Bye Bye Ms. American Pie

American Pie by Don McLean has been one of America's most enigmatic songs as the artist has refused to reveal the exact meaning of the lyrics, leaving millions of listeners to guess the interpretation. Being one of his many listeners, I cannot accurately guess the true reason for the song, but I can provide some insight into a song that describes the degradation of America, rock 'n' roll, its culture. American Pie begins with the description of the loss of rock 'n' roll, as several artists who gave rock its tune such as Elvis Presley left the rock industry or died. Furthermore, McLean commemorated the first verse to the remembrance of Buddy Holly, a person whom he idolized and was the inspiration for his music.
Pie's second verse reflects the state of American culture during the 1950s, a period where rock was blooming, but overshadowed by slower forms of music. It also shows that relationships were much more intimate in dancing during that period of time as there are references to state that teenage love was associated with dancing.
The third verse of American Pie starts to reference many rock icons of the 1960s, artists that including Elvis "the king" Presley, Bob " the jester" Dylan, and of course, communist Lennon and the Beetles. McLean's disenchantment with the new form of rock 'n' roll which removed the innocence of America and turned it toward a period of unrest and violence, most prominently shown in the 70s and 80s.
Verse four tells the story of the Beetles' influence upon pop culture, which can be seen in the "Helter Skelter" case, in which Charles Manson murdered a family after claiming to be persuaded by the song Helter Skelter to kill. The fourth verse also makes reference to the increasing drug use among the young generation, a time period in which marijuana was used widely by rock 'n' rollers.
The Rolling Stones, especially Mick Jagger, are the main subject of the 5th verse. Verse 5 starts off lamenting that the current generation was lost to rock 'n' roll and drugs, and puts blame on the Rolling Stones, a group well known for outrageous rock and songs that referred to satanism. McLean even goes on to label Mick Jagger, the leader of the Rolling Stones, as the devil who sacrificed the innocence of American youth upon satan's altar. This outburst by McLean may be due to his anger and disgust at the moral decay caused by the growing influence of rock on American youth.
Verse six is well known for its second part because McLean states that the Holy Trinity have boarded the last train for the coast. This is often interpreted as the lack of God in America, to a point that McLean considers God to have deserted the United States and her youth, giving up on a lost generation.
Despite the great message and history portrayed by the six verses of American Pie, the chorus is the most prominent and it sums up the attitudes of Americans in that period. Here are the lyrics:
Bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die." 
The American Pie represents the American dream, a hope that many American youth threw away with their foolishness of youth; Chevy is a symbol of the American industry,and when the levee was dry, it mean America was no longer the once prosperous nation it once was. Finally, the phrase "this will be the day that I die" shows the careless attitudes of America, a nation that is so deep in its troubles that it drinks and fills itself with more vices so that they can ignore the troubles they have left. Thus, that has been my interpretation of American Pie. Everybody has their own idea of the song's meaning and that makes the song all the more ambiguous and legendary. Anyway you see it, this is the tale of America - a story of disappointment and disenchantment that has plagued all generations of Americans.