Background
The title track contains references to the death of Buddy Holly (McLean being a 13-year-old paper-boy at the time). The phrase "The Day the Music Died" was coined by McLean on this song, and has now become an unofficial name for the event.
The third track and second single "Vincent" concerns the Dutch post-impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh, who struggled for fame while he was alive and eventually killed himself.
In one version of the story, the track "Empty Chairs" inspired Lori Lieberman to write the poem upon which the song "Killing Me Softly" is based.
"The Grave", originally a protest song against the Vietnam War, was covered by Wham! member George Michael in protest against the Iraq War in 2003.
Read more about this topic: American Pie (album)
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“They were more than hostile. In the first place, I was a south Georgian and I was looked upon as a fiscal conservative, and the Atlanta newspapers quite erroneously, because they didn’t know anything about me or my background here in Plains, decided that I was also a racial conservative.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
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“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)