BAD NEWS ON THE DOORSTEP A long, long time ago, I can still remember the day my sister cried. Music had been the center of her life and it made her smile. And when sister Janet smiled, the world smiled. And she was my world. Rock and roll music was everywhere. It was a great time to be a teenager. A time when turning 16 really meant something extraordinary. Even our little store in Yellow Branch had built on an addition with a jukebox and dance floor for the teenagers. It had already been a tough year. I was now in the second grade and I was struggling. Gone were the good old days when teachers cut you a lot of slack. In the first grade, if I was having a hard day, my teacher sent me over to the lunch room ladies, who would let me spend the morning with them surrounded by those wonder smells of yeast rolls and large loving ladies. But, now that I was in the 2nd grade, I was faced with the real world of dog-eat-dog competition. And besides, my teacher was a witch. I hated school. And my sister sensed it. She had always danced me around the floor slung on her hip. Called me her “Poochie”. But now she danced me all the time. If it hadn’t been for that dreadful day in the dead of winter, perhaps her dancing would have instilled some sense of rhythm in me. Who knows? I might have become a great dancer. Faced with the harsh realities of 2nd grade, holidays and snow meant all the more. But Thanksgiving and Christmas were gone, now distant memories. Easter was always a big celebration, but it was another 2 months off and offered no hope. The fact that Valentine’s Day was coming up made it all the worse; for boys, Valentine’s Day is a day you want to crawl up in a log and die. Unless you’re one of the popular kids and I wasn’t. Thought that since Valentine’s Day fell on a Saturday this year, the boys would be spared all that humiliation of a Valentine’s party after having received no valentines (you received valentines, but not from the kids you wanted). But no such luck: my teacher had a few days earlier announced that we would have a Valentine’s party on the Friday (which I, and most other boys, took to be another way the old witch was going to torture us). And no snow. We had loads of snow last year. So good when school is cancelled. But this year, when I’m struggling my way through 2nd grade, when I really need the relief of snow days, there’s no snow. To make matters worse, the weatherman on television keeps talking about how much snow the people up north are getting. And how much snow we had last year. February had started with more ice, but some mornings there would be fog. That is what we woke up to on that Tuesday morning, February 3. This morning, my sister would not smile. No dancing around the floor. Our day had started with the news of the death of Buddy Holly. The morning news said that Holly, the Big Bopper, and Richie Valens had died in a plane wreck. I was a kid. I did not understand death, but I could see that my sister had lost something that I could not replace. She had lost her smile and her laughter. She cried. She cried as if the world would never be the same. I missed her smile, her laughter, and her dancing me around, her little Poochie. It was only many years later that I began to understand what my sister lost that cold foggy day in the dead of winter. It was in a song that began, “A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile,….” I was now starting college. But when I first listened to Don McLean’s “American Pie”, I was transported back to that horrible day in the dead of winter when my sister lost her smile. American Pie by Don McLean A long, long time ago I can still remember how that music used to make me smile And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people dance And maybe theyd be happy for a while But February made me shiver With every paper Id deliver Bad news on the doorstep I couldnt take one more step I cant remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride But something touched me deep inside The day the music died [Chorus] So bye-bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry And them good old boys were drinkin whiskey in Rye Singin Thisll be the day that I die Thisll be the day that I die [Verse 1] Did you write the book of love And do you have faith in God above If the Bible tells you so? Now do you believe in rock and roll? Can music save your mortal soul? And can you teach me how to dance real slow? Well, I know that youre in love with him Cause I saw you dancin in the gym You both kicked off your shoes Man, I dig those rhythm and blues I was a lonely teenage broncin buck With a pink carnation and a pickup truck But I knew I was out of luck The day the music died [Chorus] I started singin bye-bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey in Rye Singin Thisll be the day that I die Thisll be the day that I die [Verse 2] Now for ten years weve been on our own And moss grows fat on a rollin stone But thats not how it used to be When the jester sang for the king and queen In a coat he borrowed from James Dean And a voice that came from you and me Oh, and while the king was looking down The jester stole his thorny crown The courtroom was adjourned No verdict was returned And while Lenin read a book on Marx The quartet practiced in the park And we sang dirges in the dark The day the music died [Chorus] We were singin bye-bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey in Rye Singin Thisll be the day that I die Thisll be the day that I die [Verse 3] Helter skelter in a summer swelter The birds flew off with a fallout shelter Eight miles high and falling fast It landed foul on the grass The players tried for a forward pass With the jester on the sidelines in a cast Now the halftime air was sweet perfume While the sergeants played a marching tune We all got up to dance Oh, but we never got the chance Cause the players tried to take the field The marching band refused to yield Do you recall what was revealed The day the music died? [Chorus] We started singin bye-bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey in Rye And singin Thisll be the day that I die Thisll be the day that I die [Verse 4] Oh, and there we were all in one place A generation lost in space With no time left to start again So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick Jack Flash sat on a candlestick Cause fire is the devils only friend Oh, and as I watched him on the stage My hands were clenched in fists of rage No angel born in Hell Could break that Satans spell And as the flames climbed high into the night To light the sacrificial rite I saw Satan laughing with delight The day the music died He was singin bye-bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey in Rye And singin Thisll be the day that I die Thisll be the day that I die [Outro] I met a girl who sang the blues And I asked her for some happy news But she just smiled and turned away I went down to the sacred store Where Id heard the music years before But the man there said the music wouldnt play And in the streets, the children screamed The lovers cried and the poets dreamed But not a word was spoken The church bells all were broken And the three men I admire most The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast The day the music died And they were singin bye-bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry And them good old boys were drinkin whiskey in Rye Singin Thisll be the day that I die Thisll be the day that I die [Chorus] They were singin bye-bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey in Rye And singin Thisll be the day that I die end of lyrics
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 00:03:52 +0000
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