Let's make a Simpsons reference, shall we? Have you seen he episode where Lia becomes an amateur astronomer? At the end of the episode, the town watches the Deadly Meteor Shower ("named for its discoverer, Artemus Deadly" who was killed by the shower). It is at this scene that Don McLean's haunting voice appears with an excerpt of "Vincent." This is when I fell in love with Mr. McLean, and kept the song in the back of my head until I picked up his greatest hits compilation at Best Buy.
"Vincent" references a starry, starry night, but is actually a lovely acoustic tale of the artist Vincent Van Gogh. Yeah, you know the painting. Mr. McLean explains now I understand what you tried to say to me, and how you suffered for your sanity, and how they tried to set you free. Surely, you know Mr. Van Gogh cut off his own ear in a frenzy and spent some time institutionalized (I remember the art lesson is grade 7, coloring in the picture of his room several times with several color palettes. If I remember correctly, he drew a picture of that room everyday...or something like that. My art history background doesn't extend far beyond Vermeer and some general knowledge). It is the minimalist qualities that make "Vincent" wondrous, possibly th best of McLean's work. Along with "American Pie," don't worry. I will end this post with the ending lyrics of this song; quite possibly my favourite lyrics in the history of music.
They would not listen
They're not listening still
Perhaps they never will...
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