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Now for ten years we’ve been on our own

Many interpretations cite this line as indicating when McLean wrote the song, the late ‘60’s, and that is possible. Others state that it refers to ten years after the death of Buddy Holly, placing the time frame in 1969. However, it is more likely that the ten years refers back to 1955, the birth year of Rock and roll (using “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets from July as a springboard). It is in that context that the next lines make sense.

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
In a voice that came from you and me

First, I have never been a big fan of Bob Dylan so some of the imagery, as much as I have studied it, escapes me. Most agree that these lines are obvious references to Dylan, who broke from the New York folk scene onto the pop charts in 1965 with “Like a Rolling Stone” in the summer and “Positively 4th Street” in the fall. Two album covers by Dylan feature him in a windbreaker (from “Rebel Without a Cause”)and a Levi jacket like James Dean wore; also, Dean’s full name was James Byron Dean and Dylan named his son Jesse Byron Dylan. The voice from you and me could be the social protest and disillusionment of the younger generation following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 (an event that deeply affected Dylan and probably McLean). It could also refer to Dylan’s rather commonplace, untrained singing voice.

The metaphor about “the coat he borrowed from James Dean” could also go a little deeper. In “Rebel” from 1955 (another case for going ten years from 1955), James Dean lends his red windbreaker to Plato (Sal Mineo) and removes the bullets from Plato’s gun. Plato emerges into the police spotlights waving the gun, and is shot dead by the police. Could Dylan have also borrowed the “windbreaker” (as it is on the album cover) and faced the audience at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 (see below) with an empty gun (trading an electric guitar for his acoustic guitar)?

The only debate here seems to arise from the line “When the Jester sang for the King and Queen” but one must remember to put this in the context of 1965. It cannot be the King and Queen of England since Queen Elizabeth’s husband Phillip only carries the title of Duke of Edinburgh. It cannot be Jackie and John Kennedy (Camelot’s king and queen) because of the 1963 assassination. Other suggested references include Martin Luther King’s “March on Washington” (1963), Lyndon Johnson, Lee Harvey Oswald and others that seem silly on their face (Elvis’ fits the title “King” in the next segment of this verse). A possible scenario has to do with the Newport Jazz Festival of 1965, and possibly refers to Joan Baez and Pete Seeger (the King and Queen of the folk movement?). Another possibility is the battle of folk music versus the British Invasion (symbolized by “the king and queen”).

Another possibility for the King and Queen … the 1965 Newport Folk Festival was held in Forest Hills, NY … located in the borough of Queens and not far from Brooklyn, which is Kings County. He also played Carnegie Hall later that year … could Andrew Carnegie be a king?

Here’s yet another take: at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, Dylan played his songs from “Another Side of Bob Dylan” for Johnny Cash (King … he worshipped Johnny Cash) and Joan Baez (Queen … with whom he had an ongoing love affair).

To see how the King and Queen can be explained by Dylan’s “Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood), please click HERE.

Oh, and while the King was looking down
The Jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned

Here the King reference is most likely Elvis Presley, In 1965, Presley’s singing career was in the middle of a six-year funk (looking down), starting in the Fall 1963 with “Bossa Nova Baby” at Number 8 on Billboard’s charts and ending in April 1969 with “In the Ghetto” (Elvis at his folksy best). In May 1965, Elvis scored a Number 3 hit with “Crying in the Chapel” … an original #1 R&B hit by Sonny Til and the Orioles in 1953 (#11 on the pop charts). Presley’s sad ballad (more looking down) was trumped by Dylan’s #2 with “Like a Rolling Stone” and #7 with “Positively 4th Street” and put folk music in line to battle the British Invasion (remember that The Beatles 1964 performance on Ed Sullivan created a struggle in which folk singers like Sonny and Cher, The Byrds and Barry McGuire battled The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits and The Dave Clarke Five for radio dominance in 1965.

The symbolism of the thorny crown is probably not so much a reference to Jesus as it is to Dylan (and folk music) as the salvation of the American music scene from Britain. Elvis had dropped the ball (and was losing his crown as King of Rock and Roll), Motown was just coming into its own and the Girl Groups were more pop than rock and roll. The British were kicking our rock and roll butts, and folk music (with Bob Dylan as the poster boy) captured deep American feelings that were too distant for most British groups.

The courtroom has two distinct possibilities. First was the argument of who was better, The Beatles or Elvis. Second and more likely is Dylan’s debacle at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival in which he was booed and cheered simultaneously for going “electric” and selling out the folk movement. In both cases, there was no clear verdict as to the winner. However, considering the line “the courtroom was adjourned” would indicate the end of the festival, but a case could also be made that the Elvis/Beatles debate just ended (if out of boredom more than anything else). Some assert that these lines are about the JFK assassination and the Warren Commission, but that was 1964 and seems to be outside the context and chronology of the verse.

And while Lenin 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 singin’

Refrain

The line “And while Lenin read a book on Marx” was taken directly from McLean’s web site to make sure there was no confusion on the actual words. Word play is certainly an intelligent, intriguing literary device in poetry, and it is not a stretch to have Lenin reading Karl Marx, John Lennon reading Karl Marx, or even the Firesign Theater album cover (1969) referencing reference to John Lennon and Groucho Marx … at the same time as The Beatles (the quartet) practiced in the park. The park could be symbolic in a number of ways, such as the 1965 Concert at Shea Stadium (a ball park) in New York or their 1965 hit “Ticket to Ride” (like a ticket in an amusement park). The significance of “Ticket to Ride” is that it was the first Beatles hit (#1, May) that was not quite a “dance” song. In another great example of foreshadowing, McLean’s reference to Lennon’s reading Marx could be an indication that Beatles’ music was about to be infused with politics. The dirges in the dark: fond memories of my childhood in the great northeast blackout on November 9, 1965, the dirges likely the song “Yesterday” … which was just ending a four-week run at #1 on the charts (followed at #1 for two weeks by “Get Off of My Cloud” by The Rolling Stones).

This is poetry at its best … literary devices and symbolism that make the song have a multitude of meanings. It’s no wonder and no accident that McLean never offers his personal interpretations! This is so much fun!

Go to Verse 4