A Slice of “American Pie”

The New Standard Encyclopedia defines an art epic poem as “… built up about some great theme or thought that is universal, or at least of national, importance.” (E-190) Buddy Holly died on February 3,1959 in a plane crash, and, for a moment, the United States grieved. McLean once suggested that the song is biographical in nature and that it was a look at the death of Buddy Holly through h

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McLean has achieved his goal and much more. If that is true, then Don McLean is a man who has been flattered time and time again. Another, and perhaps the most well known parody, is about the prequel to the “Star Wars” movies titled “The Phantom Menace”.

For over 30 years people have been analyzing, questioning, and seeking meaning in the song that McLean calls poetry and has not sought to analyze himself. In the words of the author during a Lycos Chat, 29 May 2001, “The song was written as my attempt at an epic song about America, and I used the imagery of music and politics to do that. His performance of the song is almost uncanny in that it sounds so much like Don McLean. One is a techno stock market version called “Humble Pie” by Sean Brady and Tom Kearney. The parody written by Weird Al, called “The Saga Begins”, tells the story of “The Phantom Menace” to the tune of “American Pie”. Taylor suggests, “American Pie, is a detailed prophecy, concerning America’s future, and a ‘funeral hymn,’ written in a ‘dirge’ foretelling America’s death. However McLean had this to say about his song in his “Starry Starry Night” video in 2000, “I’ve never analyzed the lyrics to the song.

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Common topics in this essay:
American Pie, Starry Night, Don McLean, Buddy Holly, Lycos Chat, Standard Encyclopedia, Pete Seeger…its, Saul Levitt, , Phantom Menace, american pie, epic poem, rock roll, don mclean, tune american pie, suggested song, tune american, giving rock, version called, phantom menace, analyst name, american pie song, giving rock roll,

Approximate Word count = 557
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

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