American Pie -- Don McLean

在第一時間知道Don McLean要來台灣，我估量著17:30一下班直接衝台北，是趕得上這場演唱會的，便馬上買了門票。原先，我是衝著『Vincent』這首歌，但在演唱會上聽到了『American Pie』、再查過歌詞後，發現它遠較『Vincent』更動我心；也許是因為『American Pie』的曲和詞都較前者更為強烈、直接。
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American pie Don McLean

A long long time ago
I can still remember
How 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
But February made me shiver
　　with every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
So...

*Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you're in love with him
'cause I saw you dancing in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncing buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singing(*)

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 Lenin 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 singing(*)

Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
Landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
We started singing(*)

Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
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
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singing(*)

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most
　the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singing(*)

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Vincent的詞曲都較為優美、隱譅，而American Pie直接、強烈，直擊人心；也許是我的年紀還不夠，後者給我的震撼更強。長長一大串的歌詞就像是敘事詩般（由"Long long time ago"開始，整個情緒就進到歌裡，像聽故事一般），歷數美國自50、60年代至太空時代的大事，而少年、單純的Don McLean也開始面對社會、世界的快速變遷，以前單純的音樂（Rock、Country）不再，純粹的信仰不再、政治、社會現象亦然。

整首歌每一段都可以看出一個主題，雖然都沒有明文直指某人、某事件，不過以我所知也約略可以猜測一些出來。後來上網一查詢，甚至有人以『達文西密碼』來看待此歌，因為作者始終不對歌詞做解釋，任由他人猜測。

此歌被『美國The Recording Industry Association of America』選為20世紀世界名曲的第5名。

相關資料：
清韻民歌網：美國批密碼
Understanding American Pie
The Official Website of Don McLean and American Pie