American Pie | House of Que | O’Nieals | Schmitty’s
New Rochelle’s own, Don McLean, wrote and released this American folk rock classic at 26 years old in 1971. American Pie peaked on the US Billboard charts at #1 for 4 weeks. It even did numbers outside of the States, peaking at #7 in Ireland, #2 in the UK, and #1 in Australia & New Zealand. If you clicked on this one I’m sure you already know most of the words to the song, but here is a bit on the cultural references…
On February 3rd, 1959, 3 American roll & roll musicians, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson, tragically died in a plane crash while touring during their “Winter Dance Party” across midwest America. Buddy Holly was only 22 years old at the time and already a star, he was hoping to skip out on the long cold bus ride. Waylon Jennings, who was a part of Buddy Holly’s band “The Crickets”, swapped out his seat with “The Big Bopper” because Richardson had the flu; while Valens won the seat on the plane in a coin flip. What’s even sadder to read about was that Buddy Holly’s widowed bride, María Elena Holly, suffered a miscarriage the next day. Don McLean was a massive fan of Buddy Holly and all the musicians, he was only 13 years old when this tragedy took place.
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie is synonymous with loss of innocence and a changing of the guard. A whole generation of Americans went through a lot in the 1960s. Just to name a few, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. For McLean, it seems that the death of Buddy Holly which took place right before all these events represented the start of the loss of innocence. Chevy being American-made not only fits with the song title but the theme. The 1957 Chevy is one of the most recognizable cars ever made. The “levee” it turns out is actually a reference to a bar in New Rochelle that Don McLean used to go to which closed down and went dry. (Source: Daily News) In the 1960s, The Levee was located right across the street from Iona Prep. It is apparently still a bar called Beechmon Tavern. Yes, they have Guinness, I looked it up after I found out so Week to Week Notes will be doing some investigative journalism to get this story sorted.
A 1950s band Monotones had a song called “The Book Of Love” while Don Cornell released “The Bible Tells Me So.” Both of these came out right before Buddy Holly’s death. Prior to Rock ‘n’ Roll, there was a ton of popular music that high schoolers would slow dance to in gyms. “Kicking off shoes” was apparently very popular in the 1950s as kids during those days would attend “sockhops”, my guess would be like my era’s jean jam but who knows. The pink carnation is a reference to another 1957 song called White Sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation), so McLean would drive to these dances in a white sports coat with a pink carnation flower in his pocket. McLean is still nostalgic for the rhythm and blues because it brings him back to his younger self.
Don McLean started writing American Pie in 1969, which was 10 years after the plane crash. Buddy Holly in a song, “Early in the Morning”, where the lyrics “Well, you know a rollin' stone. Don’t gather no moss” (Source: RapGenius) so here McLean flips Holly’s words. The internet consensus is that “the jester” is Bob Dylan, who wore a coat similar to James Dean in his 1963 album, The Freewheelin’. McLean may have held a bit of resentment towards Bob Dylan because of Bob Dylan’s success. Dylan was tagged as the voice of McLean’s generation, which probably pissed McLean off. The King here is Elvis Presley. Elvis was at the peak of his powers in the late 1950s but then started to decline as the likes of Bob Dylan rose up the charts. The courtroom and no verdict are a bit mysterious. It could be about the National Guard shooting Kent State students at a Vietnam War protest or it could be about how America never got the answers to who shot JFK. John Lennon reading up on the Communist Manifesto probably did happen and the quartet - The Beatles - did play music in Candlestick Park in 1965 as McLean was still not considered a star in the music industry, so out in the dark.
Helter Skelter was not only a Beatles song but McLean acknowledged that he used this to Charles Manson's murders that took place in the Summer of 1969. The Rolling Stones came out with “Gimme Shelter” that same year. “Eight Miles High” is a song by The Byrds about a plane journey, McLean adlibs the fallin’ fast to go back to the Buddy Holly crash. The forward pass line I’m just going to go with is about how football teams started throwing the ball more from the 1950s to the 1960s. Bob Dylan, the jester, got into a motorcycle accident in the 1960s and had to wear a cast. The sergeants here I’m guessing had to do with the Vietnam War and the kids at the age all got up to dance meaning protest it.
Everybody being in “one place” likely has to do with Woodstock. Woodstock took place from August 15 to August 18 in 1969. The moon landing took place on July 20, 1969. The Summer of 1969 really was nuts. Every verse of McLean’s references events that happened from the time Buddy Holly passed to when McLean was writing the song, so with all that went down it once again represents that his generation can’t start again, they grew up. Jack be nimble is a nursery rhyme, alluding that the 1950s American kids were no longer innocent, they had seen some shrimp. The rest of the lines that this has to do with Hells Angels, the motorcycle club, being hired by The Rolling Stones (had a song “Jumping Jack Flash”) to be security at Candlestick Park. It ended horrifically when an 18-year-old was killed by a Hells Angels member. Mick Jagger could be the Devil here, he did write “Sympathy for the Devil.”
McLean said of this bridge, “I got the bad news at the front of the song so now I’m asking her for some happy news at the end of the song. She doesn’t give me good news.” Janis Joplin is who most people think McLean is talking about here. She, unfortunately, passed away a year before this song while overdosing on heroin. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost here could be yet another callback to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson; or MLK, JFK, and RFK.
Don McLean: "That song didn't just happen. It grew out of my experiences. American Pie was part of my process of self-awakening; a mystical trip into my past. People ask me if I left the lyrics open to ambiguity. Of course I did. I wanted to make a whole series of complex statements. The lyrics had to do with the state of society at the time.In a sense, American Pie was a very despairing song. In another, though, it was very hopeful. Pete Seeger told me he saw it as a song in which people were saying something. They'd been fooled, they'd been hurt, and it wasn't going to happen again. That's a good way to look at it—a hopeful way."
@YouTheReader while most of the theme of American Pie casts a cynical view of America on her 247th birthday, I try looking at it in the hopeful way McLean mentions… A guy from New Rochelle wrote a brilliant song about going to his local bar. He told it how he saw it and it has resonated for a long, long time. He knew if he had his chance, he could make those people dance, and we sure have. I learned a lot from researching a song that I’ve known all the words to from the time I was 5. I think I love American Pie even more now but I could also use a pint…
Guinness Challenge Season #1
@Kids don’t try this at home. Not just because you’re underage and will have plenty of pints to drink if that ends up being your thing when you’re older but also because Guinness is actually best served in a pint glass from a tap. A pint of Guinness varies depending on the drinking establishment. If the keg it sits in is rarely poured, it can lead to some underwhelming taste. Rather than stealing gimmicks, I’d like to start taking Notes while drinking Guinness. My grandfather from Connemara, who I never got the chance to meet, Thomas Davis, used to drink pints and by all accounts was a self-taught thinker. The one rule I’ve imposed on myself is that I will only have 1 pint per sitting from each establishment I review, so @AnyoneWorrying, don’t worry about my drinking habits. The Guinness Challenge is to “cut the G” on your first sip (more like a gulp and a half). If this is your first time hearing about it, I didn’t come up with the fun challenge @YouTheReader can try the next time you have a Guinness. The 0.0 to 10.0 scale will be extraordinarily nuanced but as a reference point, the only perfect 10.0 I plan ever to give out is at the Guinness Factory in Dublin one day.
Song On In The Background: The Joker by Steve Miller Band
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Angie is the waitress, she remembered my dumbass from the Iron Monkey. Yanks, Knicks, and Islanders are on TV. The boys are getting vodka lemonades and hurting after they went out last night. House of Que has an Idol every Wednesday. Weekly Winners Finals were on May 24th. The grand prize is a trip to Nashville. The trivia night tournament of champions returns to win a vacation getaway. The top 3 Weekly Winners qualify. Great BBQ spot. The boys give the vodka lemonades a 👍.
So they don’t have Guinness glasses, so what, it’s still a very fun bar. For the remainder of the summer, go check out House of Que’s Famous Dueling Pianos Show on Saturdays at 8 PM. Remember to reserve a spot with njones@houseofque.com. I look forward to drinking and eating BBQ at House of Que again soon!
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: 20 oz pint glass. Aaron Rodgers-traded-to-the-Jets-post-pint. Ahh, it feels good that we did it, we got him. This pint just hits different now that it has become official. Not Paul O’Neill’s bar, confirmed (I had to ask just in case). They are known in Hoboken for their burgers, been rated top in Hoboken. They also have great penne vodka sauce. They have live music on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Their Spicy margaritas are made of ghost spicy tequila. They have seasonal cocktails for the times. Named after the owner’s last name. They also have another location in SoHo with another great pint. Brian is the bartender.
My pen broke mid-interview here but not a big deal. O’Nieals had an immaculate pint, the Jets just got Aaron Rodgers, and the Pint&Pen&Paper must go on despite the fact that I could have got a blister. Seriously though, O’Nieals in Hoboken is a great spot with excellent food. Their bar is open 11 am - 2 am (even 3 AM on Fri-Sat). Their kitchen opens up every day at 11 am. Check out their brunch from 11 AM to 4 PM on the weekends and they also have great late-night munchies from Thursday until Sunday Scaries. I look forward to grabbing another pint at O’Nieals!
Song On In The Background: I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Izzi is the bartender. She has been working at Schmitty’s for 2 months. Schmitty’s is dog friendly 🤝. They have a patio in the back. Izzi really likes Hoboken a lot. You can bring food here to eat, otherwise, it’s a bar’s bar. The Back 9 is recommended. Izzi is a Celtics fan and Jaylen Brown is her favorite player. Schmitty’s has a very good energy to it and they are based on the owner’s name. Trivia night every Tuesday and they also have a weekly band. Locals on the weekdays and they get pretty packed on Friday and Saturday nights. The Buenaveza is recommended as another beer.
Live Music and Tuesday Trivia are a fun time! They also do fun things like Paint & Sips if you’re an artist that needs a drink. You can rent out their entire bar, their backyard exclusively, or start an open bar, check out their site to make a reservation. They have a nice selection of local beers on tap as well as a very nice Guinness draft. I look forward to grabbing another pint at Schmitty’s again soon!