A Defining Moment
No matter how you interpret the song, the emotional resonance of the song contributed to the birth of an American classic. It seemed clear from the beginning that McLean was referring to a defining moment in music, with the lyrics pointing to something that has been lost and can’t be retrieved.
Buddy Holly and The Crickets. Photo By Dezo Hoffman/Shutterstock
Opening with the death of singer Buddy Holly and ending with the catastrophic concert at the Altamont Motor Speedway, the lyrics cover the period between 1959 and 1970. The third verse defines the period as the “10 years we’ve been on our own.” The sense of disillusion and loss that the song transmits isn’t just about deaths in the world of music, but also about a generation that could no longer believe in the utopian dreams of the 1950s.