American Pie: Don McLean 019 - 2

G D Em

A long, long, time ago

Am C Em D

I can still remember how that music used to make me smile

G D Em Am C

And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people dance

Em A7 D Em Am

And maybe they’d be happy for a while But February made me shiver

Em Am

With every paper I delivered

C G A7 C D

Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn’t take one more step

G D Em Am D

I can’t remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride

G D Em C D G

But something touched me deep inside the day the music died So

Chorus

G C G D G C G D

Bye, bye, Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levy, but the levy was dry

G C G D

Them good old boys drinkin’ whiskey and rye

Em A7 Em D7

Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die This’ll be the day that I die

G Am C Am

Did you write the book of love And do you have faith in God above

Em D

If the bible tells you so

G D Em

Now, do you believe in Rock’n’Roll?

Am C Em A7 D

Can music save your mortal soul?And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Em Am

Well, I know that you’re in love with him

Em Am

‘Cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym

C G A7

You both kicked off your shoes

C D

Man, I dig those rhythm and blues

G D Em

I was a lonely teen-aged broncin’ buck

Am C

With a pink carnation and a pick up truck

G D Em C D G

But I knew I was out of luck The day the music died We started singin’

Chorus:

Now, for ten years we’ve been on our own

And moss grows flat out on a rolling stone

But that’s not how it used to be

When the jester sang for the King and Queen

In a coat he borrowed from James Dean

In a voice that came from you and me

Oh and while the King was lookin’ down

The jester stole his thorny crown

The court room was adjourned

No verdict was returned

And while Lennon read a book on Marx

The quartet practiced in the parks

And we sang durgess in the dark

The day the music died We were singin’ Chorus:

Helter Skelter in summer swelter

The birds flew off in a fall out shelter

Eight miles high and falling fast

It landed foul out on the grass

The players tried for a forward pass

With the jester on the sideline in a cast

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume

While the sargeants played a marching tune

We all got up to dance but we never got the chance

‘Cause the players tried to take the field

The marching band refused to yield

Do you recall what was revealed

The day the music died

We were singin’ Chorus:

And there we were all in one place

A generation lost in space

With no time left to start again

So, come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick

Jack flash sat on a candle stick

‘Cause fire is the devil’s only friend

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage

My hands were clenched in fists of rage

No angel born in hell could break that Satan spell

And as the flames climbed high into the night

To light the sacrificial right

I saw Satan laughing with delight

The day the music died

He was singin’ Chorus:

I met a girl who sang the blues

And I asked her for some happy news

But she just smiled and turned away

And I went down to the sacred store

Where I’d heard the music years before

But the man there said the music wouldn’t play

And in the streets the children screamed

The lovers cried and the poets dreamed

But not a word was spoken

The church bells all were broken

And the three men I admired most The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost