Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"As you can imagine, over the years I have been asked many times to discuss and explain my song 'American Pie.' I have never discussed the lyrics, but have admitted to the Holly reference in the opening stanzas. I dedicated the album American Pie to Buddy Holly as well in order to connect the entire statement to Holly in hopes of bringing about an interest in him, which subsequently did occur.

"This brings me to my point. Casey Kasem never spoke to me and none of the references he confirms my making were made by me. You will find many 'interpretations' of my lyrics but none of them by me. Isn't this fun?

"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."

-- Don McLean (b. 1945-10-02), writing to Cecil Adams of The Straight Dope May 1993

["American Pie" was released fifty years ago, in 1971. The 'calendar' program says it was released 16 December but Wikipedia says it was in October, so I'm not sure where the December date comes from. Note that contrary to his 1993 message, McLean did reveal more about the song's meaning in 2015]