All of these concepts, angels, hell, Satan, are quite Catholic at their roots.ĭon McLean describes early Rock and Roll of his youth as light and fun, something to dance to – innocent. The song is also about the loss of innocence, the Beatles, Charles Manson, Hells Angels and most certainly about Mick Jagger as a Satanic figure who pulled innocent rock and roll literally down into a fiery hell. The hidden Catholic meaning behind American PieĪmerican Pie is much more than a song about Buddy Holly and the plane crash that Don McLean believes marked the sad day when “music died” in America. Much of what follows was inspired, in part by the article found at this link. ” From that point on I was off to the races. Wikipedia says: “Don McLean was raised a devout Catholic. To begin my research I started with Wikipedia, the ultimate source for everything, of course. It didn’t take long to hit a little nugget of gold. I wanted to see if there was some Catholic meaning to the song that had not made its way into popular culture. I have always wondered what Don McLean was trying to say with those words. After hearing the line I was determined to dig into the song’s meaning for myself. The line in the song that I could not get out of my mind was: “The three men I admired most the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost.” A very Catholic phrase, I said to myself. The other day I mysteriously heard the song twice in two very different locations.

Driving in the car with the top down was always a special way we shared the song together.

My daughter and I share great memories listening to this song in our car, in our home, and on vacation. The code according to most critics has never been fully cracked.Īmerican Pie has always been one of my favorite songs. There is no argument on that point.īut the song goes on and on offering the listener twists and turns and hidden messages. Most people familiar with the famous tune understand that the song’s powerful line, “The day the music died,” pertains to the day Buddy Holly died at 22 years of age in a plane crash. In a Washington Post interview Don McLean said this about his song: “It was an indescribable photograph of America that I tried to capture in words and music.” Shortly after the sale, McLean made a round of interviews with music journalists who once again sought to unravel the meaning behind the cryptic words to one of the most famous songs in rock and roll history. The original manuscript with the lyrics to Don McLean’s iconic tune America Pie were sold last year for $1.2 million.

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