Don McLean - The meaning of American Pie

[Nitram]

22. You don't need to look it up. He says it straight out in the lyrics of American Pie. No mystery.

Now, for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
But, that's not how it used to be
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
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lennon read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singin'

So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
Oh and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage

Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast

While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance