American Pie!

What a great song! Bye, bye, Miss American Pie, drove my chevy to the levy but the levy was dry. And good ol' boys drinking whisky and rye singing this will be the die! What??! What the heck is Don McLean talking about? I never did know, and was always confused as a child attempting to figure out the lyrics, but I didn't care. Again... I just loved the music. Another great tune to write customized lyrics to, I'd bet! I'll have to get Song Squeeze working on that one, too. Can you tell that I'm not the one who writes all the music??? I just throw my ideas their way. But anyway, the reason I decided to write about American Pie is that our neighbor stopped by and brought us some good ol' homemade American Pie (apple and cherry) and some homemade calzones. Heaven, I tell you, pure HEAVEN! It was soooooo good. We're really hoping she brings over more. We gobbled that all up. But here I was sitting there eating some of the best pie I've ever had and that song popped in my head. Yeah, the American Pie song I was just singing to you. After I sang it I thought, I really do wonder what that song is about... so, like the good student that I am, I looked it up on the internet. Here's what wikipedia has to say...
American Pie" is a rock song by singer-songwriter Don McLean.
Recorded and released on the American Pie album in 1971, the single was a number-one U.S. hit for four weeks in 1972. The song is an abstract story of his life that starts with the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) in a plane crash in 1959, and ends in 1970; in the song he called the plane crash "the day the music died," which later became a name for the plane crash. The importance of "American Pie" to America's musical and cultural heritage was recognized by the Songs of the Century education project which listed the song performed by Don McLean as the number five song of the twentieth century.
The song's lyrics are the subject of much curiosity. Although McLean dedicated the American Pie album to Buddy Holly, none of the singers in the plane crash are identified by name in the song itself. When asked what "American Pie" meant, McLean replied, "It means I never have to work again."[1] Later, he more seriously stated "You will find many 'interpretations' of my lyrics but none of them by me... sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence."[2] Despite this, many fans of Mclean, amongst others, have attempted an interpretation; most agree that many lines make reference to The Beatles (John Lennon particularly), The Rolling Stones (also, possibly, Mick Jagger in particular), The Byrds, Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin.

So, are you even more confused now than ever before??? This doesn't answer my question at all! But, oh well. All we really need is the tune to make our customized, personalized song. We can write our own confusing lyrics... that's what he encourages, doesn't he? Then I will maintain my dignified silence.