Who plays the lead character role of Wednesday Addams in the Netflix show ‘Wednesday’?

AS the first week of 2023 is underway, now might be a good time to test some ideas for the new year. An entertainment segment I have thought about compiling on a semi-regular basis is unpacking lyrics of well-known songs and trying to bring to light their meaning Let’s see how this is received. First cab off the rank - American Pie by Don McLean.

EVERYONE knows the chorus, but will anyone ever really know the meaning behind McLean’s cryptic lyrics from his signature 1971 song? The song acts as a social commentary and linear narrative detailing the changing landscape in the western world from the innocent 1950s to the many overlapping social and cultural movements of the 1960s.

n 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’d deliver

Bad news on the doorstep

I couldn’t take one more step

McLean’s hero Buddy Holly died on February 3, 1959 in a plane crash along with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. McLean’s only other job besides song-writing was as a paper boy. n I can’t remember if I cried

When I read about his widowed bride

Holly’s wife was pregnant when the crash occurred and soon after had a miscarriage. n Something touched me deep inside

The day the music died

Following McLean’s reference to the crash, February 3, 1959 has become known as ‘The Day the Music Died’. The music that died is considered the standard rock and roll songs. The crash was the final blow to this music because these three were the only major artists left. Elvis Presley was drafted, Little Richard turned gospel and Chuck Berry was arrested. n Did you write the Book of Love The Book of Love was a hit in 1968 by the Monotones. n And do you have faith in God above

If the Bible tells you so?

Into verse two and the swinging 1960s have arrived. Faith in the music now replaces faith in God. n Do you believe in rock and roll?

Can music save your mortal soul?

And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

This is from the song Do You Believe in Magic? by the Lovin’ Spoonful, written by John Sebastian in 1965. n Well, I know that you’re in love with

him

‘Cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym

In the 1960s, dancing was seen as a much greater sign of love than it is today. n 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

A pickup truck was a symbol of sexual freedom, and Marty Robbins had a hit with A

BEHIND THE LYRICS American Pie

By LIAM DURKIN

Signature: Don McLean, the man synonymous with the song American Pie.

photograph supplied White Sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation) in 1957. n Now, for 10 years we’ve been on our

own

And moss grows fat on a rolling stone

But, that’s not how it used to be

The great Bob Dylan wrote Like a Rolling Stone in 1965. This was his first major change from folk music. In late 1966, Dylan was involved in a motorcycle crash and hid in his house in Woodstock, New York, for a good year, hence the fat and moss showing the time change. Dylan didn’t really get his muse back until 1975. The old cliché is turned on its head, reflecting how the wholesale rejection of conventional values had become commonplace by 1970. n 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

Dylan is the jester, the King is Peter Seger and the Queen is Joan Baez. The jacket Dylan borrowed from James Dean can be seen on the iconic cover sleeve of his 1963 album The Freewheelin Bob Dylan’ as well as the red coat Dean wore in the 1955 film Rebel Without A Cause. n Oh and while the King was looking

down

The jester stole his thorny crown

Dylan became the revolutionary leader of the 1960s generation, knocking Elvis, the King of the 1950s, off his pedestal while he was in the army. Pete Seger remained a traditional folk singer, while Dylan was constantly reinventing himself and therefore became unbelievably popular. While Elvis was in the army, Dylan took his spotlight and changed the whole music business. The thorny crown is the price of fame, and is referenced with Christs thorny crown before he was crucified. n The courtroom was adjourned

No verdict was returned

This deals with the Kennedy assassination. Lee Harvey Oswald was never convicted because he was murdered. n And while Lennon read a book on

Marx

The quartet practiced in the park

This could have a double meaning, as communism was still the subject of debate from the McCarthy-era, which is often linked to revolutionaries Vladimir Lenin, who was an avid reader of Karl Marx. Lenin and John Lennon are pronounced the same and the quartet is The Beatles, whose music started to become political during the late 1960s. n And we sang dirges in the dark A dirge is a funeral song. These songs were for the Kennedy’s (John and Robert) and Martin Luther King, who all died in the 1960s. n The day the music died

Helter skelter in a summer swelter

The birds flew off with a fallout shelter

Eight miles high and falling fast

In the summer of 1968, one of the most dangerous serial killers ever, Charles Manson, massacred an entire family because of The Beatles song Helter Skelter, which appeared on the White Album. The Byrd’s were a popular folk-rock group, Eight Miles High was the first ever psychedelic song, with The Byrd’s entering new ground with this genre. n It landed foul on the grass

The players tried for a forward pass

Here the football metaphor starts. The players are the protesters in the 1960s demonstrating against things such as involvement in the Vietnam War and women’s liberation. The forward pass was their attempt at a movement. n With the jester on the sidelines in a

cast

Dylan, the jester, is in a cast recovering from his before mentioned motorcycle crash. n Now the half-time air was sweet

perfume

While sergeants played a marching tune

Sweet perfume is a euphemism for the smoke from drugs of the hippie culture that was starting to take off. Sergeants relates to The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. Often cited as one of the most influential albums of all time. n We all got up to dance

Oh, but we never got the chance

The Beatles helped to start a new kind of music that was meant to be listened and not danced to. n ‘Cause the players tried to take the

field

The marching band refused to yield

The Beatles had some anti-violence songs that made protesters think twice about the way they were acting. All You Need is Love (1967) says there is a better way than violence, and in Revolution (1968). n Do you recall what was revealed

The day the music died?

The Beatles have become the ‘Sergeants’, leading the march of counter-culture, with Dylan 'on the sidelines in a cast'. n Oh, and there we were all in one place The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival. n A generation lost in space The Space Race between the US and Soviet Union had seemingly distracted many from the real issues at hand. David Bowie’s Space Oddity was also released, which sang about ‘Major Tom’ who gets lost in space. n With no time left to start again

So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick

Jack Flash sat on a candlestick

Jumpin’ Jack Flash was a hit for the Rolling Stones. n ‘Cause fire is the devil’s only friend Some believed the Rolling Stones sold out to the Devil. n Oh and as I watched him on the stage

My hands were clenched in fists of rage

In December 1969, the Rolling Stones attempted another Woodstock, this time at Altamont Speedway. Jagger appeared on stage that night dressed in a flowing red cape, singing lyrics inciting fire and rebellion. n No angel born in Hell

Could break that Satan’s spell

It was a free concert, with the Hell’s Angel’s handling the security. n 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

While The Stones were singing Sympathy for the Devil, a black man was beaten and stabbed to death by the Hell’s Angels. The Stones were helicoptered out of Altamont as it became so crazy. n I met a girl who sang the blues

And I asked her for some happy news

But she just smiled and turned away

Janis Joplin is most likely the girl who sang the blues. Joplin died in 1970, a year before American Pie was released. n I went down to the sacred store

Where I’d heard the music years before... they caught the last train for the coast/the day the music died So bye, bye Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

Contrary to popular belief, American Pie was not the name of the plane that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper died in, 'American Pie' could be a synthesis of the beauty queen Miss America. The American automobile was the Chevy, and the Levee was a bar in Purchase, NY near McLean’s hometown. n And them good ole boys were drinking

whiskey and rye

Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die

This’ll be the day that I die

The songs most recurring lyric is partly taken from Buddy Holly’s song That’ll be the Day.