以下部分转载网友小哥1900发布于www.helloba.com的内容。
The day the music died
——一首歌三十年的争议
用他的手指抚平我的创伤
用他的词句歌唱我的生活
他的歌让我陶醉
他的歌让我陶醉
他的词句告诉我全部生活
他的歌让我陶醉
这是一首非常优美的歌曲 Killing Me Softly With His Song中的一部分歌词，它的演唱者是70年代黑人女歌星罗伯塔·弗莱克。关于这首歌，想必很多人都听过，甚至还有不少人都能跟着哼唱几句，但是很少有人知道歌曲中“他”指的是谁、“他的歌”又指的是哪一首歌。
“他”就是美国70年代民歌手Don McLean ，
“他的歌”就是他在1971年创作的American pie
提起《
美国派》，不仅仅是中国人，连现在很多美国人首先想到的都是那部青春片《美国派》，如果你稍稍楞一下的话，还会想到麦当娜唱的那首《美国派》，就是不会想起Don McLean的《美国派》。30年前发生的事情对于一个信息爆炸社会的人来说也许太久远了，恍如隔世。1971年，Don McLean写了这首《美国派》，不夸张地讲，这首歌从被人们第一次听到直到今天，关于这首歌究竟唱得是什么，就一直没有停止争论过，为这首歌赋予的文化外延远远超过歌曲本身。换句话说，《美国派》就是美国文化的缩影，于是你也很容易理解为什么麦当娜要站在星条旗前扭来扭去唱这首歌——也是美国文化的缩影。
Don McLean70年代初期开始歌坛生涯，第一张专辑就是《美国派》，也正是《美国派》这首歌，使他一夜成名，他在回忆这段经历时说：
“那时我还是个穷小子，但这首歌让我一夜之间成为百万富翁。”
人们为什么要饶有兴致地把这首歌争论30年？歌词里到底说了些什么?首先，要搞清楚“美国派”是什么意思，非常遗憾地告诉你，这30年美国人也没搞清楚它到底什么意思。关于“美国派”的意思，有数不清的解释，有人说麦克莱思以前曾经有个美国小姐候选人的女朋友，也有人认为Don McLean 把美国本土音乐(尤其是民歌)比喻成美国派，因为唱片界有个传统，常把市场份额称作Pie，美国派就是指美国的那部分份额(因为在60年代英国流行音乐入侵美国后有很大一部分份额被英国音乐瓜分了)；
还有一种说法是摇滚歌星巴迪·霍利乘飞机失事时那架飞机的名字，这种解释很大程度出于对Don McLean内心的猜测，因为歌曲第一部分基本上是在谈巴迪·霍利。
也许有人会问，关于歌名以及歌词的含义，难道Don McLean自己不清楚么。问题就在这里，Don McLean在这首歌曲出版之后就有关这首歌的任何问题都拒绝做出解释，缄默至今。而这首分为6部分，
共8分34秒的歌曲从字面上看是他对过去美国摇滚乐做出的一个很私人化的总结，但由于比喻、暗示、双关、典故、代名词等在歌词中比比皆是，有些词句的意思模棱两可，所以人们在分析歌词时发现它带有普遍性，每句歌词都能说出一个意思来，并且怎么解释都能说得通。于是，关于这首歌的真正含义就变得更加扑朔迷离，有说是关于鲍勃·迪伦的、有说是关于肯尼迪总统的、有说是《
圣经》典故的，五花八门不一而足。
在歌曲一开始，Don McLean唱道：
“很久很久以前，我清晰记得音乐常常让我带着笑意／
如果给我机会我也会让那些人闻声起舞，也许他们会度过一刻快乐甜蜜／
但是二月的一天让我心碎，我投递在台阶的每一张报纸上都有一个坏消息，
我无法继续／
当我读到关于那个寡妇新娘时，记不清当时是否哭泣／
但有一种东西震撼在我心底，这一天，音乐已经死去。”
这一段主要是在写1959年2月3日发生的那次飞机失事事件，当时摇滚歌星巴迪·霍利和另外三位歌手(实际上威龙·詹宁斯因堵车没有赶上这次航班而幸免于难，从此他拒绝再坐飞机)乘飞机去衣阿华州演出，飞机在途中遇到暴风雪而失事，因此这一天常常被称为“摇滚乐消亡日”。而这时，Don McLean还是一个送报员。歌曲一开始便笼罩在凶兆和不祥的气氛之中，这一段的伴奏只有一架低沉的钢琴。比如在第三部分中有一句歌词“滚石上长出了丰满的苔药”，人们至今不明白“滚石”究竟指的是谁。有人猜测可能指鲍勃·迪伦，他在1965年写出了《
像一块滚石》(Like A Rolling Stone)并且成为热门歌曲之后，他开始热衷于写一些赞美纯洁爱情的歌曲，并靠丰厚版税陶醉在幸福家庭生活之中。在1966年到1974年期间他甚至没有进行过巡回演出，那个早期愤怒的抗议歌手迪伦不见了，“苦药”在这里就暗指迪伦沉醉于小富即安的幸福生活。“滚石”的另一种解释是指埃尔维斯·普雷斯利，人们在60年代末期看到的摇滚偶像是一个肥胖臃肿的“猫王”，显然“苔藓”在这里就指是猫王身上的肥肉。还有一种泛泛的解释是60年代巨变使商业得到快速发展，音乐家赚钱变成一件很容易的事情，因此音乐创新上失去了动力，“苔藓”显然是指金钱对音乐的腐蚀。当然，在这些说法上肯定少不了“滚石”乐队，因为这时“滚石”乐队的愤怒早就“卖光了”，“苔藓”就是失去棱角的“滚石”。总之，“滚石”就是指摇滚精神，“苔藓”就是造成丧失摇滚精神的原因，布满苔藓的石头还能滚得起来么?
类似这样的词句有很多，根据现在比较流行的分析结果，这首歌歌词中涉及到30多个人物、近20首歌曲、20多个音乐事件和政治事件以及三部电影。Don McLean以其特有的忧郁和绝望来演绎这首歌，6部分歌曲以民谣(ballad)层层递进的表现方式，每一部分都加入一部分乐器，节奏也随之加重、加强，让人有种难以喘息的感觉。《美国派》是一首关于破碎美国梦的挽歌，它就像一部音乐版的《
阿甘正传》，对于不了解五六十年代文化和历史的人来说，也许这首歌不知所云，了解历史的人也同样因Don McLean的缄默而被这首歌的含义所迷惑。历史上还从来没有一首歌曲像《美国派》被如此多的歌迷、历史学家、社会学家所关注过，它是一个奇特现象，因此，在这首个出版30年之际，“美国派”话题又将被重新提起，人们还将继续解读其中的谜团。
其实很多常见的问题往往被我们忽视，当我们要追寻上面问题的答案时，就会发现，这个看似平常的问题后面有一个极其不平常的故事——“他”和“他的歌”。
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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 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 levy but the
levy was dry. Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and rye singing
"This will be the day that I die. This will 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 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
singing bye bye Miss American Pie. Drove my Chevy to the levy, but the
levy was dry. Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and rye singing,
"This will be the day that I die. This will be the day that I die."
Mclean Don
Now for ten years, we've been on our own and moss grow 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 in 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 bye bye Miss American Pie. Drove my Chevy to
the levy, but the levy was dry. Them good old boys were drinking whiskey
and rye singing, "This will be the day that I die. This will be the day
that I die."
Helter skelter in a summer swelter. The birds flew off the 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 halftime 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 bye bye Miss American Pie. Drove my
Chevy to the levy, but the levy was dry. Them good old boys were
drinking whiskey and rye singing, "This will 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 candle stick 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
planes climbed high into the night it took like 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 levy, but the levy was
dry. Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye singing, "This
will be the day that I die. This will 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,
the 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 levy, but the levy was dry. Them good old boys
were drinking whiskey and rye singing, "This will be the day that I die.
This will be the day that I die." They were singing bye bye Miss
American Pie. Drove my Chevy to the levy, but the levy was dry. Them
good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye singing, "This will be the
day that I die."
