by Don McLean (1971)
.
Don McLean’s “American Pie” is one of the more unique cases in pop music, and its lyrics occupy an interesting position as being extremely enduring in the American mind while also remaining largely cryptic to general understanding. Everyone, of course, knows that the song was inspired by the Day the Music Died (Feb. 3, 1959), but the popularity of the song — and its quality — come from an even deeper place. To put it as simply as possible, the lyrics to “American Pie” are so well-known — and so great — because they, more than any other piece of twentieth century art, capture loss in the key of Americana.