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).
The Grave
Don McLean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors
And the brown earth bleached white
At the edge of his gravestone
He's gone
When the wars of our nation did beckon
The man, barely twenty, did answer the calling
Proud of the trust
That he placed in our nation
He's gone
But eternity knows him
And it knows what we've done
And the rain fell like pearls
On the leaves of the flowers
Leaving brown, muddy clay
Where the earth had been dry
And deep in the trench
He waited for hours
As he held to his rifle
And prayed not to die
But the silence of night
Was shattered by fire
As the guns and grenades
Blasted sharp through the air
One after another
His comrades were slaughtered
In the morgue of marines
Alone, standing there
He crouched ever lower
Ever lower, with fear
â??They can't let me die
They can't let me die here!
I'll cover myself
With the mud and the earth
I'll cover myself
I know I'm not brave!
The earth, the earth
The earth is my grave.â??
The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors
And the brown earth bleached white
At the edge of his gravestone
He's gone
In "The Grave", Don McLean narrates a tragic story of a young soldier who died during the war. The opening stanza describes how the grave was decorated with flowers picked from the hillsides in bright summer colors, portraying a picture of serenity and beauty among the tragedy. The brown earth turned white, showing how the soldier's life was short-lived. The lyrics refer to the soldier in the third person, which suggests that the singer is telling a story and not narrating about somebody.
The second stanza reveals that the soldier was just twenty years old when he went to war, proud of the trust he placed in his nation. It's also suggested that he died fighting for his country. The third stanza describes his last moments alive, holding his rifle in a deep trench and praying not to die. The silence of the night is shattered by the sounds of gunfire and grenades, and one by one, his comrades are slaughtered.
The fourth stanza reveals the soldier's thoughts as he crouches low in fear of death. He thinks about covering himself with mud and earth to avoid getting killed, telling himself that he's not brave. The last stanza repeats the first, describing the beauty of the grave with flowers and white earth while emphasizing the fact that he's gone forever. The last line of the song hasn't mentioned the soldier's name, but it hits the listener with the sudden realization of how fleeting life can be.
Line by Line Meaning
The grave that they dug him had flowers
They covered his grave with beautiful flowers that were picked from the hillsides filled with colorful summer blossoms.
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors
The flowers were gathered from the vibrant and lively hillsides, where the sun was shining bright, illuminating the beautiful, colorful flowers.
And the brown earth bleached white
The sun was so bright and warm, that it turned the brown earth surrounding his grave into a pure white color.
At the edge of his gravestone
The pure white earth of his grave stretched right up to his gravestone.
He's gone
He has passed away and is now gone from this world forever.
When the wars of our nation did beckon
When our nation was called to war.
The man, barely twenty, did answer the calling
Being just twenty years old, he bravely answered the call to war and went to fight for his country.
Proud of the trust
He was filled with pride and trust for the nation that he had dedicated himself to serving.
That he placed in our nation
He had placed his trust and faith in the country that he felt responsible for defending.
But eternity knows him
Though he may be gone, his soul lives on and is known forever by God and the universe.
And it knows what we've done
The universe and God know the actions of humanity and the price that is paid for war.
And the rain fell like pearls
The rain that touched the beautiful flowers appeared to be like precious pearls, gentle and beautiful in their appearance.
On the leaves of the flowers
The raindrops fell gently onto the fresh, vibrant leaves of the beautiful flowers.
Leaving brown, muddy clay
The rain caused the clay soil to turn brown and muddy.
Where the earth had been dry
The earth had been dry, but the rain had made it muddy and wet.
And deep in the trench
He was buried deep in the war trenches.
He waited for hours
He waited in fear for hours, not knowing when the war would end or if he would die in the fighting.
As he held to his rifle
He clung to his rifle as his only hope of survival.
And prayed not to die
He fervently hoped and prayed not to die in the fighting.
But the silence of night
The night was dark and silent, with no sounds of life around him.
Was shattered by fire
However, the night was shattered by the sounds of massive bedlam and gunfire from fighting in the distance.
As the guns and grenades
The guns and explosives, used in the battle, echoed through the air.
Blasted sharp through the air
The guns and explosives sounded like a deafening echo, filling the air with sharp and intense sounds of war.
One after another
One after the next, his fellow comrades fell during the fight.
His comrades were slaughtered
The rest of his comrades were killed during the gruesome trench warfare.
In the morgue of marines
The bodies of his comrades were collected in a makeshift morgue for marines.
Alone, standing there
He stood alone, surrounded by the horrendous scene of death and destruction that lay before him.
He crouched ever lower
He crouched lower and lower, in fear of being killed by incoming fire.
With fear
He was filled with terror as he faced possible death and loss of his own life.
They can't let me die
He prayed and hoped that he would not become yet another casualty of the war.
They can't let me die here!
He clung to the small hope that he would be rescued or survive somehow.
I'll cover myself
He came up with a desperate plan to hide and protect himself.
With the mud and the earth
He decided to cover himself with the mud and earth from the battlefield.
I'll cover myself
He repeated his idea out loud, haunted by the realization that he was not brave enough to face the reality of the situation.
I know I'm not brave!
He was admitting to himself that he was not brave at all, and he was terrified of facing death on the battlefield.
The earth, the earth
He was consumed with the thought of the earth that surrounded him.
The earth is my grave.â??
He knew that he was most likely going to be buried in the earth right where he hid, just another casualty of war remembered by the flowers on the ground above his final resting place.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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