Vincent (Don McLean song)

"Vincent" is a song by Don McLean written as a tribute to Vincent van Gogh. It is often erroneously titled after its opening refrain, "Starry Starry Night", a reference to Van Gogh's 1889 painting "The Starry Night".
McLean wrote the lyrics in 1971 after reading a book about the life of Van Gogh. It was released on McLean's 1971 "American Pie" album; the following year, the song topped the UK Singles Chart for two weeks, and peaked at No. 12 in the United States, where it also hit No. 2 on the Easy Listening chart. "Billboard" ranked it as the No. 94 song for 1972.
The song makes use mainly of the guitar but also includes the accordion, marimba, and strings.
In July 2020, the original handwritten lyrics went up for sale for $1.5 million.
Production.
McLean said the following about the genesis of the song:
Critical reception.
"The Telegraph" wrote: "With its bittersweet palette of major and minor chords, "Vincent"'s soothing melody is one of high emotion recollected in tranquillity". AllMusic retrospectively described the song as "McLean's paean to Van Gogh ... sympathiz[ing] with Van Gogh's suicide as a sane comment on an insane world." The site also said McLean performs "a particularly poignant rendition" of "Vincent" on the 2001 live album "Starry, Starry Night".
The song was a particular favorite of the rapper and actor Tupac Shakur, and was played to him in the hospital just before he died.
Cover Versions.
NOFX released a cover of "Vincent" on their 2002 album "45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records".
Josh Groban released a cover of the song on his 2001 self-titled album.