Don McLean does not want a slice of “American Pie” if it comes topped with “woke bullsh–” — something he spoke at length about in a new interview with Metro published this week.
When asked about his iconic 1971 hit, the 78-year-old singer/songwriter said he feels the eight-minute-plus track predicted the current state of the U.S. “The song really does open up a whole historical question about what happened in the ’60s and assassinations and the history that forms the backbone of the song as it moves forward,” he began. “This song talks about the fact that things are going somewhat in the wrong direction, and I think that they’re still going in the wrong direction. I think most people looking at America now kind of think that too.
“I mean, we certainly have a wonderful country, and we do wonderful things, but we also are in the middle of all this woke bullsh–,” he continued. “All this other stuff that there is absolutely no point to, as far as I can see, other than to undermine people’s beliefs in the country. That’s very bad.
“There’s so much anger out there,” McLean added. “So many of these college students have been given everything, and they’re just angry. They don’t know why they’re angry. They don’t even know what to be angry about. It’s really a symptom of the fact that they’re frustrated. They don’t have a path that they can tread in life that leads to a better life.”
Before Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021, “American Pie” was the longest song to ever reach No. 1 on the singles chart, where it stayed for four weeks. After the song’s record was broken, McLean told Billboard, “If I had to lose it to somebody, I sure am glad it was another great singer/songwriter such as Taylor.”
The “Anti-Hero” singer then sent the folk rock star a bouquet of flowers and a sweet note reading, “Don, I will never forget that I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. Your music has been so important to me. Sending love one writer of LONG SONGS to another. Your fan, Taylor.”
McLean has remained a fan of Swift’s in the three years since. In another interview this week, he described her as a “monster star, the size of the galaxy” and a “person who is an example of what talent and really hard work can accomplish.”
“She’s working all of the time, and she does everything that she does better than everybody else, whether it’s a video or a performance or songwriting or records or whatever,” he continued to The Standard. “The only thing is that she stays happy.”
