Song 1:  Don McLean – American Pie

 

Edited from two main sources: Wikipedia, and FAQ: The Annotated American Pie

American Pie is an eight-and-a-half minute soft rock song by singer-songwriter Don McLean about "the day the music died."

Recorded in 1971 and released that year on the album of the same name, the single was a number-one U.S. hit for four weeks in 1972. The song is an allusive history of rock and roll that starts with the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson, Jr. (The Big Bopper) in a plane crash in 1959, and ends in 1970. The importance of "American Pie" to America's musical and cultural heritage was recognized by the Songs of the Century education project which listed the song performed by Don McLean as the number five song of the twentieth century.

The song's lyrics are the subject of much debate. Although McLean dedicated the American Pie album to Buddy Holly, none of the singers in the plane crash are identified by name in the song itself. Music performers are also alluded to with easily decoded identifications, leading to much discussion, encouraged by McLean's canny lifelong refusal to explain the lyrics. Asked what "American Pie" meant, McLean once replied, "It means I never have to work again." Later, he more seriously stated, "You will find many 'interpretations' of my lyrics but none of them by me...Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence."

(Verse 1)
A long, long time ago...

"American Pie" reached #1 in the US in 1972, but the album containing
it was released in 1971. Buddy Holly et.al. died in 1959.

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.

One of early rock and roll's functions was to provide dance music for
various social events. McLean recalls his desire to become a musician
playing that sort of music.

But February made me shiver,

Buddy Holly died on the night of February 2, 1959 in a plane crash
in Iowa during a snowstorm.  The news came to most of the world
on the morning of February 3, which is why it's known as The Day
The Music Died.

With every paper I'd deliver,

Don McLean's only job besides being a full-time singer-songwriter
was being a paperboy.

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

Holly's recent bride was pregnant when the crash took
place; she had a miscarriage shortly afterward.

But something touched me deep inside,
The day the music died.

The same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly also took the lives of
Richie Valens ("La Bamba") and The Big Bopper ("Chantilly Lace").
Since all three were so prominent at the time, February 3, 1959
became known as "The Day The Music Died".

So...

(Refrain)

Bye bye Miss American Pie,

Miss American Pie *is* rock and roll music.

Don McLean dated a Miss America candidate during the pageant.
(unconfirmed)

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin whiskey and rye
Singing "This'll be the day that I die,
This'll be the day that I die."

One of Holly's hits was "That'll be the Day"; the chorus contains the
line "That'll be the day that I die".

(Verse 2)
Did you write the book of love,

"The Book of Love" by the Monotones; hit in 1958.

And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?

In 1955, Don Cornell did a song entitled "The Bible Tells Me So".
Rick Schubert pointed this out, and mentioned that he hadn't heard
the song, so it was kinda difficult to tell if it was what McLean
was referencing.  Dave Tutelman tells me that this particular song
wasn't exactly a gem of rock 'n roll.

There's also an old Sunday School song which goes:
"Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so"
(Stephen Joseph Smith tells me that Bartlett's gives the source
of this as "The Love of Jesus", by Anna Bartlett Warner, 1858.)

Now do you believe in rock 'n roll?

The Lovin' Spoonful had a hit in 1965 with John Sebastian's
"Do you Believe in Magic?".  The song has the lines:
"Do you believe in magic" and
"It's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock and roll."

Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Dancing slow was an important part of early rock and roll dance
events -- but declined in importance through the 60's as things
like psychedelia and the 10-minute guitar solo gained prominence.

Well I know you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym

Slowdancing COULD just be dancing, or it could be vertical
"making out".  It wasn't hard to watch a couple slow-dancing
and figure out whether they had some sort of relationship, if
you knew anything about slow dancing.  So just the fact they
were dancing didn't tell you anything, but if "I saw you
dancing in the gym" I could tell from watching whether
there was anything between you (figuratively :-).  (Thanks
to Dave Tutelman for this note.)

You both kicked off your shoes

A reference to the beloved "sock hop".  (Leather-soled street
shoes tear up wooden basketball floors, and rubber-soled sneakers
grip too much for dance moves, so dancers had to take off their shoes.)

Man, I dig those rhythm 'n' blues

Some history.  Before the popularity of rock and roll, music, like
much else in the U. S., was highly segregated.  The popular music of
black performers for largely black audiences was called, first,
"race music", later softened to rhythm and blues.  In the early 50s,
as they were exposed to it through radio personalities such as
Allan Freed, white teenagers began listening, too.  Starting around
1954, a number of songs from the rhythm and blues charts began
appearing on the overall popular charts as well, but usually in cover
versions by established white artists, (e. g.  "Shake Rattle and Roll",
Joe Turner, covered by Bill Haley; "Sh-Boom", the Chords,
covered by the Crew-Cuts; "Sincerely", the Moonglows, covered by
the Mc Guire Sisters; Tweedle Dee, LaVerne Baker, covered by
Georgia Gibbs).  By 1955, some of the rhythm and blues artists,
like Fats Domino and Little Richard were able to get records on
the overall pop charts. In 1956 Sun records added elements of
country and western to produce the kind of rock and roll tradition
that produced Buddy Holly. (Thanks to Barry Schlesinger for this
historical note. ---Rsk)  (Oh...and Barry, Dave Tutelman wants to
know if you were Bronx Science class of '58.)

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck

"A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)", was a hit for
Marty Robbins in 1957. The pickup truck has endured as a symbol of
sexual independence and potency, especially in a Texas context.
(Also, Jimmy Buffet does a song about "a white sport coat and a pink
crustacean". :-) )

But I knew that I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singing...

Refrain

(Verse 3)
Now for ten years we've been on our own

McLean was writing this song in the late 60's, about ten years after
the crash.

And moss grows fat on a rolling stone

It's unclear who the "rolling stone" is supposed to be.  It could be
Dylan, since "Like a Rolling Stone" (1965) was his first major hit;
and since he was busy writing songs extolling the virtues of simple
love, family and contentment while staying at home (he didn't tour
from '66 to '74) and raking in the royalties.  This was quite a
change from the earlier, angrier Dylan.

The "rolling stone" could also be Elvis, although I don't think he'd
started to pork out by the late sixties.

It could refer to rock and rollers in general, and the changes that
had taken place in the business in the 60's, especially the huge
amounts of cash some of them were beginning to make, and the
relative stagnation that entered the music at the same time.

Or, perhaps it's a reference to the stagnation in rock and roll.

Or, finally, it could refer to the Rolling Stones themselves;
a lot of musicians were angry at the Stones for "selling out".
Howard Landman points out that John Foxx of Ultravox was sufficiently
miffed to write a song titled "Life At Rainbow's End (For All The
Tax Exiles On Main Street)".  The Stones at one point became
citizens of some other country merely to save taxes.

But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the King and Queen   

The jester is Bob Dylan, as will become clear later. There are several
interpretations of king and queen: some think that Elvis Presley is
the king, which seems pretty obvious.  The queen is said to be either
Connie Francis or Little Richard.  But see the next note.

An alternate interpretation is that this refers to the Kennedys
-- the king and queen of "Camelot" -- who were present at a
Washington DC civil rights rally featuring Martin Luther King.
(There's a recording of Dylan performing at this rally.)

In a coat he borrowed from James Dean

In the movie "Rebel Without a Cause", James Dean has a red windbreaker
that holds symbolic meaning throughout the film (see note at end).
In one particularly intense scene, Dean lends his coat to a guy who
is shot and killed; Dean's father arrives, sees the coat on the
dead man, thinks it's Dean, and loses it.

On the cover of "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan", Dylan is wearing just
such as red windbreaker, and is posed in a street scene similar to
one shown in a well-known picture of James Dean.

Bob Dylan played a command performance for the Queen of England.
He was *not* properly attired, so perhaps this is a reference
to his apparel.

And a voice that came from you and me

Bob Dylan's roots are in American folk music, with people like
Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. Folk music is by definition the
music of the masses, hence the "...came from you and me".

Oh, and while the King was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown

This could be a reference to Elvis's decline and Dylan's ascendance.
(i.e. Presley is looking down from a height as Dylan takes his place.)
The thorny crown might be a reference to the price of fame. Dylan has
said that he wanted to be as famous as Elvis, one of his early idols.

The courtroom was adjourned,
No verdict was returned.

This could be the trial of the Chicago Seven, but McLean seems
to be talking about music, not politics at this point in the song.
With that in mind, perhaps he meant that the arguments between
Dylan and Elvis fans over who was better just couldn't be settled.

And while Lennon read a book on Marx,

Literally, John Lennon reading about Karl Marx; figuratively, the
introduction of radical politics into the music of the Beatles.
(Of course, he could be referring to Groucho Marx, but that doesn't
seem quite consistent with McLean's overall tone. On the other hand,
some of the wordplay in Lennon's lyrics and books is reminiscint
of Groucho.) The "Marx-Lennon" wordplay has also been used by others,
most notably the Firesign Theatre on the cover of their album
"How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You're Not Anywhere At All?".
Also, a famous French witticism was "Je suis Marxiste, tendance
Groucho."; "I'm a Marxist of the Groucho variety".

It's also a pun on "Lenin".

The quartet practiced in the park

There are two schools of thought about this; the obvious one is the
Beatles playing in Shea Stadium, but note that the previous line has
John Lennon *doing something else at the same time*.  This tends to
support the theory that this is a reference to the Weavers, who were
blacklisted during the McCarthy era.  McLean had become friends with
Lee Hays of the Weavers in the early 60's while performing in
coffeehouses and clubs in upstate New York and New York City.
He was also well-acquainted with Pete Seeger; in fact, McLean,
Seeger, and others took a trip on the Hudson river singing
anti-pollution songs at one point.  Seeger's LP "God Bless the Grass"
contains many of these songs.

And we sang dirges in the dark

A "dirge" is a funeral or mourning song, so perhaps this is meant
literally...or, perhaps, this is a reference to some of the new
"art rock" groups which played long pieces not meant for dancing.

The day the music died.
We were singing...

Refrain

(Verse 4)
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter

"Helter Skelter" is a Beatles song which appears on the "white"
album.  Charles Manson, claiming to have been "inspired" by the
song (through which he thought God and/or the devil were taking
to him) led his followers in the Tate-LaBianca murders.

Is "summer swelter" a reference to the "Summer of
Love" or perhaps to the "long hot summer" of Watts?

The birds flew off with the fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast

The Byrd's "Eight Miles High" was on their late 1966 release
"Fifth Dimension".  It was one of the first records to be widely
banned because of supposedly drug-oriented lyrics.

It landed foul on the grass

One of the Byrds was busted for possesion of marijuana.

The players tried for a forward pass

Obviously a football metaphor, but about what?  It could be
the Rolling Stones, i.e. they were waiting for an opening which
really didn't happen until the Beatles broke up.

With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

On July 29, 1966, Dylan crashed his Triumph 55 motorcycle while
riding near his home in Woodstock, New York.  He spent nine months
in seclusion while recuperating from the accident.

Now the halftime air was sweet perfume

Drugs, man.

Well, now, wait a minute; that's probably too obvious.  It's possible
that this line and the next few refer to the 1968 Democratic National
Convention.  The "sweet perfume" is probably tear gas.

While sergeants played a marching tune

Following from the thought above, the sergeants would be the Chicago
Police and the Illinois National Guard, who marched the protestors
out of the park and into jail.

Alternatively, this could refer to the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band".  Or, perhaps McLean refers to the
Beatles' music in general as "marching" because it's not music
for dancing.  Or, finally, the "marching tune" could be the draft.

We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance

The Beatles' 1966 Candlestick Park concert only lasted 35 minutes.

Or, following on from the previous comment, perhaps
he meant that there wasn't any music to dance to.

'Cause the players tried to take the field,
The marching band refused to yield.

Some folks think this refers to either the 1968 Deomcratic Convention
or Kent State; following on from the Chicago reference above,
this could be another comment on protests.  But perhaps the players
are the protestors at Kent State, and the marching band the
Ohio National Guard...

This could be a reference to the dominance of the Beatles on the rock
and roll scene.  For instance, the Beach Boys released "Pet Sounds"
in 1966 -- an album which featured some of the same sort of studio
and electronic experimentation as "Sgt. Pepper" (1967) -- but the album
sold poorly.

This might also be a comment about how the dominance of the Beatles
in the rock world led to more "pop art" music, leading in turn
to a dearth of traditional rock and roll.

Or finally, this might be a comment which follows up on the earlier
reference to the draft: the government/military-industrial-complex
establishment refused to accede to the demands of the peace movement.

Do you recall what was revealed,
The day the music died?
We started singing

Refrain

(Verse 5)
And there we were all in one place

Woodstock.

A generation lost in space

Some people think this is a reference to the US space program,
which it might be; but that seems a bit too literal.  Perhaps this
is a reference to hippies, who were sometimes known as the
"lost generation", partially because of their particularly acute
alientation from their parents, and partially because of their
presumed preoccupation with drugs.

It could also be a reference to the awful TV
show, "Lost in Space", whose title was sometimes
used as a synonym for someone who was rather high...
but I keep hoping that McLean had better taste. :-)

With no time left to start again

The "lost generation" spent too much time being stoned, and had wasted
their lives?   Or, perhaps, their preference for psychedelia had pushed
rock and roll so far from Holly's music that it couldn't be retrieved.

So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick

Probably a reference to Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones;
"Jumpin' Jack Flash" was released in May, 1968.

Jack Flash sat on a candlestick

The Stones' Candlestick park concert? (unconfirmed)

'Cause fire is the devil's only friend

"Sympathy for the Devil", by the Stones -- seems to fit with
some of the surrouding material.

It's possible that this is a reference to the Grateful
Dead's "Friend of the Devil".  But I doubt it.

An alternative interpretation of the last four lines is that they
may refer to Jack Kennedy and his quick decisions during the
Cuban Missile Crisis; the candlesticks/fire refer to ICBMs
and nuclear war.

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

While playing a concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1968, the Stones
appointed members of the Hell's Angels to work security (on the
advice of the Grateful Dead).  In the darkness near the front of the
stage, a young man named Meredith Hunter was beaten and stabbed to
death -- by the Angels.  Public outcry that the song "Sympathy for
the Devil" had somehow incited the violence caused the Stones to
drop the song from their show for the next six years.   This incident
is chronicled in the documentary film "Gimme Shelter".

It's also possible that McLean views the Stones as being negatively
inspired (remember, he had an extensive religious background) by
virtue of "Sympathy for the Devil", "Their Satanic Majesties' Request"
and so on.  I find this a bit puzzling, since the early Stones
recorded a lot of "roots" rock and roll, including Buddy Holly's
"Not Fade Away".

And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite

The most likely interpretation is that McLean is still talking
about Altamont, and in particular Mick Jagger's prancing and posing
while it was happening.  The sacrifice is Meredith Hunter, and the
bonfires around the area provide the flames.

(It could be a reference to Jimi Hendrix burning his Stratocaster
at the Monterey Pop Festival, but that was in 1967 and this verse
is set in 1968.)

I saw satan laughing with delight

If the above is correct, then Satan would be Jagger.

The day the music died
He was singing...

Refrain

(Verse 6)
I met a girl who sang the blues

Janis Joplin.

And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away

Janis died of an accidental heroin overdose on October 4, 1970.

I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before

There are two interpretations of this: The "sacred store" was
Bill Graham's Fillmore West, one of the great rock and roll venues
of all time. Alternatively, this refers to record stores, and their
longtime (then discontinued) practice of allowing customers to
preview records in the store.  (What year did the Fillmore West
close?)

It could also refer to record stores as "sacred" because this is where
one goes to get "saved".
(See above lyric "Can music save your mortal soul?")

But the man there said the music wouldn't play

Perhaps he means that nobody is interested in hearing Buddy Holly
et.al.'s music?  Or, as above, the discontinuation of the in-store
listening booths.

It's also possible that this line and the two before it refer
to the closing of the Fillmore West in 19?? -- but I've been
unable to verify that it was actually closed when this song
was written.

And in the streets the children screamed

"Flower children" being beaten by police and National Guard troops;
in particular, perhaps, the People's Park riots in Berkeley in
1969 and 1970.

The lovers cried and the poets dreamed

The trend towards psychedelic music in the 60's?

But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken

It could be that the broken bells are the dead musicians: neither can
produce any more music.

And the three men I admire most
The Father Son and Holy Ghost

Holly, The Big Bopper, and Valens
-- or --
Hank Williams, Presley and Holly
-- or --
JFK, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy
-- or --
or the Catholic aspects of the deity.
McLean had attended several Catholic schools.

They caught the last train for the coast

Could be a reference to wacky California religions, or could just be
a way of saying that they've left (or died -- western culture often
uses "went west" as a synonym for dying). Or, perhaps this is a
reference to the famous "God is Dead" headline in the New York Times.
David Cromwell has suggested that this is an oblique reference to
a line in Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale", but I'm not sure
I buy that; for one thing, all of McLean's musical references are
to much older "roots" rock and roll songs; and secondly, I think it's
more likely that this line shows up in both songs simply because it's
a common cultural metaphor.

The day the music died

This tends to support the conjecture that the "three
men" were Holly/Bopper/Valens, since this says that
they left on the day the music died.

And they were singing...

 

For about five years, the ring tone on my cell phone was either one of two songs: Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust,’ or ‘Moving on Up,’ the theme song from The Jeffersons.  Originally I downloaded the Jeffersons’ theme first, but was unhappy with it.  Played by the nine tone digital keyboard of my phone, the Jeffersons’ theme lost all of its gospel soul and rhythm.  But then again, I’m a white-boy, so somehow I thought the lack of rhythm might be sadly appropriately… and I never deleted it from my cell-phone’s memory.

 

I later switched to Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust,’ and absolutely loved it.  The ring tone consisted solely of the incredibly-catchy, unmistakable driving base beat of the chorus… bump, bump, bump, another one bites the dust.  Almost every time my phone rang, some random person overheard and would wind up singing along with the base line.  That’s when you know you have a cell phone ring winner.

 

 

The first embarrassing moment occurred when my sister Shannon and my father accompanied me to the funeral home to make the arrangements for the final disposition of my brother’s body.  The experience was already surreal, as I’m sure anyone who has ever had to be executor of their sibling’s estate can tell you.  The feeling of being caught in a bad Tim Burton film was exacerbated by the funeral home itself.  Upon walking into the reception office, I couldn’t help but notice the pen/pencil holder of the receptionist.  The holder was in the stretched hexagon shape of a coffin from a ‘B’ horror movie, complete with a large plastic skull affixed prominently at the top of the grave, and the letters R.I.P. drawn on the open lid of the coffin, paint dripping down from each letter.  I understand the need for a sense of humor when you work in a funeral home, but this doesn’t exactly convey the appropriate sense of decorum.

 

At this point my brother’s passing was still a shock to us, so we were alternating between an almost inappropriate casual giddiness and stark depression.  The director of the funeral home met us in the receptionist’s office and then steered us into a secluded room, where he proceeded to ask us questions about what we wanted for the funeral.  What we desperately wanted was not to piss off our mother, who was in Michigan while we attended to affairs in Arizona.  Mom was too distraught to be involved with any of the details, yet would inevitably be upset if any of the details weren’t exactly to her liking.  Not exactly a tenable situation, and very hard to convey to a funeral director.  Because we were in a Catch-22, some of the debate about details, while not exactly heated, was understandably emotionally straining. 

 

The director of the funeral home asked us all if we wanted something to drink, in order to give us a little break from the seemingly unending decisions to be made in setting up a funeral.  He left the room, and re-entered with a bottle of water for each of us.  I was pretty surprised to notice that the funeral home had its own brand of bottled watered, complete with a label advertising their services.  You definitely don’t want to leave the funeral home with the water unfinished, because then you’d have to throw it out.  Nobody wants to carry around a public advertisement that they had just left a funeral home.  Moreover, I can’t say I want to imbibe anything prepared by an institution that can benefit financially from my demise.

 

I placed my unopened bottle to the side, and we again starting delving into the minutia of a funeral.  A few seconds later I first noticed my cell phone vibrating; it always vibrates once prior to ringing.  I started mentally singing the base-line ahead of time, when I suddenly realized the import of Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’.  For those unfamiliar, the song’s energetic base beat contrasts greatly with the rather macabre lyrics:

 

Bump, Bump, Bump…

Another one bites the dust.

And another one’s gone,

Another one’s dead,

Another one bites the dust!

 

O Crap!  Could there be anything more inappropriate under the circumstances?  I desperately reached into my pocket to try to shut the bloody thing off, but it was too late.  Perhaps I would get lucky and nobody there would recognize the tune…

 

Although my Dad and the funeral director didn’t know the tune, my sister immediately caught it and put two and two together.  She burst out laughing, and couldn’t stop giggling for the rest of the interview.  Every time she giggled, I couldn’t restrain myself from laughing.  I had to leave the room every two minutes until we finally left the building.  I have to wonder what the funeral director and my father, who were completely unaware of the song, thought of Shannon and me laughing our way through the proceedings.   I promised myself I would change the ring tone immediately.

 

 

Fast forward three weeks later to my brother’s funeral.  We were in a church, and my niece Amber was doing a reading for the occasion.  I was starting to tear up, while half of my family was already flat-out bawling.  Yet again, I felt my cell phone vibrating.   Being a complete idiot, of course I had forgotten to turn the damned thing off prior to walking in the church.  Yet again, I almost tore my pocket at the seams trying to get to the cell phone in time.

 

I console myself with the fact that my deceased brother would have found the irony of the situation endlessly amusing.

 

 

One would think that I would have learned my lesson from my first two mortifying experiences.  In my defense, nearly eight months passed between my brother’s funeral at the church, and our placing the urn with his ashes in the cemetery.  The cemetery was building a new mausoleum for urns, and my brother'd urn was to be the mausoleum's first eternal occupant.  As with all construction, the mausoleum was finished well past the expected completion date.  My third embarrassing moment took place at the cemetery.

 

The date was December 28^th, and all of my family that could reasonably make the trip was at the cemetery for the final laying to rest of my brother.  My uncle, who is a priest, was saying a few prayers for the departed.  My niece Ashlea, knowing I was still hurting from the whole ordeal, was hugging me tightly.  One more time, I felt the familiar warning vibration of my cell phone.

 

Oh well, I thought to myself.  At least I changed the song from that bloody Queen tune.

 

My cell phone burst into vibrant music.  It took me a few seconds to realize what the new song default was.  In retrospect, the very gospel influenced melody of the Jefferson’s theme, replete with the lyrics ‘We’re Moving on Up’, wasn’t a great deal more appropriate for the occasion.

 

For tonight’s Stories behind the Music, I thought I’d outline the purported feud between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young (apparently I’m on a Neil Young kick).  According to urban legend, this feud was so heated that the lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ronnie Van Zant, literally took the feud to his grave.  Since the singer's interment in 1977, rumors have existed that Ronnie Van Zant was buried in a Neil Young T-shirt as a supposed curse against Young. Some fans believe this rumor was the reason the gravesites of Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines were broken into on June 29, 2000, in Orange Park, Florida.  Others believe that this desecration was motivated by the 1986 Dead Kennedys track "A Commercial" which mockingly referred to exhuming the bodies of Lynyrd Skynyrd.  Van Zant's casket was dragged onto the grounds, but was not opened.  Gaines' cremated remains, which were in a plastic bag in an urn, were scattered on the ground near his site. 99% of his ashes were recovered.  The families decided to move their remains to an undisclosed location, leaving the mausoleums as memorials for fans to visit. 

 

I once heard a great line regarding the feud from the lead singer of Everclear, Art Alexakis:

 

"I sincerely doubt Van Zant was buried in a Neil Young T-shirt.  Southern men have southern mothers, and there is no southern mother living that would let their son be buried in a T-shirt."

 

---

 

Song 1: Neil Young – Southern Man – Paul Personne Cover

 

"Southern Man" is a song by Neil Young from his third solo album. The album was released in 1970.

The lyrics of "Southern Man" are very blunt, describing the racism towards blacks in the American South as perceived from the viewpoint of a Northerner.  While never officially stated by Young, the song is obviously about the South during the Reconstruction era and how racism ran rampant during that time, owing to the South's loss of the American Civil War, carrying through to the 1960s.  In the song, Young tells the story of a Southern man (symbolically the entire South) and how he mistreated his slaves.  Young pleadingly asks when will the South "pay them back" for years of abuse and racism.

Where the initial inspiration for the song came from is very much debated, but is commonly believed to have stemmed from an incident in a roadhouse in Alabama which Young visited in 1969.  As he was having a drink, two local men came up to him, took him outside, and beat him up because he had long hair.

It is a popular belief that the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote their song "Sweet Home Alabama" as an attack on Neil Young for the opinions expressed in "Southern Man". In actuality, Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote their song as a response, showing the good things about the South.  Young was even friends with the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, saying that he is a fan of both "Sweet Home Alabama" and Ronnie Van Zant, the lead vocalist for Lynyrd Skynyrd.  "They play like they mean it," Young said in 1976, "I'm proud to have my name in a song like theirs." Young has also been known to play "Sweet Home Alabama" in concert occasionally.

Lyrics:

Southern man better keep your head
Dont forget what your good book said
Southern change gonna come at last
Now your crosses are burning fast
Southern man

I saw cotton and I saw black
Tall white mansions and little shacks.
Southern man when will you pay them back?
I heard screamin and bullwhips cracking
How long? how long?

Southern man better keep your head
Dont forget what your good book said
Southern change gonna come at last
Now your crosses are burning fast
Southern man

Lily belle, your hair is golden brown
Ive seen your black man comin round
Swear by God Im gonna cut him down!
I heard screamin and bullwhips cracking
How long? how long?

 

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Song 2: Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama

 

"Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd that first appeared in 1974 on their second album, Second Helping.

"Sweet Home Alabama" was written as an answer to the songs "Southern Man" and "Alabama" by Neil Young, which were critical of the South.  "We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two," said Ronnie Van Zant at the time.  Van Zant's musical response, however, was equally controversial, with references to Alabama Governor George Wallace and the Watergate scandal.  Despite (or perhaps because of) the debate, the song has become one of the most popular examples of Southern rock. It reached the top ten of the US charts in 1974 and was the band's second hit single.

Ironically, none of the three writers of the song were originally from Alabama.  Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington were both born in Jacksonville, Florida. Ed King was from Glendale, California.

Lyrics:

Big wheels keep on turning
Carry me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the Southland
I miss Alabamy once again
And I think its a sin, yes

Well I heard mister Young sing about her
Well, I heard ole Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don't need him around anyhow

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you

In Birmingham they love the governor
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you?
Tell the truth

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you
Here I come Alabama

Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they've been known to pick a song or two
Lord they get me off so much
They pick me up when I'm feeling blue
Now how about you?

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you

Sweet home Alabama
Oh sweet home baby
Where the skies are so blue
And the governor's true
Sweet Home Alabama
Lordy
Lord, I'm coming home to you
Yea, yea Montgomery's got the answer

Political references

In conjunction with the defense of the South, the song contains political references which have caused controversy, particularly this verse:

Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you?
Tell me true

Later on, the song says "the governor's true".  Some deny the song expresses support for Wallace's politics, interpreting the lyrics as saying that the band did all they could do to keep Wallace out of office.  They argue that a jeer "Boo, boo, boo!" can be heard after the line "In Birmingham, they love the governor" and they interpret this as an attack on Wallace.  In 1975, Van Zant said: "The lyrics about the governor of Alabama were misunderstood.  The general public didn't notice the words 'Boo! Boo! Boo!' after that particular line, and the media picked up only on the reference to the people loving the governor.  Footage of concerts where they performed the song also confirms the presence of this line.

Various band members have denied that the song endorses segregation; in a recent radio interview, surviving members stated the last line "Montgomery got the answer" was a reference to the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches led by Martin Luther King.  Those who are pro-Wallace have said that the line means Montgomery's got the answer and the answer is Governor Wallace.  However, this is only a case of a misheard line, as Van Zant is saying "My Governor's got the answer."

Fans also argue that the band was sympathetic to African-Americans, citing the songs "Things Goin' On", and "The Ballad of Curtis Loew".

Another claim often made is that the third line of the above verse is in defense of the Watergate scandal.  Again, many fans disagree, interpreting the line as either a reminder to critics that the South is not alone in having scandals or as a statement that corruption in politics is nothing exceptional and that it was Americans' own guilty consciences that were truly bothering them during the crisis.  Another theory is that Van Zant was simply saying that the Watergate scandal was nothing that concerned him because he (and the South) had their own problems.

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I must admit, the very idea of a lottery ticket tears at a division in my soul between scientist and idealistic youth.  As a scientist, I know the odds of winning are infinitesimal.  But the kid inside of me still wants to dream, and hates the scientist inside of me for ruining the magic in life.  I still buy lottery tickets every once in a while, even though I know the odds of my winning are so small as to be impossible.

You see, when I was a kid, I loved the idea of a snow day.  I'm a procrastinator by nature, I couldn't change if I tried.  Some people can't stand the thought of having work hanging over their head, while a true procrastinator can happily spend an evening knowing there is an impending deadline disaster approaching.  There is a trick to not worrying about a deadline; the only way a procrastinator can deal with the  anxiety is hope... hope that the deadline will suddenly go away.

As a kid, snow days were my hope of procrastinator salvation.  I could watch TV and play video games without worry, because I could convince myself there WOULD be a snow day tomorrow (I could convince myself in June).  When the snow day failed to arrive, I would wake up at three or four in the morning and bust ass until school.  Nothing makes boring work go faster than having only five hours to complete eight hours worth of work.  And there is no better feeling than the rare occasion when you actually get your snow day reprieve.

Now that I'm an adult, the lottery ticket is my snow day.  I can procrastinate work until the lottery drawing without worry, because after all, I AM going to win it.  All I need is the hope I won't have to go to work tomorrow, so I can carelessly fritter away valuable hours without stress.

I know the odds bite, but I still play the lottery for hope.  But now I toy with it.  The next time you get a lottery ticket, try picking the numbers yourself with a delivery like this:

Me:  "Let's see... I'll take one.... six... four,  two... five, and.... and... three!"

Gas Station Attendant: "Dude... you just picked 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6!"

Me:  "Yep, that's what I want..."

I've done this three times now, and all three times the gas station attendant got noticeably annoyed:

"Dude... you have to pick different numbers.  That has NO CHANCE of winning!"

Me: "Yep..."

Then I pay my money and walk away smugly.

Try it for yourself - it's pretty funny to see how agitated the attendants get.

Another great option:

"I'll pick eight... six... seven.... five... thirty, and nine!"

My friend once pointed out if these numbers came in, I'd probably wind up sharing my winnings with five idiots who had the same stupid sense of humor that I do.  But then again, I'd be honored to share with them!  

The state lottery - an additional tax for people who can't do math.