在《American Pie》里，你不僅可以通過歌詞聯想到Buddy Holly的《That’ll be the Day》， The Monotones的《The Book of Love》，以及The Byrds的《Eight Miles High》等等這些五六十年代的經典歌曲，你還可以從歌詞中重溫“在路上”的激情與浪漫，赤著腳在體育館跳踢踏舞的愉悅，在“芝加哥七人案”的審判席上唱起源於哥薩克民歌的反戰歌曲《Where Have All The Flowers Gone》的歌手朱蒂?科林斯，還有“小丑”般的Bob Dylan（鮑比·迪倫），“國王” 樣的Elvis Presley（艾爾維斯·普萊斯利），“王后”Connie Francis（康妮·弗朗西絲），更有正熟讀馬克思經典的 John Lennon（約翰·列儂），因聽了《Helter Skelter》而率領信眾犯下殺人血案的Charles Manson（查爾斯·曼森），你同樣可以跟著唐·麥克林的節奏追憶起1970年10月4日死於海洛因中毒的天才白人布魯斯女歌手Janis Joplin（詹妮斯·喬普林）， 1959年2月3日因飛機失事而不幸英年早逝的搖滾歌手Buddy Holly（巴迪·霍利），1969年在“滾石”的演唱會時被保全活活打死的18歲黑人歌迷。
最後，唐·麥克林唱道：“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/And they were singing” （我最欽仰的三人——聖父、聖子和聖靈，他們都搭乘末班車奔向了海岸，與他們一起，音樂隨之而死，和著他們曾經唱過的……”，這也可以看作是他創作這首作品一個不可忽視的題旨，一種垮掉的信仰，一種無以自撥的絕望，這也正是當時美國一代青年的共性特徵，就這樣，一首歌很容易就打動了一代人。
歌詞
A long long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while.
But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
So Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Did you write the Book of Love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so
Do you believe in rock 'n roll
Can music save your mortal soul
And can you teach me how to dance real slow
Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin'
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Now for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone
But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the King and Queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
Oh, and while the King was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lennon read a book of Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singing
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
The Byrds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul out on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the Sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died
We started singing
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation Lost in Space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend
Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in hell
Could break that Satan's spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrifical rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singing
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
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
And they were singing
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
空難發生時，Buddy Holly剛結婚6個月，且妻子Maria Elena Holly已身懷六甲。更有悲劇色彩的是，Maria聞及噩耗後悲傷過度，導致孩子流產了。Don的對Rock and Roll的美好理想，這時可以說被擊了個粉碎。災難當天，在10年後被Don定義為音樂死去的一天。
那美好的舊時
Did you write the Book of Love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so
Do you believe in rock 'n roll
Can music save your mortal soul
And can you teach me how to dance real slow
是你寫了愛之書么？
你還相信上帝
相信聖經里的每句話么？
還是你更相信搖滾
音樂可以挽救你的靈魂
教我輕舞飛揚
作者不禁回憶起美好的往昔。<The Book of Love>以及<The Bible Tells Me So>都是50年代的經典曲目。跳慢舞，在當時是一次浪漫約會的重要部分，也代表了Don對當年幸福的理解。那個年代，搖滾樂時常被宗教領袖們抨擊為不敬神的(ungodly)。Don在引用歌名的同時，也有意識地為搖滾樂表達了些許的委屈、憤懣。
一段快樂的青春，作者總結了當時自己的生活狀態，桀驁不馴，心中有夢。又是兩處歌名的引用：<Lonely Teenage>和<A White Sport Coat (and a pink carnation)>。這種小貨車（pickup truck）由於其實用性，在當時的德州非常流行。Don藉此兩句，以及前文，強調了自己是他那一代年輕人的典型，也流露了無盡的回味和眷念。
風起雲湧
Now for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone
But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the King and Queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
10年來，我們自力更生
滾石上也生出厚厚的苔
過去又怎會如此？
小丑向國王與皇后獻歌
身上穿著James Dean的衣服
嘴上唱著我們的心聲
雖然這首歌錄製於71年，但顯然作者在69年便已執筆作詞。在Don的眼裡，沒有Buddy Holly的10年，搖滾樂的發展失去了依靠與方向。在英語中有一句俗語：A rolling stone gathers no moss. 即，滾石不生苔。作者在此段第二句巧妙地篡改了這句諺語：既承接上句，認為搖滾樂吸取了許多糟粕，積重難返，又同時直白地抨擊了著名的the Rolling Stone樂隊，認為是他們把搖滾樂引入歧途。
獻歌的小丑名叫Bob Dylan，是人氣正在不斷爬升的一位歌星，挑戰著貓王的王座。James Dean，當時的一位著名演員。他的標準裝束是一身黑色的摩托賽車手皮夾克。Dylan曾在若干個重要場合穿過幾乎一樣的皮夾克，就這樣James Dean的名字也進入了這篇歌詞。值得一提的是，在馬丁.路德金（Marin Luther King）的那次歷史性集會上，Bob Dylan也登台獻藝，也算是sing for the King一句的雙關義吧。
Helter Skelter，一個著名的電影角色，是一個殺人狂；同時，Helter Skelter也是Beatles在專輯<White Album>中的一首單曲。Byrds也是1966年美國的一個搖滾組合，其作品涉及一些關於毒品問題的歌曲，”Eight Miles”就是他們的作品之一。High and fall fast一句，作者巧妙地揭示了當時在樂壇乃至整個社會的一個問題：毒品將人引向墮落。
這裡，Don大規模地使用了比喻，橄欖球場是指當年的樂壇，而Sergeants固然是指Beatles（Beatles有一張經典專輯<Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band>）。就在大麻煙飄溢的那些年，Beatles勢力逐漸壯大。Beatles使搖滾樂逐漸變得無法舞蹈，令Don苦惱不已。Players，也就是大多數的藝人們，甚至被壓製得難以在演藝圈一露頭角。在Don的眼中，這時的搖滾樂界已經病入膏肓，不禁懷念起有Holly的日子。
嬉皮士之殤
Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation Lost in Space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend
那天，我們齊聚一堂
我們這代人已經迷失在太空中
一切再難從頭
來吧，Jack！動作快！
Jack Flash活在燭台上
烈焰，是惡魔僅有的朋友
在1969年，有兩場非常著名，影響深遠的搖滾樂集會，一是紐約州沙利文郡郊外Woodstock音樂節，二是加州北部Altamont廢棄高速公路音樂會。8月15日-18日的Woodstock音樂會上聚集了20多名當時最著名的音樂人，以反主流文化為基調，成功打造了一個成功的周末音樂狂歡，從此開啟了嬉皮士文化的時代，被認為是改變搖滾樂歷史的50個重要時刻之一；而12月6日由滾石樂隊（The Rolling Stone）主導的Altamont音樂會，本欲如法炮製為西部的Woodstock盛典，最終由於暴亂以鬧劇收場，對嬉皮士們烏托邦般理想的世界觀造成了沉重打擊。
<Lost in Space>是六十年代初期的一檔熱播的電視節目，由於二戰後各國政府都對太空資源覬覦不已，民眾對太空投以很大的關注。1969年7月20日美國首次登月成功，不過那時Don已經在創作這首歌曲了。
一切再難從頭，Don指的當然是他心中那曾經的純真年代，在歌的第二部分所描繪的美好過去。<Jack be nimble>便是一首膾炙人口的兒歌。連續3處的Jack，Don抱以的感情卻不全一樣，<Jumpin’ Jack Flash>是滾石的打榜單曲，歌詞中，樂隊主唱Mick Jaggar將自己稱為Jack Flash。而燭台唯一能代表的意思，就是吸毒者在吸毒時需要將毒品放在勺子中置於蠟燭之上，作者在此處的暗指不言而喻。<Sympathy for the Devil>是滾石的一張專輯名，而Don在此處將滾石比為Devil。
這一段描繪的顯然是臭名昭著的Altamont音樂會。當天，滾石樂隊沒有信任警察，而是出於嬉皮士的反主流的信仰，請了一個叫做地獄天使的機車社團（Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club, HAMC）來做安保工作。HAMC是一個遍布全世界的以機車為標誌的幫派，在維基百科上，該詞條的主要內容是其犯罪履歷。由於安保不力，滾石所搭乘的直升機到達後不就，現場就變得混亂起來，逐漸演化為暴動。最後，在一起蓄意他殺，一位司機駕車撞死兩人後逃逸，以及一人在灌溉水渠中意外淹死之後，演唱會以鬧劇散場（兇殺發生時，滾石恰在演唱Sympathy for the Devil）。嬉皮士理想世界的夢想，在Altamont現場看來只能說是一種諷刺。說到諷刺，幾年前的一集《南方公園》也以這場演唱會為素材製作了一集，狠狠地嘲笑了嬉皮士愚蠢的拯救世界之夢。30多年前的Don身為一個年輕人可以做到在大流外清楚地思考，實屬不易。
聖父﹑ 聖子及聖靈是天主教教義中的三位一體（Catholic Trinity），三者合為上帝。Head for the west coast在過去有表達死去的意思。是哪三個人，在Don的心中如神一般，卻又都死去了呢？第一種解釋是早年的搖滾界三巨頭（Rock Trinity）：Holly, Valens和Richardson，另一種解釋是三位政壇重要人物：John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy以及Martin Luther King。無論Don在主歌的最後是重提搖滾樂之死，還是感慨亂世，都足以表達心中之迷惘無助。
下面是出現了七次的副歌部分：
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
再會了，美國派姑娘
我駕著小貨車去河堤
河堤卻枯乾著
舊日的好搭檔們喝著威士忌酒
唱著這一天我就要死去
這一天，我就要死去
一個純真年代一去不復返了。當年的姑娘都是經典的鄰家女孩（American Pie的意思是As American as apple pie，蘋果派是非常有美國特色的食品），當年的年輕人一同開著小貨車去酒吧消磨時光（Levee據說曾是伊利諾州Rochelle市北部的一個酒吧，後來由於種種原因關門歇業了），當年的音樂在快樂中誕生，為人們帶去快樂。好搭檔想必就是以Holly為首的Rock Trinity，而裸麥威士忌酒（Rye），也是早年在年輕人中盛行的飲料。
