06 American Pie by Don McLean: Verse 5
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This article is from the The Annotated American Pie FAQ, by Rich Kulawiec rsk@gsp.org with numerous contributions by others.
06 American Pie by Don McLean: Verse 5
And there we were all in one place
Woodstock.
A generation lost in space
Some people think this is a reference to the US space program,
which it might be; but that seems a bit too literal. Perhaps this
is a reference to hippies, who were sometimes known as the
"lost generation", partially because of their particularly acute
alientation from their parents, and partially because of their
presumed preoccupation with drugs.
It could also be a reference to the awful TV
show, "Lost in Space", whose title was sometimes
used as a synonym for someone who was rather high...
but I keep hoping that McLean had better taste. :-)
With no time left to start again
The "lost generation" spent too much time being stoned, and had wasted
their lives? Or, perhaps, their preference for psychedelia had pushed
rock and roll so far from Holly's music that it couldn't be retrieved.
So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick
Probably a reference to Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones;
"Jumpin' Jack Flash" was released in May, 1968.
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
The Stones' Candlestick park concert? (unconfirmed)
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
"Sympathy for the Devil", by the Stones -- seems to fit with
some of the surrouding material.
It's possible that this is a reference to the Grateful
Dead's "Friend of the Devil". But I doubt it.
An alternative interpretation of the last four lines is that they
may refer to Jack Kennedy and his quick decisions during the
Cuban Missile Crisis; the candlesticks/fire refer to ICBMs
and nuclear war.
And as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in hell
Could break that satan's spell
While playing a concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1968, the Stones
appointed members of the Hell's Angels to work security (on the
advice of the Grateful Dead). In the darkness near the front of the
stage, a young man named Meredith Hunter was beaten and stabbed to
death -- by the Angels. Public outcry that the song "Sympathy for
the Devil" had somehow incited the violence caused the Stones to
drop the song from their show for the next six years. This incident
is chronicled in the documentary film "Gimme Shelter".
It's also possible that McLean views the Stones as being negatively
inspired (remember, he had an extensive religious background) by
virtue of "Sympathy for the Devil", "Their Satanic Majesties' Request"
and so on. I find this a bit puzzling, since the early Stones
recorded a lot of "roots" rock and roll, including Buddy Holly's
"Not Fade Away".
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
The most likely interpretation is that McLean is still talking
about Altamont, and in particular Mick Jagger's prancing and posing
while it was happening. The sacrifice is Meredith Hunter, and the
bonfires around the area provide the flames.
(It could be a reference to Jimi Hendrix burning his Stratocaster
at the Monterey Pop Festival, but that was in 1967 and this verse
is set in 1968.)
I saw satan laughing with delight
If the above is correct, then Satan would be Jagger.
The day the music died
He was singing...
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