The manuscript for Don McLean’s iconic hit “American Pie” sold for auction at Christie’s today for over $1.2 million. Meanwhile, the singer has also explained the meaning of the song, which has been kept a mystery since its release in 1971.
Back in February, McLean announced that he was auctioning off the 16-page manuscript, which included lyrics that didn’t make it into the final version of the eight-minute song. Christie’s expected the manuscript to go for over $1 million and it passed that easily.
“Don McLean’s manuscript of ‘American Pie’ achieved the 3rd highest auction price for an American literary manuscript, a fitting tribute to one the foremost singer-songwriters of his generation,” Tom Lecky, Head of Department, Books & Manuscripts, said in a statement. “ This result is a testament to the creative genius of Don McLean and to the song’s ability to still engage and inspire.”
While most know that the “day the music died” mentioned in the song is a reference to the Feb. 3, 1959 plane crash that killed Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, McLean has kept a mystery about the song. Listeners might think they know what other references are (we all know who the “Jack Flash” and “King” are), but he’s never been clear about them. But, as People notes, McLean did finally explain the song in an interview for Christie’s catalog.
“Basically, in 'American Pie' things are heading in the wrong direction. It is becoming less ideal, less idyllic,” McLean said in the interview. “I don't know whether you consider that wrong or right, but it is a morality song in a sense. I was around in 1970 and now I am around in 2015 … there is no poetry and very little romance in anything anymore, so it is really like the last phase of 'American Pie.'”
McLean also said that he thought culture was going to get worse in the future. “I have a weird sense sometimes of what's going to happen before it happens, and I kind of live by that, which is how my instincts operate, I suppose,” he said.
McLean does still perform and you can catch him on tour throughout 2015.
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