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| As I think of The Girl In Red, I hear those lyrics from Don McLean’s “American Pie.” | Getty Images |
Memories of The Girl In Red
& the soundtrack of ‘American Pie’
by Terry Pluto‘s Faith & You
Updated: Apr. 08, 2024, 2:46 a.m.|
Published: Mar. 17, 2024, 5:01 a.m.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – I think about her once or twice a year. It happens when I see a certain little girl dressed in red.
This girl … the girl in my memory … has chocolate skin, pretty braids and red ribbons in her hair. She is wearing a cute red dress – the kind kids wore to school once upon a time.
I see her walk. It’s more of a bounce. It’s an act of joy, punctuated with an innocent smile. She is young, maybe in the fourth grade.
“A long, long time ago …”
As I think of The Girl In Red, I hear those lyrics from Don McLean’s “American Pie.”
“A long, long time ago, I can still remember
how that music used to make me smile… "
I wish I could remember this story as clearly as I do those lyrics.
A LONG, LONG TIME AGO
It was the early 1970s. I was just starting college. “American Pie” was a constant as I drove to school and work in my blue Dodge Dart. It blared out of my 8-track tape player – one of the worst contraptions invented as it constantly chewed up the tape inside.
But it was a long, long time ago…
I had a part time job as a tutor at John Raper Elementary in Hough. The Hough Riots were in 1966. Several years later, you could still see a few burned-out buildings, some rubble where there once was a house.
I drove by looking for the school. The spot on East 85th is an empty lot. Like The Girl In Red, the school is long gone.
She was in the fourth grade, one of the smallest kids in the class. I was there to help the students learn the multiplication tables. My pay was something like two bucks an hour, a few hours three days a week. I lived on Red Barn cheeseburgers and pizza from the Rascal House near Cleveland State.
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| Once upon a time, there was a special girl student who Terry Pluto remembers from almost 50 years ago. Illustration By JoAnne Coughlin Walsh / Advance Local JoAnne Coughlin Walsh, Advance Local |
WHAT WAS HER NAME?
I wish I could remember her name, but I can’t. To me, she always is The Girl In Red even though I’m sure she wore other colors.
Unlike most of my students, she was excited to have a tutor. Her math was weak but her work ethic was strong. I was told she had moved around a lot. She was intelligent, but “lost time” living in different places, according to one of her teachers.
I had her for a few months, and she was the highlight of my tutoring day. Always dressed neatly – matching shoes, socks and dress. Her hair was immaculately braided with a ribbon, her smile was ever present.
One day, she asked me, “Do you live in a nice house?”
I never thought about it much. At that point, my family owned a split-level in Northfield. I was living at home, commuting to college and my various part-time jobs. Before I answered, I thought about the places I drove past each time I went to Hough.
“Yes,” I said. “I live in a nice house.”
I waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t. She sort of looked at something over my shoulder. I thought of asking her if she lived in a nice house, but wisely kept my mouth shut.
THE BRICK THROWERS
One day I was tutoring a little boy. Suddenly, a brick banged against the classroom window, glass shattering. The little boy ran to the window, me right behind him. We saw a couple of kids in the parking lot, looking up and laughing.
“They used to go here,” said the boy. “They bad.”
I was always thankful The Girl In Red wasn’t in the room with me that day. But I thought about the brick and the broken window right after she asked me about the house.
The little boy and I returned to working on the multiplication tables. What is there to say about any of it? For some of these kids, it seemed like so often someone was throwing a brick right in the middle of something good happening.
WHAT WE REMEMBER
I tell this story peering into the rearview mirror of memory of nearly a half-century ago. I’m not sure what is actually factual, at least the small details and conversations. Is it how I want to remember it, or did it actually happen as I remember?
“February made me shiver with every paper I’d deliver …
“Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn’t take one more step … ”
There they are, more lyrics from “American Pie.”
In my memory, it happened in February. Even though the school was a few miles from Lake Erie, the winter wind whipped and puffs of white came out of my mouth while I walked into the school.
I saw The Girl In Red at the other end of the hall. She was going out the door. She was with an older woman, The Girl In Red hanging on to the lady’s hand.
I walked into the classroom and asked the teacher about her.
“You won’t be seeing her again,” she said.
“What happened?” I asked.
The teacher explained the lady was from “the welfare department.” It was probably Child Protective Services.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I told you,” said the teacher. “She won’t be with us anymore.”
The teacher went silent. She gave me the look she gave her students, the stare that could silence a classroom. This woman didn’t babysit, she taught. She kept order. Her kids learned the basics. She was about 50. At that point, it seemed – just for a second – like she might cry.
“I can’t say any more,” she said.
We were talking in the hallway. She turned and walked into the classroom. I followed her.
“I met a girl who sang the blues and
asked her for some happy news …
“But she just smiled and turned away.”
More lines from “American Pie.”
I always wished I had heard some happy news about The Girl In Red. Never heard a word. Never think about her, until I see a little girl in red with braids and a smile.
Don McLean - America Pie (Lyric Video)
[Verse 1]
A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music
Used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
[Chorus]
So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
[Verse 2]
Did you write the book of love?
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now, do you believe in rock 'n' roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
[Chorus]
I started singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
[Verse 3]
Now, for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone
But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
Oh, and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lennon read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
[Chorus]
We were singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
[Verse 4]
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and fallin' fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now, the halftime air was sweet perfume
While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
[Chorus]
We started singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
[Verse 5]
Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So, come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend
Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
[Chorus]
He was singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die..."
[Bridge]
I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
And in the streets, the children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
[Deleted Verse]
And there I stood alone and afraid
I dropped to my knees and there I prayed
And I promised Him everything I could give
If only He would make the music live
And He promised it would live once more
But this time one would equal four
And in five years four had come to mourn
And the music was reborn
[Chorus]
And they were singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
[Outro]
They were singin', bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die"
