Cutting the American Pie
Today the manuscript of the lyrics to ‘American Pie’ sold for over a million dollars at auction. This has prompted much commentary on what they mean – see for example this article on the BBC website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32196117
The lyric is far too interesting to be a mere riddle. The real question, which the media is not able to ask, is: how would you decide what it meant? What gives authority to an interpretation?
