American Pie was named a Song of Century in 2001. It is one of our favourite songs and has been for many years.
Don McLean has said he will reveal the meaning of the lyrics in April when the original manuscript is sold in New York. Previously when asked what American Pie meant he has replied “It means I don’t ever have to work again if I don’t want to.” Later he stated, “You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me… Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their own statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence."
Others have not maintained silence, but have come up with plausible interpretations of the lyrics. The various interpretations have common themes, which form the basis for this puzzle.
The cryptic clues will give you the surname of people the lyrics reputedly refer to, the last word in group names or significant places.
It will be interesting in April to see how close the interpretations were to Don McLean’s meaning.
Complete the crossword and you have the ingredients you need to solve the final puzzle – the place of the cache.
The cache is at South 41 2 A . O F ( Y - M ) East 173 1 S . ( H - R ) V ( R - W )