Don McLean's "American Pie"

This morning I listened to Don McLean's American Pie.  I was really into this album when I was in high school, and I read a lot of things that tried to interpret the title track.  McLean himself hasn't said much more than that it's about Buddy Holly (whom the album is dedicated to).  Listening to it this morning, I realized that there's a lyrical reference that sort of indicates this.  I think I never noticed it before just because it's a similarity in phrasing from one of Holly's songs; it doesn't have anything to do with the intricate web of references that almost calls out to be interpreted.

The chorus ends with the line "This'll be the day that I die," which is very similar to Holly's "That'll be the day when I die" from "That'll Be the Day."