The Day the Music Died
...ion that gave birth to talents such as Holly, Valens and the Big Bopper. McLean is depressed about the situation and drives down to the levy in his truck where a bunch of bums are drinking and singing. The irony of their song is that they have changed the lyrics of one of Buddy Holly's songs "That'll be the Day (When I Die)" to "this'll be the day that I die" being as it is the day of Holly's death. The second verse is a series of questions that McLean is imposing upon musicians of the time. What drives them to write the music that they write: Is it God? Is it love? Is it belief in rock and roll as an institution pulling the races together while breaking the world apart? Then he remembers the Homecoming dance where he was ditched by his date who went off to dance with another boy and how the rhythm and blues songs that were playing that night seemed to parallel his experience. He remembers being lonely with nothing but his pick up truck and the pink flower that he wore as a boutonniere. When "the music died" he figured he would never again hear songs that brought back such vivid memories. In verse three, McLean is pointing out how much his life has changed in the past ten years. The king and queen referred to are the Homecoming King and Queen from a long ago year in high school. The jester, most likely the school mascot, serenaded the royalty in a comical outfit and was probably singing a song by Holly or Valens. McLean remembers the voice of the singer and the phrase "a voice that came from you and me" refers to the fact that the only place he can remember the jester's voice is in his own memory. The quartet practicing in the park is a reference to all of the popular bands at the time that were quartets, such as the Beatles. Dirges sung in the dark were, of course, funeral dirges for the deceased. "Helter skelter in the summer swelter" also refers to the late September night when the Homecoming game was held. The birds flying off with the fallout shelter refers to the fact that it was still the early fifties and no one was worried about the Cold War or possible nuclear bombs that could be eight miles up in the air "and falling fast". The only ones hanging out in the fallout shelters were the birds. Then he snaps back to the football game and players being tackled and trying to move the ball up the field while the jester watched from the sidelines. Just as certain songs can take you back to a moment in time, so can certain scents. McLean recalls the "sweet perfume" of the torn grass of the football field. The songs of the marching band trickled through the air and the students got up to dance. Apparently the band took too long and was still playing when the football team returned from the locker room. McLean is trying to recall in his mind the feeling of that night. Verse four is another memory. Here McLean is superimposing in his mind a rock and roll concert and the fiery plane crash. The "lost generation" rebels by listening to rock and roll and gathering together at concerts. The lead singer on the stage is dancing around quickly and nimbly through the scene of the fire in the background. The "flames climb high into the night" and Satan, who many parents and adults of the fifties considered to be the father of rock and roll, watches on laughing as the singer is engulfed in flames. McLean is watching the whole thing from a distance and feels helpless because all he can do is stand there and clench his fists. The next verse refers back to "the day the music died". McLean is wandering aimlessly through the town not knowing what to do with himself after learning that three of his idols are dead. He enters a coffee shop and there is a girl on stage singing. He asks her "for some happy news" but all anyone can think about is the tragedy. He leaves and continues on down the street to the record store. McLean calls the store "sacred" because that was where he first heard rock and roll years before. The man in the store tells him that the music won't play anymore because a part of rock and roll died in that plane crash. Disheartened, McLean walks out into the street where the children are running around screaming and playing without knowing what has happened. Lovers who had deep ties to the songs are crying. Maybe one of the three artists sang a song that was "their song". The poets are other songwriters, dreaming of writing songs that will have as much of an impact on people as the songs of the original rock and roll legends. Besides the screams of the children, everything was silent, even the church bells. Now McLean turns the blame toward God ("the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost"). He says they "caught the last train for the coast the day the music died." Here he is wondering why God would allow this terrible thing to happen. These two interpretations leave out parts of verses that have meaningful lines. Many of the lines have obvious religious significance. To many, rock and roll was thought of as almost like a new religion and it created a cult-like following. The second verse asks: "do you have faith in God above if the Bible tells you so?" McLean was pointing out that many of the older generation that feared rock and roll based ...