it means...that I never have to work again."


Interestingly, the song "Killing Me Softly" was apparently written about "American Pie", because Roberta Flack was so moved when she heard the song that she felt like Don McLean was, "singing my life with his words."

Another great African-American song that was apparently inspired by an earlier song by a white artist is Sam Cooke's epic, "A Change is Gonna Come" (which, if ANY of you have not heard, I suggest finding and listening to immediately, as I feel it is one of the classics of the 20th century that is almost impossible to not enjoy). Apparently, Cooke heard a little song called, "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan, and was so struck that such a powerful song could be written by this young white boy that he set out to write a grand song of his own.