Don McLean on how his iconic hit 'American Pie' continues to be relevant
“This song talks about the fact that things are going somewhat in the wrong direction, and I think that they’re still going in the wrong direction."
Don McLean recently released a remix of his 1971 hit, 'American Pie'.
Speaking to Metro this week, the singer said his song addressed the assassinations of so many American political figures in the 1960s.
“The song really does open up a whole historical question about what happened in the ’60s and assassinations and the history that forms the backbone of the song as it moves forward,” he said.
Although the song was released years ago, the singer says it remains relevant.
“This song talks about the fact that things are going somewhat in the wrong direction, and I think that they’re still going in the wrong direction. I think most people looking at America now kind of think that too."
The singer went on to speak about how there is so much anger in today's world.
“I mean, we certainly have a wonderful country, and we do wonderful things, but we also are in the middle of all this woke bullsh**. All this other stuff that there is absolutely no point to, as far as I can see, other than to undermine people’s beliefs in the country. That’s very bad," he said.
“There’s so much anger out there,” McLean added.
“So many of these college students have been given everything, and they’re just angry. They don’t know why they’re angry. They don’t even know what to be angry about. It’s really a symptom of the fact that they’re frustrated. They don’t have a path that they can tread in life that leads to a better life,” he said.
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According to Billboard, McLean's 'American Pie' was the longest song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 2021, where it stayed for four weeks.
It was removed by Taylor Swift’s 'All Too Well (10 Minute Version)'.
McLean at the time told Billboard: “If I had to lose it to somebody, I sure am glad it was another great singer/songwriter such as Taylor.”
Taylor also appreciated McLean by sending him flowers.
What a classy artist! Thank you @taylorswift13 for the flowers & note! pic.twitter.com/A0WRxaVEgE
— Don McLean (@donmclean) December 1, 2021
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