Don McLean's Song "American Pie"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Don McLean's "American Pie", which debuted in 1972 at the height of the counter cultural revolution, was associated with the rebelliousness of the Hippies, the national social controversy of the Vietnam War, profound social changes in race relations and human rights and the women's liberation movement. The author points out that semiotics is the study of signs and symbols employed in communications and the process through which they develop their shared meaning among people who recognize and understand their intended message. The paper presents the semantic meaning of quoted lyrics from the song, such as 'I drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry'. The author states that this relates to the three civil rights activists who were murdered by racists in Mississippi while working to register black voters in the rural South.

Table of Contents:
Semiotics
Cultural Context of Don McLean's American Pie
Semiotics of the Music

From the Paper:

"Just as importantly, by the 1970s, the movement toward racial sensitivity had already resulted in a change from the term "race music" to "rhythm and blues" because the former had taken on an offensive symbolism of racial bigotry that was on the verge of
becoming culturally unacceptable. In particular, this change represents the distinction between language and semiotics in that purely non-literal influences inspired the semiotic evolution of elements of language. Whereas "rhythm" does correspond to a component of music and "blues" does correspond to a thematic focus of so-called "race music", the impetus for the change was strictly moral and ethical and not any need for linguistic precision."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gerrig, R, Zimbardo, P. (2005) Psychology and Life. 17th Edition. New York: Allyn & Bacon.
• Henslin, J.M. (2002) Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon
• Macionis, J.J. (2003) Sociology 9th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
• O'Brien, P. (1999) American Pie: The analysis and interpretation of Don McLean's song lyrics. Retrieved May 15, 2008, from: The Octopus's Garden - Music rumors, facts, and fiction website, at: http://www.rareexception.com/Garden/Pie.php
• The Public Journal of Semiotics (2005) Retrieved May 15, 2008, from:http://www.semiotics.ca/

More papers on Don McLean's Song "American Pie":

• Essay # 64021 : "Don McLean and "American Pie"
• Analytical Essay # 46774 : "White Noise" and "American Beauty"
• Comparison Essay # 121921 : "Popular Song Lyrics"

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