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).
Mother Nature
Don McLean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mother Nature has a hold on me
I want her so bad
Mother Nature won't you let me be untied?
'Cause it hurts my pride
To be tossed off like the morning covers
And crossed off, like her other lovers
Casually
I see her walking by my window- mhmmhmmhmmhmm!
It seems to me I know her well.
But like the flowers in the spring-time,
Growing toward the sunshine,
Her beauty falls upon me in a fragrant spring-time spell
And I want her so ba-aa-aad
Mother Nature has a HOLD on me
I want her so bad
Mother Nature won't you let me be untied?
'Cause it hurts my pride
To be tossed off like the morning covers
And crossed off, like her other lovers
Casually
Is she an icy winter woman? Mm-hhmm!
That chills my body when she's near
Sweet fever in the morning
I don't know if I'll survive.
She walks by me as though she didn't
Know I was alive
And I want her so ba-aa-aad
Mother Nature has a hold on me
I want her so bad
Mother Nature won't you let me be untied?
'Cause it hurts my pride
To be tossed off like the morning covers
And crossed off, like her other lovers
Tossed off like the morning covers,
Crossed off, like her other lovers
Tossed off like the morning covers,
Crossed off, like her other lovers
The song "Mother Nature" by Don McLean is a longing, romantic song in which the subject expresses his intense desire for nature. He describes nature, particularly a woman personified as nature, as having a hold on him that he just can't shake off. He sings that his pride is hurt when Mother Nature treats him casually, discarded like a lover tossed off like morning covers. The subject's obsession with Mother Nature is such that he believes that he knows her very well, yet her beauty falls upon him like a spell.
In the second verse, he depicts Mother Nature as an icy winter woman that chills his body when she's near. The subject wonders if he will survive the sweet fever in the morning when she walks by him as though she didn't even know he exists. The song is an ode to the beauty and power of Mother Nature and how it affects us in many ways. Not only is it a longing for a love that cannot be, but it is also a yearning for an unattainable ideal.
Line by Line Meaning
I want her so bad
The singer is deeply desirous of Mother Nature
Mother Nature has a hold on me
Mother Nature has a strong emotional impact on the singer
Mother Nature won't you let me be untied?
The singer wants to be free of his obsession with Mother Nature
'Cause it hurts my pride
The artist thinks that being ignored by Mother Nature is a personal affront
To be tossed off like the morning covers
The artist feels discarded like old linens
And crossed off, like her other lovers
The singer feels like just another of Mother Nature's casual suitors
I see her walking by my window- mhmmhmmhmmhmm!
The singer spies Mother Nature near his home
It seems to me I know her well.
The artist feels like he has an intimate connection to Mother Nature
But like the flowers in the spring-time, Growing toward the sunshine, Her beauty falls upon me in a fragrant spring-time spell
The artist is entranced by Mother Nature's beauty in a way that's easy and natural
Is she an icy winter woman? Mm-hhmm!
The artist wonders what kind of person Mother Nature really is
That chills my body when she's near
The singer is affected physically by Mother Nature
Sweet fever in the morning
Engaging with Mother Nature sometimes makes the artist feel feverish
I don't know if I'll survive.
The singer feels like his connection with Mother Nature is so intense that it might be dangerous
She walks by me as though she didn't Know I was alive
The singer feels invisible to Mother Nature
Tossed off like the morning covers, Crossed off, like her other lovers
The singer repeats his feelings of being cast aside and devalued by Mother Nature
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DON MCLEAN
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