Culture against the Government
Referring to the youth culture making a pass against the Government while attempting to change and transform the country, McLean sings: “It landed foul out on the grass/The players tried for a forward pass.” It is evident that the political and civil authorities did not take kindly to the challenges, and that this has forever changed the American cultural dialogue.
Photo of Grateful Dead Photo by Waring Abbott/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Highlighting the pragmatic agendas of the civil rights movement and the music players of the time, this verse references Bob Dylan’s representation of the New Left antiwar position, as well as The Beatles’ position at the forefront of the counterculture. Together with many others such as the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead, the Jefferson Airplane, and the Byrds, they are symbols of the liberal political forces that competed on the rock and roll and cultural front during this period.
“With the jester on the sidelines in a cast” refers to Dylan’s nearly fatal motorcycle accident on July 29, 1966. After the crash, he retreated to Woodstock, New York, to recuperate and deal with the overwhelming sensations he was experiencing due to the pressures of his success. Over the next few years, his work began to be less well received, mostly because he retreated from the social commentary and lyrical complexity that made him the voice of a generation. The Beatles soon took his role as a beacon of light in the social and musical context.