Singer-songwriter Don McLean's original manuscript and notes to American Pie have sold at auction for $1.2 million.

McLean put the wistful anthem that asks "Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died?" on sale at Christie's in New York.

The 16 pages include the original working manuscript and typed drafts of the song.

The eight-minute American Pie was released in 1971. It was a No 1 US hit for four weeks in 1972.

"The day the music died" refers to the February 3 1959 deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in a plane crash.

McLean, who lives in Maine, says writing the song was "a mystical trip into his past".

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