In February 2003 George Michael unexpectedly recorded Don McLean's The Grave in protest against the looming Iraq war. George performed the song on numerous top rated TV shows including "Top of the Pops" and "So Graham Norton". The video featured extensively on MTV.
In response, Don issued a statement, through this website, praising George Michael's recording. Don's words were reported in the worldwide news media. Here is Don's statement:
I am proud of George Michael for standing up for life and
sanity. I am delighted that he chose a song of mine to express these
feelings. We must remember that the Wizard is really a cowardly old
man hiding behind a curtain with a loud microphone. It takes courage
and a song to pull the curtain open and expose him.
Good Luck George-
Don McLean, March 1st 2003.
The Grave was released on Don McLean's 1971 American Pie album but was over-shadowed by that album's title track and the equally famous 'Vincent (Starry Starry Night)'.
Listen to Don McLean talk about 'The Grave' and sing the song.
You can download George Michael's version: The Grave - mp3 (George Michael)
BBC coverage of Don's statement
The Grave: Lyrics
The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors
And the brown earth bleached white
At the edge of his gravestone
He’s gone
When the wars of our nation did beckon
The man, barely twenty, did answer the calling
Proud of the trust
That he placed in our nation
He’s gone
But eternity knows him
And it knows what we’ve done
And the rain fell like pearls
On the leaves of the flowers
Leaving brown, muddy clay
Where the earth had been dry
And deep in the trench
He waited for hours
As he held to his rifle
And prayed not to die
But the silence of night
Was shattered by fire
As the guns and grenades
Blasted sharp through the air
One after another
His comrades were slaughtered
In the morgue of marines
Alone, standing there
He crouched ever lower
Ever lower, with fear
“They can’t let me die
They can’t let me die here!
I’ll cover myself
With the mud and the earth
I’ll cover myself
I know I’m not brave!
The earth, the earth
The earth is my grave.”
The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors
And the brown earth bleached white
At the edge of his gravestone
He’s gone
Watch George Michael perform "The Grave" on the Graham Norton Show (Channel 4, March 2003):