Another Look at the Past through Rose Colored Glasses
Other elements in this verse point to McLean’s remembrance of the golden age in American history, a time of pickup trucks, sock hops, and pink carnations. At the time McLean wrote the song, most people had started to believe that the 1950’s had been a charmed moment in time, a period of unprecedented economic prosperity that followed World War II. This was a time when the majority of Americans found themselves free from many uncertainties and finally became able to enjoy themselves. They celebrated the achievement of the American dream with automobiles, suburban homes with white picket fences, kitchen appliances, and babies. By the time the 1960’s ended, the American dream had begun to fade as radical changes took the country by storm.
New England neighborhood with white picket fences (Photo by Visions of America/UIG via Getty Images)
The religious references in the second verse are most likely related to the belief that many Americans conceived in the 1950’s, that they were living in a country blessed by God. The music itself becomes an object of faith in the song, with the line “Do you believe in rock n’ roll/ Can music save your mortal soul” and McLean suggests that the music of the golden post-war period is a symbol of the unquestioning innocence of those times.
From now on, the sacredness of the music will become a staple of the song, as it will be encountered again and again as the verses go on. Everything that relates to religious metaphors in the next verses is referring back to the music, which in turn is a metaphor in its own right, one for the faith and innocence of the 1950’s.