Our world was complicated only perhaps by simple teenage jealousies. 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. The song is also about the loss of innocence, the Beatles, Charles Manson, Hell’s 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 Pie.Īmerican 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. Wiki writes: “Don McLean was raised a devout Catholic. It didn’t take long to hit a little nugget of gold. To begin my research I started with Wikipedia, the ultimate source for everything, of course. 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.Īfter 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.

What does the song american pie mean