But that hasn't stopped the Left from turning the story on its head and using it to attack free speech 13/07/23 RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: The BBC has led the charge on Huw Edwards.Now, from doctors on £128,000 a year to the trust fund toddlers of Just Stop Oil, it's the militant middle classes 17/07/23 RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Once it was the peasants who were revolting.They just want to avoid wrath of the social media lynch mob 20/07/23 RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: These virtue signalling companies aren't sincere.but don't try to tunnel your way out 24/07/23 RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: All aboard the good ship Migrant.RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: What would my Great Uncle Joe think of the WFH Paddington station boss who lives in Aberdeen? 31/07/23.More from Richard Littlejohn for the Daily Mail. In fact, he had been driving his imported Chevrolet Impala down the A1 into London and heard on the radio that there may be plans in the future to introduce a congestion charge, or 'levy'. The popular misconception is that McLean was writing about a river bank, or perhaps a local bar called the 'Levee'. Note that 'levy' is spelled with a 'y', not double-'e'. The woman was on a hen night and dressed up as the Statue of Liberty, hence Miss 'American' Pie. Subsequent research has revealed that McLean was actually writing about a 23-stone woman he saw eating four Steak Bakes outside a chip shop in Blackpool, where he had been performing in a local folk club while touring Britain in July 1969. Unfortunately, Don stepped in it and couldn't proceed with his paper round until he had used the racing section of the New York Times to clean it off.įor more than 40 years, it was thought this referred to the winner of a beauty pageant sponsored by the Betty Crocker Corporation, which manufactures the ingredients for cakes, pancakes and pastries.

However, some eminent musicologists believe that Don McLean could have been referring to Benny Hill's smash hit, Ernie, The Fastest Milkman In The West.Īlthough Ernie was released in 1971, the same year as American Pie, it had been performed on television a year earlier and could have inspired McLean.īad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step.Ī dog had done a whoopsie outside the front door of Number 47. Thought to be a reference to the novelty song Splish, Splash (I Was Taking A Bath), by Bobby Darin, which reached Number Three in the American singles chart in April 1958. I can still remember how the music used to make me smile. Don McLean's (pictured) famous anthem American Pie could have British origins

American pie song meaning