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PageI was originally going to write about the reference in American pie to Jesus wearing a crown of thorns:
"The jester stole his thorny crown"
but the more I look at that verse of the song, the more I find references to the trial of Jesus. I can't explain the whole verse, but then I haven't looked at it that much. Maybe the whole verse isn't a reference to Jesus, but given McLean's background there are certainly biblical references here.
"And moss grows fat on a rolling stone"
Mark 16:3-4:
And they said among themselves, Who shall ROLL us away the STONE from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the STONE was ROLLED away: for it was very great.
The women have come to the tomb of Jesus, but the stone has been rolled away and Jesus is no longer there. The rolling away of the stone is a symbol of the resurrection and the on going work of Jesus.
Moss grows fat on a rolling stone: people are abandoning what Jesus stood for. Jesus' message of justice and good news to the poor is being ignored (as the incidents of the 60's referred to in other parts of the song suggest).
"But that's not how it used to be"
Things were different when Jesus was still alive.
"When the jester sang for the King and Queen"
The trial of Jesus. Jesus (the jester) was brought before the "King and Queen" of his day. First the Chief Priests (Mark 14:53-65), and then the Roman authority, Pilate (Mark 15:1-5).
Jesus has been portraied as a clown-like figure elsewhere. I think in the 1971 play Godspell.
"In a coat he borrowed from James Dean"
Jesus was on trial for the reason symbolised by the James Dean coat: "it was time to face the world, time to do what he thought had to be done". For a fuller explanation of this reference go to the interpretation of the whole song
"And a voice that came from you and me"
After Jesus has been given to Pilate, Pilate asks the people (you and me) whether he should release Jesus. The voice of the people says: "Crucify him." (Mark 15:13)
"Oh, and while the King was looking down The jester stole his thorny crown"
Pilate would have been looking down at the people. Jesus is led off and mocked by the soldiers who give him a purple robe and put a crown of thorns on his head and call him (mockingly) "King of the Jews". (Mark 15:17). The purple robe and crown are both signs of royalty.
The soliders are joking about Jesus being King. However, that is the claim that the bible (and Christianity) make about Jesus - Jesus is Lord and King. Hence, Jesus has stolen the crown from the King.
"The courtroom was adjourned, No verdict was returned."
The crowd want Jesus crucified even though Pilate says there is no evidence against him. Pilate sentences Jesus to death to please the crowd, however no verdict of guilty is returned. (Mark 15:12-15).
Interpretation Copyright 1996 Paul Dyson
An interpretation of the whole song
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