Turning the Attention to the Chevy
Singing “Drove my Chevy to the levee”, McLean refers to a well-known series of popular 1950s American Chevrolet commercials that had the following lyrics:
” Drive your Chevrolet through the USA,
America’s the greatest land of all
On a highway or a road along a levee…
..life is completer in a Chevy
So make a date today to see the USA
And see it in your Chevrolet.”
Car buyers flock to a dealership to see the new models of the 1953 Chevrolet, Lynwood, California, 1953. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images)
McLean chose to allude to this particular commercial because the Chevy was the mark of the regular American family in that period. For those not familiar with the term, a levee is a dam built to prevent inundations, but sometimes the term refers to the steep bank of a river. Driving the Chevy to the levee refers to romance, but the lyrics have a double meaning, because “The Levee” was also a party spot where McLean would listen to music with his friends. Sometimes, when The Levee would close (“the levee was dry”), they would drive across the river in search for places to drink in Rye, New York.
Alluding to the disappearance of something that once gave McLean great pleasure, “the levee is dry” is also compared to the evaporating American dream.