McLean's grandfather and father, both also named Donald McLean, had roots originating in Scotland. The Buccis, the family of McLean's mother, Elizabeth, came from Abruzzo in central Italy. They left Italy and settled in Port Chester, New York at the end of the 19th century. He has other extended family in Los Angeles and Boston. Though some of his early musical influences included Frank Sinatra and Buddy Holly, as a teenager, McLean became interested in folk music, particularly the Weavers' 1955 recording At Carnegie Hall. He often missed long periods of school because of childhood asthma, particularly music lessons, and although McLean slipped back in his studies, his love of music was allowed to flourish. By age 16, he had bought his first guitar and began making contacts in the music business, becoming friends with the folk singers Erik Darling and Fred Hellerman of the Weavers.
McLean recorded Tapestry in 1969 in Berkeley, California during the student riots. After being rejected 72 times by labels, the album was released by Mediarts, a label that had not existed when he first started to look for a label. He worked on the album for a couple of years before putting it out. It attracted good reviews but little notice outside the folk community, though on the Easy Listening chart "Castles in the Air" was a success, and in 1973 "And I Love You So" became a number 1 Adult Contemporary hit for Perry Como.
McLean's major break came when Mediarts was taken over by United Artists Records, thus securing the promotion of a major label for his second album, American Pie. The album launched two number one hits in the title song and "Vincent". American Pie's success made McLean an international star and piqued interest in his first album, which charted more than two years after its initial release.
In 2004, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In January 2018, BMI certified that "American Pie" and "Vincent" had reached five million and three million airplays respectively.
His composition "And I Love You So" has been sung by Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Helen Reddy, Glen Campbell, and others, and in 2000, Madonna had a hit with a rendition of "American Pie". His other hit singles include "Vincent" (US #12, UK #1 in 1972), "Dreidel" (US #21 in 1972), a rendition of Roy Orbison's "Crying" (US #5, UK #1 in 1980), a rendition of the Skyliners' "Since I Don't Have You" (US #23 in 1980), and "Wonderful Baby" (US AC #1 in 1975).
Change Partners
Don McLean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You have danced with him since the music began.
Won't you change partners and dance with me?
Must you dance quite so close with your lips touching his face?
Can't you see I'm longing to be in his place?
Won't you change partners and dance with me?
Ask him to sit this one out and while you're alone,
You've been locked in his arms ever since heaven-knows-when.
Won't you change partners and then,
Ask him to sit this one out and while you're alone,
I'll tell the waiter to tell him he's wanted on the telephone
You've been locked in his arms ever since heaven knows when.
Won't you change partners and then,
You may never want to change partners again,
You may never want to change partners again.
The lyrics of Don McLean's song Change Partners express a desire for a woman to break away from her current dance partner and instead dance with the singer. The singer of the song is frustrated as he watches the woman dance with the same man from the beginning of the music. He pleads with her to "change partners and dance with" him instead, as he longs to be the one so close to her, with his lips touching her face.
The singer's frustration builds as he realizes how long the woman has been "locked in [the other man's] arms." He suggests that she could ask her current partner to sit the next one out and instead dance with him. The bridge suggests that this would be the woman's chance to try something different, to experience a new dance and have a different partner. Finally, the song suggests that once the woman has tried a new dance partner, she might never want to return to her old partner again.
Overall, the song seems to be about taking chances and breaking free of old patterns. It speaks to anyone who has ever been frustrated with being stuck in a rut, particularly in romantic relationships. The lyrics' plea to change partners also has a deeper subtext of breaking away from societal expectations and established societal norms.
Line by Line Meaning
Must you dance every dance with the same fortunate man?
Do you have to dance every dance with only one person, ignoring others who would like to dance with you?
You have danced with him since the music began.
You have been dancing exclusively with him since the music started.
Won't you change partners and dance with me?
Could you please dance with me instead and change partners for this dance?
Must you dance quite so close with your lips touching his face?
Why do you have to dance so intimately, with your lips almost touching his face?
Can't you see I'm longing to be in his place?
Can't you tell how much I would like to be in his position?
Ask him to sit this one out and while you're alone, I'll tell the waiter to tell him he's wanted on the telephone.
Could you ask him to take a break for this dance, and while you are dancing with me, I will have the waiter ask him to take a phone call?
You've been locked in his arms ever since heaven-knows-when.
You have been physically close and intimate with him for a long time without changing partners.
Won't you change partners and then,
Can you please change partners and join me for this one dance?
You may never want to change partners again,
After this one dance, you may never want to change partners again.
You may never want to change partners again.
You could enjoy dancing with me so much that you might not be interested in dancing with anyone else.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
The Goddess
on The More You Pay
No. As The Auctioneer explains "what we don't sell we shoot or give away - cuz the more you pay, the more it's worth" so the horse is given to the persona/narrator rather than shooting it to death. The Gallery goes wild in celebration that the horse will go to someone instead of being killed.
Joe Boxer
on Vincent
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dcWFYtG8RFM