American Pie Auction - Rock n Roll music lovers across the country may finally have a chance to settle winding debates with family and friends after Don McLean's handwritten lyrics of his 70s classic American Pie is auctioned off on April 7th.
The elusive lyrics of the swinging tune, which evocatively captures the feeling of the time, is tinged with just the right amount of political rhetoric. American Pie has been the topic of several debates and has earned Don McLean a reputation for being a poet.
Over the years, Don McLean has refused to explain what his lyrics actually mean. Nonetheless, he has admitted that the beginning of the song deals with the death of Rock n Roll pioneer Buddy Holly. There are speculations that the line "The Day the Music Died," is in reference to the passing of Holly in a plane crash on Feb. 2 1959.
"I wanted to capture, probably before it was ever formulated, a rock-and-roll American dream," Don McLean told Reuters. "People ask me if I left the lyrics open to ambiguity. Of course I did. I wanted to make a whole series of complex statements. The lyrics had to do with the stake of society at the time."
According to Don McLean, he started writing American Pie in Cold Springs, NY but completed it in Philadelphia, Penn.
The partly handwritten and partly typed 16-page document will give music lovers an insight into the mental process of Don McLean, says Francis Wahlgren, international director of printed books and manuscripts at Christie's - the organization auctioning the lyrics of American Pie.
The document reportedly includes several notes, deleted lines and others jotting that didn't make it into the 8 minute, 6-verse-long song. "The writing and the lyrics will divulge everything there is to divulge," Don Mclean explains.
In 2001, American Pie was voted among the Top 5 Songs of the Century. A year earlier, Madonna's cover of the chart-topping song had led to a resurgence of interest in the song.
According to experts at Christie's, the lyrics of American Pie is expected to generate up to $1.5 million.
