【克里斯的那卡西 2023/4/29】Don Mclean — American Pie
最近韓國總統尹錫悅在美國華府的訪美國宴上，清唱了Don Mclean的American Pie，驚艷全場，也弄得拜登和在場的美國人很爽，而且他的歌喉還真的不錯。
尹錫悅以前就曾說過American Pie是他最喜歡的歌曲之一，但無論這一招是不是設計出來的，都是外交手腕上的高招。懂得欣賞並巧妙運用對方的文化元素，也是「價值同盟」基礎的一部份。挑中「American Pie」這首歌，更是巧妙。
從尹錫悅此舉，加上在國內反對情況下，還是堅持韓國必須與日本和解看來，他的外交方向和決心應該是蠻清楚的。
我也很喜歡這首歌，很巧，它發行於我出生後一個月的1971年10月，是American Pie專輯的同名單曲；也正好就是那個月，蔣介石的ROC政權被踢出了聯合國。
American Pie是Don McLean在樂壇奠基之作，攻上單曲排行第一，而且因為它全長8分42秒，有長達50年的時間是最長的冠軍單曲。通常這種長度的歌很難在單曲榜吃香，但American Pie是難得的例外，也可見它有多受到人們關注。更因為歌詞內容觸及廣泛的政治和社會議題，最後，此曲被喻為20世紀最成功、被討論最多的歌曲。
在2017年，它因為文化藝術方面的重要性，被美國國會圖書館登錄為文化資產。美國錄音產業協會評選的世紀名曲中，它名列第五。
音樂死去之日
這首歌的開頭，就提到了「音樂死去之日（The Day the Music Died）」。這是描述1959年2月3日，知名歌手Buddy Holly（22歲）、The Big Dipper和Ritchie Valens（17歲，成名曲為La Bamba）在空難中喪生的事件。當時Don McLean只有13歲，在隔天2月4日早上正準備送報之時，從報上讀到自己的音樂偶像Buddy Holly死去。
Buddy Holly被公認為最早期的搖滾明星之一，1952年出道，只紅了沒幾年就英年早逝。他是將搖滾樂隊編制定為雙吉他、貝斯和鼓組合的先驅者，知名曲則包括Everyday和Peggy Sue等。
對少年McLean來說，那天就像音樂也跟著Buddy Holly死了。他用這首曲子，試著處理那樣巨大的悲傷。由於American Pie的成功，從此人們也將這場空難就稱為The Day the Music Died。
除了紀錄這場空難對他年少生活的影響，Don McLean也在此曲中提到那個世代的人面對美國的文化社會變遷，以及對於美國文明的幻滅感，不過他的歌詞裡充滿著大量的暗喻和指涉，聽的人完全能夠感受到氛圍，卻很難確定Don McLean說的到底是什麼。
老鷹合唱團主唱Don Henley的The End of the Innocence，也讓我有同樣的感受。當然，Henley談的是80年代，說的也是那種對於大時代流轉改變的喟嘆和追想。
此曲歌名American Pie，來自於apple pie，當時蘋果派已經被認為是美國的象徵和代表食品，所以用它來作為整個美國社會和文化的代稱。
難解的歌詞
很多歌的內容，原作者和聽眾的詮釋都有一段差距，American Pie是最有名的例子之一。Don McLean本人有很長一段時間都未曾解釋，也覺得他不該解釋，因為創作者該把詮釋權留給閱聽者，不用講太多。
儘管如此，歌迷和媒體還是很樂於去尋找McLean在曲中的暗示，並針對曲中的the King, the Queen和jester（弄臣）各自提出解釋。有人說the King是Elvis Presley，有人說是John F. Kennedy，有人說是Pete Seeger，至於the Queen，有人說是Joan Baez，有人說是甘迺迪的老婆賈桂琳。The jester就更精彩了，多數人認為是Bob Dylan，但也有人說是暗殺甘迺迪的Lee Harvey Oswald，吵個沒完。還有人去問Bob Dylan他對於被寫為弄臣有何看法，搞得他很不爽。
另外，有人解釋「唱藍調的女孩（the girl who sang the blues）」是Janis Joplin。The Quartet指的是披頭四，eight miles high指的是The Byrds樂團（因為他們有首歌叫Eight Miles High），Jack Flash指的是Rolling Stone（因為Jumping Jack Flash這首歌）。有人則說Jack指的是甘迺迪，「Jack be nimble, Jack be quick」指的是古巴飛彈危機。Father, Son and the Holy Ghost指的是誰，也吵得很兇。
Don McLean在2015年把當年這首歌的18頁筆記拿去拍賣，賣了嚇死人的120萬美元，但歌詞的真正意義還是沒有人能夠確定。
2022年，McLean終於在「The Day the Music Died」紀錄片裡願意受訪，為眾人吵了半世紀的歌詞定調。他說，創作背景是他當時覺得想寫一首有關美國這個國家的「大歌（big song）」，所以用「很久很久以前…」開頭，而整首歌受印象主義影響很深。
至於爭議的重點，他說the king不是貓王，the queen不是Joan Baez，弄臣也不是Bob Dylan。Marching band不是指披頭四，而是指軍工業綜合體，sweet perfume指的是催淚瓦斯，「coast」暗指的是洛杉磯。This’ll be the day that I die則來自約翰韋恩的西部電影The Searchers，事實上Buddy Holly有首That’ll Be the Day的歌也來自同一部電影啟發。
「Bye Bye Miss American Pie」靈感來自於Pete Seeger的歌「Bye Bye, My Roseanna」，而他本來打算用Miss American apple pie，但最後拿掉了apple這個字。
簡單的說，McLean說歌詞完全是虛構而且沒有現實政治社會事件的指涉。他老兄不解釋還好，一解釋真是有夠無聊，反而減損了伴隨各種爭論而來的神秘性和象徵、指涉，感覺還不如留給大家猜，保留個模糊空間，不要說死，讓聽者自行詮釋或一直吵下去還好一點。
至於Don McLean，如今已經77歲，生涯後期鬧出家暴事件實在不是很光彩，看來才華洋溢的創作者，能夠寫出這麼詩意、富有哲理的歌詞，應付實際人生卻是另一回事了。
American Pie
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’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
Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing, “This’ll 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
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 dancing in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Then 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 levee
But the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”
This will be the day that I die
Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows 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
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 drinking whiskey and rye
Singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”
This will be the day that I die
Helter skelter in the 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 halftime 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 drinking whiskey and rye
And singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”
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 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 drinking whiskey and rye
And singing, “This’ll 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, 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 drinking whiskey and rye
Singing, “This’ll 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 levee but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”
