In 1989, the middle of my three sisters married the wrong guy. She was pregnant, my father was a traditionalist -- which is odd since he'd go on to pay for a lavish gay wedding a decade later that ALSO ended badly -- and several unhappy years came to pass. Well, that and two terrific kids, but that's besides the point.It's been a tradition in my family for my mother and, often, my youngest sister to sing for guests at weddings. Both are talented; my youngest sister was a finalist for the lead role of "Annie" on Broadway in the late 1970s and a former Miss Pee Wee New York or something like that.
Anyhow, here's the odd thing: Lynn chose to sing "The Words Get In The Way" by Gloria Estefan, a tune about doomed love and bad communication. Which is really a very inappropriate -- and yet, as it turned out, prescient -- song to choose for a wedding reception.
This came to mind when Troy in Las Vegas pointed my attention to a press release trumpeting the special Fourth of July weekend edition of the Fremont Street Experience's Viva Vision show under the downtown metal canopy to be set to that classic tribute to the U.S. of A., "American Pie" by Don McLean.Did I say tribute? Right, sorry. I meant, indictment. A brilliant one, indeed. I love the song. We even analyzed the lyrics in Nina Wolff's 10th grade English class as an example of modern American poetry rich with allusions, literary references and metaphors. Great stuff.
But appropriate for a patriotic celebration? "The day the music died?" A song about racial strife, violence, war, fake nostalgia, murder, the phoniness of religion and nuclear panic? This is the picture of America painted by the song:
And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.
Here's how the Fremont Street folks hyped their new show:
LAS VEGAS – June 26, 2008 – Fremont Street Experience premieres "Don McLean's American Pie" Viva Vision light and sound show with a weekend-long 4th of July celebration free to the public, 4 p.m.- midnight July 3-5 in downtown Las Vegas.
The world premiere showing of "Don McLean's American Pie" Viva Vision show will open to the public on Thursday, July 3 at 9 p.m., including an opening ceremony hosted by Nellis Air Force Base's Honor Guard and a live performance of the National Anthem. The rock ballad "American Pie", released by Don McLean in 1971, became the anthem for a generation and is still one of the most well- known songs in American musical history. McLean's most famous composition, "American Pie" is a sprawling, impressionistic ballad inspired partly by the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) in a plane crash in 1959. The song would popularize the expression "The Day the Music Died" in reference to this event. McLean has stated that the lyrics are also somewhat autobiographical and present an abstract story of his life from the mid-1950s until the time he wrote the song in the late 1960s.
Uh, yes and no. "American Pie" is a song about how America's best days seemed to be over. You know, the "bye, bye" part? "The day the music died" isn't simply a reference to the Buddy Holly plane crash but a turning point in the good times for America in general.
So, sure, that seems like a perfect tune for the Fourth of July!
