"American Pie"

Me (having just come home from work): "Have you ever really listened to "American Pie?" If you really listen to the lyrics that song really makes no sense."

James (playing World of Warcraft): "You've mentioned that before."

Me: "It was playing on the radio on my way home. That song can start right as I am leaving work and I can get almost all the way home before it ends."

James: "You've mentioned that before too."

Me: "I'm probably going to mention this every time I hear it on my way home because every time it is going to take up the majority of my commute and I'm still going to wonder where in the Hell he is going with it."

James: "Good to know."

Of course, he died not long after that exchange so he has been spared of having to listen to me wonder yet again where Don McLean was going with "American Pie." My dad, who was a fan of the song, died before I ever really listened to the lyrics, so he was spared of ever having to have this conversation with me. That would have been a good conversation. Dad probably would have just made a bunch of stuff up and I probably would have seen his point and believed him. Being the gullible Daddy's girl that I was, I pretty much believed anything he said that made sense. (This is probably why it's a good thing I don't have kids. Although it would be fun to mess with their heads).

Several months ago, "American Pie" came on the radio while I was volunteering. Volunteer Guy grew up listening to this sort of music so he was familiar with it. I asked if he had ever really listened to it, mentioning of course that if you really listen to it, it really doesn't make sense. (New person to have this conversation with. Yes!!) This led to a dissection of the song and what the various lines were alleged to stand for. Then we had to Google rye to clarify "drinking whiskey and rye" as we both knew alcohol is made from grains, but associate rye with bread. This led to me asking what the chief economic industry in Montana is. (He's from Montana). He thought it was tourism, thanks to Glacier National Park. I thought it was sheep, thanks to all the Montana sheep jokes. It's agriculture and tourism.

I'm not really sure where I am going with this or why I felt compelled to write about it at all, other than to preserve the memory of that conversation with James as I can picture it so clearly. I was standing just inside the office; he was sitting where I sit now. It does seem a bit fitting, however, to not really have a point in a post about a song that to me makes no sense at all.