McLean never names names, preferring to use allusions and Biblical/cultural references to give meaning to his song. One of the things that stands out most about the song is its ambiguity. And it's not difficult to see why-with its ballad-like structure, catchiness, and cryptic lyrics, "American Pie" tells the story of 1960s America like no other song, or history textbook, can. For nearly 50 years, "American Pie" held the record for being the longest song (clocking in at 8 minutes, 42 seconds) to reach Number 1 on the Billboard, only recently surpassed by Taylor Swift's new, 10 minute rendition of " All Too Well." Beyond that, "American Pie" has been listed as the fifth greatest song of the 20th century by the Recording Industry Association of America. If there is one song that deserves that honor, though, I would say it's " American Pie" by Don McLean, released in 1971. It's quite surprising then that there have been no attempts to define a Great American Song, even though America has been a global center for the music industry since the '50s. From there, people have attempt to apply the label to other media: The Great American Painting, The Great American Movie, and so on. The idea initially came from the Great American Novel, a hotly debated idea that there is a single novel that can completely encompass the American experience. Here in America, we have a tendency to call ascribe the word "great" to a lot of things we do.
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