From a Wall Street Journal story by John Anderson headlined “Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’ Explained at Last”:

“The greatest song in music history,” declares country star Garth Brooks (who used to make “American Pie” part of his live act) and a line like that will make every viewer a music critic. The greatest? This special by director Mark Moormann argues that it’s because a mythology has grown up around what was once the longest record to become a No. 1 hit, because it was cathartic at the time of its original 1971 release (the McLean argument) and because of its puzzling lyrics….