AMERICAN PIE

Don McLean

A [G] long, [D] long, [Em] time ago [Am]
I can still re-[C]-member how that [Em] music used to [D] make me smile
And [G] I knew [D] if I [Em] had my chance
That [Am] I could make those [C] people dance And
[Em] maybe theyd be [A7] happy for a [D] while
But [Em] February [Am] made me shiver [Em]
With every paper [Am] I'd deliver
[C] Bad news [G] on the [C] doorstep, I [A7] couldn't take [D] one more step
I [G] cant re[D]member [Em] if I cried
When I [Am] read about his [D] widowed bride
But [G] something [D] touched me [Em] deep inside
the [C] day the [D] music [G]died
So [G] Bye, [C] bye, Miss [G] American [D] Pie,
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy, but the [G] levy was [D] dry
Them [G] good old [C] boys were drinkin' [G] whiskey and [D] rye Singin
[Em] this'll be the day that I [A7] die [Em] This'll be the day that I [D7]die

[G] Did you write the [Am] book of love
And do [C] you have faith in [Am] God above [Em] If the bible [D] tells you so
Now, do [G] you [D] believe in [Em] Rock'n'Roll?
Can [Am] music save your [C] mortal soul?
And [Em] can you teach me [A7] how to dance [D] real slow?
Well, I [Em] know that you're in [Am] love with him
'Cause I [Em] saw you dancin [Am] in the gym
You [C] both kicked [G] off your [A7] shoes
Man, I [C]dig those rhythm and [D] blues
I was a [G] lonely [D] teen-aged [Em] broncin' buck
With a [C] pink carnation and a [D] pick up truck
But [G] I knew [D] I was [Em] out of luck
The [C] day the [D]music [G] died [C][G][D7]
We started singin [G] Bye, [C] bye, Miss [G] American [D] Pie,
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy, but the [G] levy was [D] dry
Them [G] good old [C] boys were drinkin' [G] whiskey and [D] rye
Singin' [Em] this'll be the day that I [A7] die
[Em] This'll be the day that I [D7] die

Now, for [G] ten years we've been [Am] on our own
And [C] moss grows flat out on a [Am] rolling stone
But [Em] that's not how it [D] used to be
When the [G] jester [D] sang for the [Em] King and Queen
In a [Am] coat he borrowed [C] from James Dean
In a [Em] voice that [A7] came from you and [D] me
Oh and [Em] while the King was [Am] lookin down
The [Em] jester stole his [Am] thorny crown
The [C] court room [G] was ad-[A7]-journed
[C] No verdict was re-[D]-turned
And while [G] Lennon [D] read a [Em] book on Marx,
The [C] quartet practiced [D] in the parks
And [G] we sang [D] durges [Em] in the dark
The [C] day the [D] music [G] died [C][G][D7]
We were singin' [G] Bye, [C] bye, Miss [G] American [D] Pie,
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy, but the [G] levy was [D] dry
Them [G] good old [C] boys drinkin' [G] whiskey and [D] rye Singin' [Em] this'll be the day that I [A7] die [Em] This'll be the day that I [D7]die

[G] Helter Skelter in [Am] summer swelter
The [C] birds flew off in a [Am] fall out shelter
[Em] Eight miles high and [Am] falling fast
It [G] landed [D] foul out [Em] on the grass
The [Am] players tried for a [C] forward pass
With the [Em] jester on the [A7] sideline in a [D] cast
Now the [Em] half-time air was [Am] sweet perfume
While the [Em] sergeants played a [Am] marching tune
We [C] all got [G] up to [A7] dance but we [C] never got the [D] chance
'Cause the [G] players [D] tried to [Em] take the field,
The [C] marching band re-[D]-fused to yield
Do [G] you re-[D]-call what [Em] was revealed
The [C] day the [D] music [G] died [C][G][D7]
We were singin' [G] Bye, [C] bye, Miss [G] American [D] Pie,
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy, but the [G] levy was [D] dry
Them [G] good old [C] boys drinkin' [G] whiskey and [D] rye
Singin' [Em] this'll be the day that I [A7] die
[Em] This'll be the day that I [D7]die

And [G] there we were all [Am] in one place
A [C] generation [Am] lost in space
With [Em] no time left to [Am] start again.
So, come on, [G] Jack be [D] nimble, [Em] Jack be quick
[C] Jack Flash sat on a [Am] candlestick
Cause [Em] fire is the [A7] devil's only [D] friend
Oh, and [Em] as I watched him [Am] on the stage
My [Em] hands were clenched in [Am] fists of rage.
No [C] angel [G] born in [A7] hell could [C] break that Satan's [D] spell
And as the [G] flames climbed [D] high in-[Em] to the night
To [C] light the sacri-[D]-ficial right
I saw [G] Satan [D] laughing [Em] with delight
The [C] day the [D] music [G] died [C][G][D7]
He was singin' [G] Bye, [C] bye, Miss [G] American [D] Pie,
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy, but the [G] levy was [D] dry
Them [G] good old [C] boys drinkin' [G] whiskey and [D] rye Singin' [Em] this'll be the day that I [A7] die [Em] This'll be the day that I [D7] die

I [G] met a girl who [Am] sang the blues
And I [C] asked her for some [Am] happy news
But [Em] she just smiled and [Am] turned away.
And I [G] went down [D] to the [Em] sacred store
Where I'd [C] heard the music [Am] years before
But the [Em] man there said the [A7] music wouldn't [D] play
And [Em] in the streets the [Am] children screamed
The [Em] lovers cried and the [Am] poets dreamed
But [C] not a [G] word was [A7] spoken,
The [C] church bells all were [D] broken
And the [G] three men [D] I ad-[Em]-mired most
The [C] Father, Son, and the [D] Holy Ghost
They [G] caught the [D] last train [Em] for the coast
The [C] day the [D] music [G] died [C][G][D7]
So [G] Bye, [C] bye, Miss [G] American [D] Pie,
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy, but the [G] levy was [D] dry
Them [G] good old [C] boys drinkin' [G] whiskey and [D] rye Singin' [Em] this'll be the day that I [A7] die [Em] This'll be the day that I [D7]die
So [G] Bye, [C] bye, Miss [G] American [D] Pie,
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy, but the [G] levy was [D] dry
Them [G] good old [C] boys drinkin' [G] whiskey and [D] rye
Singin' [C] this'll be the [D7] day that I [G] die [C] [G]

Back to My Song Book