Tuesday, April 1, 2014

A is for...

American Pie...Don McLean, 1971.

A Serenade of Seventies songs, from the soundtrack of my life, is my theme for the A-Z challenge this year.

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile...

I used to sing this song in grade school, while riding my bike around in my grandparents' driveway. There were some brief explanations here and there as to what the lyrics were talking about. I admit that it didn't matter much to me at that time, as I just liked to sing.

Over a decade later we were singing this same song in bars at college. Everybody knew the chorus at the very least. It was a sort of legacy that had been passed down. My sixteen year old is familiar with it as well. If you know kids currently in college, can you find out if they are still singing it? Do they know what it was about?

Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died?



The a-z challenge is here! Thanks for stopping by for a few bars. 
I will be responding to comments via email when available, and here in comments when it is not.

49 comments:

  1. I drove my Chevy to the levee...but dang! It was dry! I hope you do a song every day. It would make me really happy!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember this song so well. It is one of those triggers that takes me back to my very happy teenage years. My friend's children at university know the song but associate it with Madonna's version, not the original.

    Joining from the A to Z challenge.

    Eileen @ In My Playroom

    ReplyDelete
  3. You're off to a great start! I love singing this song

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great post! I love that song :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. see, now you've gone and ignited the researcher in me.... I know there are parts to this song I STILL don't get.... HAVE to look it up! Great starter song!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Now That would be a great song played Bluegrass style!! lol Love it!! Hope you have a Sonny & Cher song in your stash :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you'll have to come back and see...loved their TV show!!!

      Delete
  7. Oh, I know and love this song. My 17 year does, too and he knows who "the music" is. I won't say it here because it's early in the day and your readers should be allowed to play without me ruining the game. There's also debate about "the three men I admire most, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, all took the last train for the coast, the day the music died." It's not referring to the Trinity, but to three influential musicians. That's something people can find out too...

    Oh I'm excited about this! Can't wait to see what other songs you've picked. Will there be trivia like this everyday?

    Do you just not like the pink flamingo minion badge? Or do you not want people to know about all the wonderful work you do for me? I'm just curious, so I'm asking in public...I'm subtle like that.

    Tina @ Life is Good
    A to Z Team @ Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2014

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Andrea - my brother gave me his CD once I came back to England .. it's always a great song to listen to as are the rest .. oh dear Tina's going to be on at us for her badge and its pink flamingoes .. better do something before she catches me out!! Cheers fellow minion ... Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love that song too! Great start, can't wait to see what other songs you choose!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have to sing it, always, when it's on the radio. Of course I am so old I remember when it was a 'new' song on the radio. But to me, 'the day the music died' is when Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead passed away on Aug 9, 1995.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I rarely get to listen to a radio station that plays this one!

      Delete
  11. My 18-year-old daughter knows what "American Pie" is about--but that's because I told her! She's not a big fan of this song ("Vincent" is her favorite Don McLean song), but she and I both share a big appreciation for the song's subject. You can't be a fan of The Beatles, or any popular music post-1960, without acknowledging the debt owed to Buddy Holly. He might have had an amazing career had that plane crash not happened... but his legacy lives on, nevertheless.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I actually have that song on a 45... too long for just one side, though. It takes up the whole record.
    You're more likely to find people familiar with the Weird Al Star Wars parody version these days.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lovely post !...i love the song :)

    Julekha :http://jk-thoughtcanvas.blogspot.in/2014/04/a-allah-almighty.html

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's definitely one of those songs you have to sing along to. It's like a weird law or something! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. What tickles me is - all these years later - FINALLY figuring out some of the lyrics - either because I didn't hear them right or didn't think about what the singers were actually saying!! Every song will be a treat. Good old American Pie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read a line by line explanation I found on google...I didn't realize everything allegedly meant something!

      Delete
  16. My husband and I have fond memories of this song. We did a lot of traveling across the U.S. in our early years and often sang this song. What fun that was!
    Shells–Tales–Sails

    ReplyDelete
  17. I was always under the impression that it was Buddy Holly, would lover to know the answer to the other riddles in this song. Hotel California always stumps me too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read through a whole thing I found on google about the song, as I took some parts for granted...now will have to look up Hotel California, as there must be something there!

      Delete
  18. I love this song too and have memories of riding my bike and singing it too. How funny!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hmm. I will have to ask my son who is in college.
    I keep trying to visit the last venue of Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. Sooner or later, we will actually get there.
    Thanks for visiting my blog, Andrea. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Not only did I grow up with this song, I taught it as part of a poetry unit. A perfect example of allegory. Looks like you are off to a wonderful start!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I still have my Don McLean "American Pie" album. My favorite song on it is "Vincent".

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
  22. Ack. Read this at work, now it's stuck in my head... Hopefully I won't hum at an inopportune time. Either that or I can start a sing along! (HA!) Excellent start!
    Cat

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had the song for the letter K stuck in my head all day yesterday for some reason...It was worse...trust me! ;)

      Delete
  23. *squee* THe A-Z CHallenge is *back* Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!!!

    When I listened to this song, I always wanted to be Miss American Pie. It sounded like a fun job! ;P

    xo,
    RJ

    ReplyDelete
  24. It was the day Buddy Holly and his plane went down. I was a bit older than you when this song came out, and even though I was heavily into classical music and playing the viola and learning classical literature, I did pay attention to and listen to pop music at the time. I did up until about 1985, when I was playing full-time and teaching. But yeah, that day, the day Buddy Holly died, was the day the music died. Mary

    ReplyDelete
  25. Love the song! This post sure had brought back some good memories!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I loved singing it because I thought it was so cool that I COULD sing the whole thing. Very cool song. Love your theme!

    ReplyDelete
  27. This is a wonderful song... Listened it for the first time...
    "That music used to make me smile
    And I knew if I had my chance
    That I could make those people dance
    And maybe they'd be happy for a while"
    :D

    ReplyDelete
  28. I simply couldn't resist listening to this and singing along. Great song! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  29. Loved this song and it has forever etched into my memory one long summer drive from Birmingham, AL to Ft Walton Beach somewhere in my 40's when I was dating a gorgeous younger man and we were driving down to meet some friends for the 4th of July extended weekend. There was this one radio station we could tune in and I guess the DJ put that song on a continuous loop for the entire weekend so he could get to the beach too. We listened to it when we could get nothing else and whenever we tuned in from time to time while at the beach, it was still playing. Thanks for the memory.
    Perle Champion at
    Perle’s Ink,
    freelance words & art

    ReplyDelete
  30. I LOVE this song!! I also love the Weird Al Star Wars version of it. :P

    -andi

    ReplyDelete
  31. So good.
    Have to stop and sing if it comes on the radio every time!
    I'll ask my nephew in college if this is still played anywhere. :)
    HMG

    Heather M. Gardner
    The Waiting is the Hardest Part
    Stormy's Sidekick
    Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Co-Host

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So, I asked my nephew via FB about this song.
      Here is my post and his reply.

      ME - Question asked on a blog that I follow. Do today's college kids still listen and enjoy the song American Pie by Don McLean? Do they know what it's about? -- I said I would ask a college kid that I knew. This is me, asking.

      Andrew - I would say yes and yes haha

      Andrew - It's not really an "old" song it's more of a classic one that everyone knows

      ME - Oh, nice one! Extra points for you. Technically it is an 'old' song but since it's almost the same age as your awesome freakin' Aunt, I appreciate that you're calling it, hence me, Classic. That's why you're my favorite.

      Delete
  32. You can't read this post without singing the words in your head!! I'm looking forward to seeing all your choices. A xx

    ReplyDelete
  33. Great song! You're bringing back lots of memories for me!!

    ReplyDelete
  34. You know, I did not hear this song until I was in college in the 80s. But I loved it and still do. Can't stop myself from singing along every time I hear it on the radio.

    ReplyDelete
  35. This is a great song! I've always liked it, but after Weird Al's Star Wars parody, I can't seem to hear this song without singing his lyrics.

    "A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away . . . "

    ReplyDelete
  36. My kids know about it, but don't know if they know it was about when the plane went down with Buddy Holly and the others... I used to know EVERY word, to the Cats in the Cradle also...

    ReplyDelete
  37. Yes! This and the starry starry night one. YES.

    ReplyDelete