This’ll Be the Day That I Die
Reaching their favorite places to drink, McLean and his friends raise their glasses to “the good ole boys”, mourning the death of Buddy Holly and his band. One of the key lines of the song – “ This’ll be the day that I die ” – is a reworded line from Buddy Holly’s hit “That’ll Be the Day”: “Cause that’ll be the day when I die.”
“The Levee”, later became “Tin Lizzies” and is currently called “The Beechmont Tavern“
Source:
yelp.com
In that song, Holly fears that his love will leave him, which would mean the end of the world for him. Using the line with a double meaning, McLean points to Holly as a symbol of the song, mourning the death of music as he knows it and a whole world with it.