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.
—Don MacLean, “American Pie”
I call the area of the North Carolina mountains in which I live “Boomerville” because the only radio station plays nothing but hits from the 70s and 80s. “American Pie” is one of the songs in heavy rotation.
When you think about it, “American Pie” was an incredibly unlikely hit, for two reasons. First, of course, was its extreme length and complexity. Second, the lyrics are a complete rejection of the culture that most Boomers hold dear. The song tells us that the country started to go to hell in a handbasket towards the end of the Fifties. It is a message that only Trump voters should want to hear.
The irony is that the song itself borrows heavily from Dylan—one of its targets— and would be unimaginable without him.
So why do Boomers love the song? Do they have a lingering suspicion they drove the country in the wrong direction? Do they ignore its context and generalize the feeling of nostalgia and loss? Or are they just stupid? And what in the world would a millennial make of it today?
You decide.
A note to my readers: I will be on vacation for the next week. I will be back with my semi-annual series on China on the 28th.