Don McLean is to auction the original manuscript of American Pie, his elegaic, enigmatic ballad that became a signature song of its era.

The 16 pages of handwritten and typed drafts include notes and deletions for the recording that became a hit after it was released in 1971. It was named a Song of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Auctioneers Christies predicted the papers could fetch around $1.5m (£1m).

McLean, 69, is among the most renowned singer-songwriters of his generation. He said he decided to sell the manuscript on a whim. McLean has admitted the beginning of the more than eight-minute song is about the death of singer Buddy Holly, who died in a plane crash with Ritchie Valens and JP Richardson in 1959.

But he has been elusive about the meaning of most of the lyrics, which has heightened interest and led to countless interpretations.

“I wanted to capture, probably before it was ever formulated, a rock-’n-roll American dream,” McLean said. “The writing and the lyrics will divulge everything there is to divulge.”

Francis Wahlgren, the international director of printed books and manuscripts at Christie’s, said American Pie held an important place in the history of music. “The fact that the drafts, the working process of it, are all being offered as this lot makes it a remarkable insight into the mind of Don McLean and into this incredible song that has touched so many people.

Written in Cold Spring, New York state, and in Philadelphia, the six verses of American Pie reflect the social upheavals of the 1960s and early 70s.

“There is something about this song that captures the era of that period and there is a kind of innocence to it, a loss of innocence in America,” Wahlgren said.

Bob Dylan lyrics for Like A Rolling Stone sold for just over $2m at auction in 2014, resetting the record for a handwritten manuscript, previously held by John Lennon’s lyrics for A Day in the Life, which sold for $1.2m.

The auction would take place on 7 April, Christie’s said.

(The Guardian)