https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqukWXviyew It's pretty well known by now that Don McLean's never-ending anthem "American Pie" is about the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. This song forever classified the tragedy as "The Day the Music Died." It's one of the only references in the song that paints a clear picture. The rest of the more than 800 words might as well have been comprised of moves McLean saw in a rousing Scrabble tournament. Scholars have tried in vein to decipher the code that McLean used to pen the "song of the century," with little to no success. The songwriter has always been cryptic about what the lyrics mean, saying things like "they're beyond analysis, they're poetry" and "the writing and the lyrics will divulge everything there is to divulge." All of this, of course, is doublespeak for "your guess is as good as mine." And to that end, McLean displayed his true genius. Whatever interpretation you come up with, that's the correct one. The song was written based on snippets of memories and feelings that McLean had, so they're likely not trying to tell a coherent story anyways. The words he wrote were connected to an experience he had, but it's probably not the same experience you've had. So he'd rather you attach your own history to the lyrics. So sometimes, to paraphrase The Office's Andy Bernard, it's not always about meaning, it's about the music of conversation.