Don McLean: ‘I predicted all this woke BS with American Pie’-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro

Don McLean speaks to Metro.co.uk about ‘woke’ culture – and he doesn’t hold back (Picture: Getty)

Released in 1971, Don McLean’s American Pie topped the charts worldwide and has been described as ‘one of the most successful and debated songs of the 20th century’.

Now, McLean himself believes the folk-rock track – which exceeds eight minutes in length – predicted ‘woke’ culture.

With nostalgic themes woven into its lyrics, American Pie has been interpreted countless times by critics and fans alike, with McLean himself explaining it centres around ‘morality’ and uses figures such as Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan as inspiration.

Lyrics include repetition of the phrase ‘the day the music died’, which refers to a plane crash in 1959 that killed early rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, ending that era.

In a new interview with Metro.co.uk, the 78-year-old musician reflects on American Pie’s legacy, explains why he refuses to retire, and shares his views on ‘angry’ youngsters.

Never one to hold back when it comes to expressing his opinions, McLean has previously given the likes of Prince Harry a tongue-lashing and branded ‘political people’ as ‘pedantic’ and ‘boring’.

The musician’s tune, American Pie, is largely regarded as one of the greatest songs ever written (Picture: Chris Walter/WireImage)

When asked what American Pie means to him today, McLean begins: ‘The song really does open up a whole historical question about what happened in the 60s and assassinations and the history that forms the backbone of the song as it moves forward.

‘This song talks about the fact that things are going somewhat in the wrong direction, and I think that they’re still going in the wrong direction. I think most people looking at America now kind of think that too.

‘I mean, we certainly have a wonderful country, and we do wonderful things, but we also are in the middle of all this woke bulls**t, you know, and all this other stuff that there is absolutely no point to, as far as I can see, other than to undermine people’s beliefs in the country. That’s very bad.’

Expanding on so-called ‘wokery’ and what type of person he is, McLean declares himself as someone with great ’empathy’.

Having previously admitted that he wouldn’t describe himself as ‘happy’, the songwriter insists he can be ‘very happy’, but that he’s also ‘manic-depressive’ because ‘when [he’s] happy, [he’s] through the roof, and when [he’s] not, [he’s] through the floor’.

‘I think that comes through in the music that I write. There’s feeling there, and I think that is going to be a rare commodity in the future because I don’t think people want to feel too much.’

He adds that people today ‘would just like to anesthetise themselves against any emotion’ and are ‘in permanent party mode’ without the ability to ‘get a handle on what really matters in life anymore’.

McLean believes people lack ‘feeling’ nowadays (Picture: Harry Herd/Redferns)

McLean believes young people are too ‘angry’ at the world (Picture: David ‘Doc’ Abbott)

‘They’re so addicted to their telephones and their iPads, and I am too. But there’s a constant flow of information and suddenly nothing makes much sense. You have to concentrate in order to write songs like I did, or like other songwriters did in the past, or screenplays or novels or poetry.’

He continues: ‘We have the opportunity to make a change and make a difference in people’s lives simply because we’re alive and you can do a good thing for somebody, you can forgive someone, you can help someone, you can love someone, rather than be angry all the time.

‘There’s so much anger out there. So many of these college students have been given everything, and they’re just angry. They don’t know why they’re angry. They don’t even know what to be angry about.

‘It’s really a symptom, I think, of the fact that they’re frustrated. They don’t have a path that they can tread in life that leads to a better life.’

McLean is due to headline The Long Road Festival at Stanford Hall, Leicestershire, which runs from August 23-25 and marks his only UK gig this year.

Russell Dickerson, Alan Finlan, Brooke Eden, Dasha, and many more join him for what McLean predicts to be a rather ‘loose’ affair.

‘I really like that kind of (festival) crowd. They’re looser. They drink more, they have more fun, and they’re less reserved. And I like that.’

McLean plays to an audience of 85,000 at a free concert in Hyde Park, London in 1975 (Picture: Anwar Hussein/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

McLean credits his UK fans for helping his career really ‘explode’, having sent both Vincent – a tribute song to Vincent Van Gogh – and Crying to number one.

Having quit bus tours, the music legend heads to South Korea in October, stressing to us that ‘as long as [he] can keep it together’ he will continue performing.

On never wanting to retire, he adds: ‘I can still sing well and I can still perform well, and I don’t look too bad.

‘It’s a very important thing that you maintain your way of life and I love it very much. I love doing it, and I can do it with relative ease. It’s not difficult for me.’

He adds of his 20-year-old girlfriend, Paris Dylan: ‘I have a wonderful girlfriend, and we’ve been together for nine years, and we’ve gone to hundreds and hundreds of shows all over the world. And she’s very, very, very helpful.

‘I have a great band. They’re very reliable, no drama, and everybody gets there, and they’re very inspiring whenever we work together. I have a wonderful a wonderful situation.’

McLean – whose work has been covered by the likes of Madonna and Elvis Presley and who has worked with Buddy Holly and Fred Astaire – concludes by sharing his excitement for the thrills his job can bring… even the terrifying moments.

Now aged 78, McLean still refuses to retire (Picture: David ‘Doc’ Abbott)

Addressing the recent foiled terror plot at Taylor Swift’s concert in Vienna, Austria, he says he’s had ‘many bomb scares’ over the years.

‘I’ve seen lots of stuff. Fist fights and people falling out of balconies… I just think it’s exciting. It’s drama, you know? It’s part of the theatre of the whole thing. I don’t think much about any of it.’

He insists his focus is to give people ‘a moment they can treasure’ when they attend his live shows as, for McLean, his music is more than music – it’s ‘a work of art’.

‘I don’t write to have hit record. I write for it to be a work of art, like everything I do, and I am lucky to have hits. I don’t do anything for commercial purposes. I do things because I want to be something that’s beautiful or powerful or emotional.

‘I have 25 studio albums, and a lot of other albums out there, and I recently got certified as having sold more than 50million albums worldwide, which is pretty good for somebody who wasn’t trying.’

The Long Road festival takes place from August 23-25, 2024 at Stanford Hall, Leicestershire. Headlined by Don McLean (UK exclusive) and Russell Dickerson, plus Dasha, Paula Cole, Randall King, Brittney Spencer, Flatland Cavalry, The Red Clay Strays and many more. Final Tickets available here.

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