美國著名民謠歌手唐麥克林 Don McLean - American Pie

(Youtube web: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHkT2YfqHE4)

"American Pie" by Don McLean is a complex song, it is hard to sing/play and the lyrics have mystified music lovers since it was released in 1971. The song starts with the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson, Jr. (The Big Bopper) in a plane crash in 1959 ("... the day the music died ... "), and ends in 1970 when the US was entwined in the Vietnam War. Many music lovers interpreted the lyrics with the historical events at the time (the cold war, the assassination of JFK, the hippie generation, the drugs, etc) and the evolution of rock-and-roll with the rise and fall of iconic stars (Elvis, Dylan, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, etc). For example, the third verse says:

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

Bob Dylan was likely the jester wearing a wind breaker that was similar to the one worn by James Dean in the movie "Rebel without a Cause". Dean had died young in a car crash and was the icon of the rebellious generation that grew up during the Korea and Vietnam Wars. Many interpreted the King and Queen as Elvis Presley and Connie Francis, although some suggested they were Peter Seeger and Joan Baez, who are folk singers ("... voice that came from you and me ..") The last line of the third verse could signify the rise of Dylan and the decline of Elvis, the King.

All in all, I always enjoy listening to this song and consider it as one of my top five favorites.