American pie

 

"American Pie" is a song by American singer and songwriter Don McLean. Recorded and released in 1971 on the album of the same name, the single was the number-one US hit for four weeks in 1972 starting January 15 after just eight weeks on the US Billboard charts (where it entered at number 69).

The repeated phrase "the day the music died" refers to a plane crash in 1959 that killed early rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, ending the era of early rock and roll; this became the popular nickname for that crash. The theme of the song goes beyond mourning McLean's childhood music heroes, reflecting the deep cultural changes and profound disillusion and loss of innocence of his generation – the early rock and roll generation – that took place between the 1959 plane crash and either late 1969 or late 1970. The meaning of the other lyrics, which cryptically allude to many of the jarring events and social changes experienced during that period, has been debated for decades. McLean repeatedly declined to explain the symbolism behind the many characters and events mentioned; he eventually released his songwriting notes to accompany the original manuscript when it was sold in 2015, explaining many of these, and further elaborated on the lyrical meaning in a 2022 interview/documentary celebrating the song's 50th anniversary, in which he stated the song was driven by impressionism and debunked some of the more widely speculated symbols.

 It’s a great song, and worth listening to again:

 (3) Don McLean - American Pie (Lyrics) - YouTube

 In 2010, the RAGBRAI passed through Clear Lake, Iowa. Naturally, Sharon and I went  to the ballroom where Buddy Holly last performed – and we also went to the cornfield where he died. As a result, we have a stronger personal connection to the song, since we have been to “the scene of the crime”.

 I recently discovered that we also have a local connection to “the day the music died”.

Our son and his family live about 6 miles east of us. Yesterday, we all went to a very nice park not far from where he lives. It is named the Ebonee Moody Park, in honor of a 14-year-old girl who was killed by a drunk driver in 2004, just across the street from where the park is now located.

Ebonee was a talented musician, and she played the piano, the saxophone, and several other instruments.

The man responsible for Ebonee’s death last August is 60-year-old Mike Ellsworth Baker.  He hit her while driving drunk and speeding.  Ten months later Baker is agreeing to felony charges of manslaughter, driving under the influence, reckless driving, and endangerment, along with a traffic violation of driving an unsafe vehicle.

 "It has been stated that he was drunk and driving, and we realize that there are so many loopholes in the justice system, and this way by a plea bargain, we know that he will do time in prison,” Moody said.

 Baker’s prison time is expected to last about ten and a half years, if not more, and be followed with about seven years of probation that will require him to take the anti-alcohol drug Antabuse.

 Also, Baker’s driver license will be suspended for five years.

 "You can't do the crime and just expect to get away.  You do the crime, you have to do the time,” Moody said.

 For the Moody family, their lives will be changed forever.  But now, Leonard Moody hopes his situation can at least be one more lesson for anyone who drinks and drives.

 https://www.kold.com/story/3499251/drunk-driver-pleads-guilty-to-manslaughter-of-14-year-old/

 Buddy Holly died in 1959 in Iowa in 1959 – but the music also died in Tucson in 2004 – and that is a lesson that Mike Baker (and the rest of us) learned more than a decade ago.