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Song Analysis: American Pie

121 Words1 Pages
“American Pie” can be heard as a historical story of American during the fanciful 1950s and the drearier 1960s. The song is inspired by Don McLean’s memory of being a young paperboy in 1959 and when he learned that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson had died in a plane crash. “American Pie” gives its audience a conjectural story of McLean’s life from the mid-1950s to the end of 1960s. At the same time, it symbolizes the progress of popular politics and music over this time frame. From the grace of the 1950s, to the shadows of the 1960s, then figuratively the song develops in to the present time. “American Pie” transforms as America, itself
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