Aside from the political/economic viewpoint in the linked article, it might be worth noting that "...Don has never interpreted the lyrics for the public. His view is:

"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.”..."

So, this is just one interpretation of the lyrics.

"American Pie" should be packaged with "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and blasted into space, never to be heard again. And if there is room for "Across the Universe" and "The Long and Winding Road", all the better.

We can dispute the intent of the song but it does seem that Don longs for the 50s and sees them as the great time. I deeply respect his opinion but do differ with it. the 60s was turbulent and often with mixed results.
But here is how I see it. the 50s was far too conservative and unrealistic. It was far too trusting and gullible. Music too inhibited.

The kids of the 60s were really tired of it all. They wanted better music, better answers, and tired of hearing empty rhetoric.

Consider how sappy and lame movie and TV plots were in the early 60s and earlier. But movies had to serve up more realism and address more. I really think, compared with the 50s, with the 60s as a transition period, that there was more intelligence and thinking going on that led to much better movie plots. BUt it did not last long.

They went too far in the 60s. They did not just reject the bad, they rejected everything and threw out so much good with the bad. The 60s was a nice mix. but it was not going to stop in a good place.

But while it lasted, the 60s was wonderful. I can't think of a better decade.

I notice some negative visitors as of late. I am sure they have come to rain on our nostalgia parade. They are scared the some warm feelings for the 60s might cause us to think yet again and maybe rethink war once again. Who knows, maybe they are right.

but shall these great critics suggest that life is so much better now than the 60s. I just laugh. I guess recreational drugs are still very popular, eh?

I read the linked article in full.

Don McLean will probably never interpret his poem. There is no need for him to do so. Writers of merit never have to follow-up their writing with, "what I was trying to say is..." because once is enough. What good writers do is inspire Readers to Think.

Regarding the bigger picture of the article, I for one. miss the active outcries of the college campus. The youth of today are eerily silent. Perhaps they are too caught up in "educating" themselves in financial schemes to actually transform education into tools of thinking. Without their loud, energetic cry, America is voiceless about the horrendous things unfolding within our political and economic system. I have already been pondereing the depth of this Crisis. Even as "official" voices tell us we are coming out of it, I believe what we've seen is only the tip of the iceberg. Hopefully, soon, the populace will look beyond their own purses, THINK, and then Americans will rediscover their Great Voice in the encroaching darkness.

NCeddie
Glad to hear another voice of concern. I see things only getting much worse because we are doing nothing to alter that course and everything to continue the direction we are in. The past can be a great teacher, if we are willing to listen and reflect.
Boomers ought to have good reason to reflect since we knew such a different world and have seen it pass away. I caught the latest episode of Mad Men tonight. Just love seeing that old 60s vibe. Somewhere I read that what we sow, we later reap. It would seem to me that somewhere in the past we went to sleep and started sowing something that got us to where we are now, which is not so good.

I visited the site linked and it was interesting. Yes, our memories don’t go back very far. I noticed this in corporations like LL Bean as well. Corporate memory is often only about 7 years, due to turnover and people moving around. After 7 years, many gone and their learned experience gone, too. They forget their lessons and have to start all over. No one remembers and the little people on the ground floor are never listened to because of course, the highest management knows so much better, even if Mr. Deming says otherwise. Deming came up with the quality circles and total quality sort of ideas which Japan embraced but the USA ignored cause we don’t like to be told what to do, even if we need it.

But really, I see the biggest problem is that most of us do not try to figure out and make sense of our world. We are too busy with beer, sex, and TV, living in the suburbs and proving we are men. We have a poor sense of priorities. And we have reaped what we have sown, I fear.

I guess this is a big reason why I love this site. All those old wonderful memories and but also a chance to ponder how we got from there to here, of all places. Of course in the last week, a few have no liked me pondering such things. They are the ones who have been discouraging people from thinking and asking questions and pondering the past. Thanks for coming along and sharing some good insight. I hope we see/hear much more from you!

I also recall bringing “American Pie” into my 9th grade class to listen to. It went over their heads. Don’s music was rather mature for most teens at the time. It had nothing to do with sex, you know. But that really was a great album, great music. Good link, Ron! Thanks for being a bit patient with me.