Bye Bye, Miss American Pie
The chorus of the song is a primary key to understanding its meaning because this is where the theme of the countries lost innocence is stated quite clearly.
“Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die.”
Mrs. Krantz of Minneapolis beams at her apple pie baking in the oven in 1951.
In the chorus, McLean conveys his sadness at the loss of America’s innocence. American Pie is a metaphor for the country, and the chorus is thus a farewell to the all-American pie. It is thought that he was also inspired by the expression “as American as apple pie” that is often used to describe something that is quintessentially American. Other interpretations state that this could also be a synthesis of the American pie and the beauty queen Miss America.
No matter the interpretation, the name “American Pie” evokes a simpler time when icons had meaning, and life had more taste. McLean bids farewell to the America of a passing era.