附注:
THE HISTORY OF THE TAB:
Though I take credit for this song, many people
worked on this tab. Lazy Guitar is the one who
suggested and coordinated this project to begin
with.Since I had already recorded a piano version of
this song to MIDI, with the basic accompaniment, I laid
out a basic tab. Lazy passed it on to Chuzchy, who
tweaked the bass, guitar, & drums; he also added the
lead guitar and lyrics. Stepinmyshoes filled out the
rhythm guitar. Lazy Guitar then put the finishing touches
to the whole song.
Thanks also to Black Dog for adding the red, white,
and blue color scheme.
"THEN STEPINMYSHOES RUINED THE WHOLE
THING"
Keep in mind if you are playing the piano part, the
score needs to be transposed -12, and GP does not
allow some things such as double grace notes, sustain
pedal, or 2 different note durations within the same
space in the score.
THE HISTORY OF THE SONG:
Don McLean has never issued an "answer key" for
"American Pie," undoubtedly on the theory that as
long as you can keep 'em guessing, your legend will
never die.
He's probably right. Still, he's dropped a few hints.
Straight Dope musicologist Stefan Daystrom taped the
following intro from Casey Kasem's "American Top 40"
radio show circa January 1972: "A few days ago we
phoned Don McLean for a little help in interpreting his
great hit 'American Pie.' He was pretty reluctant to give
us a straight interpretation of his work; he'd rather let it
speak for itself. But he explained some of the specific
references that he makes.
The most important one is the death of rockabilly
singer Buddy Holly in 1959; for McLean, that's when
the music died. The court jester he refers to is Bob
Dylan. The Stones and the flames in the sky refer to
the concert at Altamont, California. And McLean goes
on, painting his picture," blah blah, segue to record.
Not much to go on, but at least it rules out the Christ
imagery. For the rest we turn to the song's legion of
freelance interpreters, whose thoughts were most
recently compiled by Rich Kulawiec into a file that I
plucked from the Internet. (I love the Internet.) No
room to reprint all the lyrics, which you probably
haven't been able to forget anyway, but herewith the
high points:
- February made me shiver: Holly's plane crashed
February 3, 1959.
- Them good ole boys were ... singing "This'll be the
day that I die": Holly's hit "That'll Be the Day" had a
similar line.
- The Jester sang for the King and Queen in a coat he
borrowed from James Dean: ID of K and Q obscure.
Elvis and Connie Francis (or Little Richard)? John and
Jackie Kennedy? Or Queen Elizabeth and consort, for
whom Dylan apparently did play once? Dean's coat is
the famous red windbreaker he wore in Rebel Without
a Cause; Dylan wore a similar one on "The
Freewheeling Bob Dylan" album cover.
- With the Jester on the sidelines in a cast: On July 29,
1966 Dylan had a motorcycle accident that kept him
laid up for nine months.
- While sergeants played a marching tune: The
Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club
Band."
- And as I watched him on the stage/ my hands were
clenched in fists of rage/ No angel born in hell/ Could
break that Satan's spell/ And as the flames climbed
high into the night: Mick Jagger, Altamont.
- I met a girl who sang the blues/ And I asked her for
some happy news/ But she just smiled and turned
away: Janis Joplin OD'd October 4, 1970.
- The three men I admire most/ The Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost/ They caught the last train for the coast:
Major mystery. Holly, Bopper, Valens? Hank Williams,
Elvis, Holly? JFK, RFK, ML King? The literal tripartite
deity? As for the coast, could be the departure of the
music biz for California. Or it simply rhymes, a big
determinant of plot direction in pop music lyrics (which
may also explain "drove my Chevy to the levee"). Best
I can do for now.
