El 3 de febrero de 1959 se conoce como “el día que la música murió”. Aquel día se estrelló una pequeña avioneta en la que viajaban tres grandes nombres del rock, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens y The Big Bopper, muriendo los tres y el resto de ocupantes de la avioneta. De esto hablaremos más adelante, primero deciros que esta canción aparece en 1971 en el disco del mismo nombre. Aunque no nombra en ningún momento a ninguno de los tres músicos, si habla del día que la música murió y hay ciertas metáforas donde puede interpretarse que se refiere a ellos y al accidente. De todos modos, el significado de la canción es bastante ambiguo y puede interpretarse de muchos modos. Una vez se le preguntó a Don McLean por el significado y dijo algo así como: “significa que no tendré que trabajar nunca más”. Efectivamente, la canción es el mayor de sus éxitos y la que le dio la fama más allá de USA.
Se han hecho muchas versiones de esta canción y me gustaría destacar, por mala, la de Madonna. Lo único que hizo fué coger la cancion de Don McLean, meterle un acompañamiento sencillo a más no poder y hacer un video patriotero que tanto les gusta a los yankis y ¡toma éxito!. Ni siquiera aporta algo personal a la canción, canta exactamente igual que en la original. No lo entiendo, de hecho, hay gente que ni siquiera conoce la original y le atribuye la canción a Madonna.
Mas allá de esto, la canción forma parte dela historia de la música y en Usa se le dió el número cinco de la mejores canciones del siglo XX.
Aquí va el video y os dejo la letra que comentaremos más adelante:
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.
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.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "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?
Do you believe in rock ’n 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 dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.
I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died.
I started singin’,
"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
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."
Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
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.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "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?
Do you believe in rock ’n 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 dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.
I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died.
I started singin’,
"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
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."
Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ 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 of marx,
The quartet practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.
We were singing,
"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
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."
Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
It 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 the 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,
"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
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."
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.
Oh, 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,
"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
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."
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,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."
They were singing,
"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."
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 of marx,
The quartet practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.
We were singing,
"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
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."
Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
It 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 the 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,
"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
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."
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.
Oh, 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,
"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
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."
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,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."
They were singing,
"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."
La historia sucedió así: los tres músicos estaban de gira por el medio oeste americano. Se trataba de una gira agotadora, había pregramados 24 conciertos en tres semanas. Cansado de viajar en autobús, cuya calefacción estaba rota en pleno febrero, Buddy Holly contrata una avioneta y a un piloto inexperto para viajar al siguiente destino de la gira. La avioneta era de 4 plazas y además del pilot y Holly viajaban dos músicos de la banda de éste (Waylon Jennings y Tommy Allsup, según he leido en internet).
Aquí aparece el destino porque Big Bopper estaba sufriendo un fuerte constipado y Waylon Jennings le cedió su puesto para que no viajara en el autobús sin calefacción. Buddy Holly bromeó con su músico sobre el gélido viaje que le esperaba y Waylon le contestó “ojalá se estrelle tu avión”. La cuarta plaza del avión se la jugaron a cara y cruz Vallens y Allsup y ganó Vallens.
El avión sólo recorrió unos pocos kilómetros y como el accidente ocurrió de adrugada, no se encontraron sus restos hasta la mañana siguiente, con los cuatro ocupantes muertos. H abían muerto tres grandes nombres del rock&roll que empezaba a dar sus primeros pasos. El lugar del accidnte es ahora un lugar de peregrinación para la gente que sigue admirando su música.
Se hacen varias refencias a todo esto en la letra de la canción, como que febrero le hizo temblar cuando entragaba los periódicos (al leer la noticia); habla de la viuda de Holly, que abortó al enterarse del accidente; también dice que han pasado 10 años cuando escribe la canción o el hecho de que se refiere a los tres como padre, hijo y espíritu santo.
Estos vídeos son para aquellos que no conocieran a estos grandes artistas:
Buddy Holly - Everyday
Ritchie Valens - La Bamba
Don McLean sigue en activo, publicó su último disco en 2009, pero siempre se considerará esta canción como su mayor éxito y la que le dio fama internacional. Sigue actuando, pero como hemos dicho, es mucho más conocido en Usa, donde su estilo folk es más admirado. Este verano de 2011 ha estado actuando en Glastonbury, cosa que me sorprendió gratamente.
He encontrado una página donde desgrana la letra de la canción y “traduce" las metáforas. Muy interesante:
Portada del disco American Pie (1971)
