I do not believe that whoever bought the lyrics overpaid for the privilege of ownership, as I believe that the document is an important historical artifact. I do not begrudge Don McLean his success and I applauded his decision to auction off the original handwritten lyrics for $1.2M to ensure a secure financial future for his wife and kids after he passes into the great beyond. I don’t think there’s another song out there that so accurately captured the mood of early 1970s America and so accurately predicted the country’s trajectory. I do not deny that “American Pie” is worthy of its iconic status.
