American Pie

Don Mclean

A

G

long,

D

long

Em7

time ago

Am

I can still re

C

member how that

Em

music used to make me

D

smile

And

G

I knew

D

if I had

Em7

my chance

That

Am

I could make those

C

people dance

And

Em

maybe they'd be

C

happy for a

D

while

Em

But February

Am

made me shiver

Em

With every paper

Am

I'd deliver

C

Bad news

G

on the

Am

doorstep

I

C

couldn't take o

D

ne more step

I

G

can't re

D

member if I

Em

cried

When

Am7

I read about his

D

widowed bride

But

G

something

D

touched me

Em

deep inside

The

C

day the

D7

music

G

died

C

G

So

G

bye,

C

bye, Miss A

G

merican

D

Pie

Drove my

G

Chevy to the

C

levee but the

G

levee was

D

dry

And them

G

good old

C

boys were drinking

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 be

D

lieve in

Em

rock and roll?

Can

Am7

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

D

love with him

'Cause I

Em

saw you dancin'

D

in the gym

You

C

both kicked

G

off your

A7

shoes

Man, I

C

dig those rhythm and

D7

blues

I was a

G

lonely

D

teenage

Em

broncin' buck

With a

Am

pink carnation and a

C

pickup truck

But

G

I knew

D

I was

Em

out of luck

The

C

day the

D7

music

G

died

C

G

G

I started singing

G

Bye,

C

bye, Miss A

G

merican

D

Pie

Drove my

G

Chevy to the

C

levee but the

G

levee was

D

dry

And them

G

good old

C

boys were drinking

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

Now for ten years we've been

Am

on our own

And

C

moss grows fat on a

Am

rollin' stone

Em

But that's not how it

D

used to be

When the

G

jester

D

sang for the

Em

king and queen

In a

Am7

coat he borrowed

C

from James Dean

And a

Em

voice that

A7

came from

D

you and me

Oh, and

Em

while the king was

D

looking down

The

Em

jester stole his

D

thorny crown

The

C

courtroom

G

was ad

A7

journed

C

No verdict was re

D7

turned

And while

G

Lennon

D

read a

Em

book of Marx

The

Am

quartet practiced

C

in the park

And

G

we sang

D

dirges

Em

in the dark

The

C

day the

D7

music

G

died

C

G

G

We were singing

G

Bye,

C

bye, Miss A

G

merican

D

Pie

Drove my

G

Chevy to the

C

levee but the

G

levee was

D

dry

And them

G

good old

C

boys were drinking

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 a

Am

summer swelter

The

C

birds flew off with a

Am

fallout shelter

Em

Eight miles high and

D

falling fast

It

G

landed

D

foul

Em

on the grass

The

Am7

players tried

C

for a forward pass

With the

Em

jester

A7

on the sidelines

D

in a cast

Now the

Em

half-time air was

D

sweet perfume

While the

Em

sergeants played a

D

marching tune

C

We all

G

got up to

A7

dance

Oh, but we

C

never got the

D7

chance!

`Cause the

G

players

D

tried to

Em

take the field

The

Am

marching band re

C

fused to yield

G

Do you rec

D

all, what

Em

was revealed

The

C

day the

D7

music

G

died?

C

G

G

We started singing

G

Bye,

C

bye, Miss A

G

merican

D

Pie

Drove my

G

Chevy to the

C

levee but the

G

levee was

D

dry

And them

G

good old

C

boys were drinking

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

Oh, and there we were all

Am

in one place

A

C

generation

Am

lost in space

Em

With no time left to

D

start again

So come on:

G

Jack be nimble,

Em

Jack be quick

Jack

Am7

Flash sat on a

C

candlestick

´Cause

Em

fire is the

A7

devil's only

D

friend

Oh, and

Em

as I watched him

D

on the stage

My

Em

hands were clenched in

D

fists of rage

C

No angel

G

born in

A7

hell

Could

C

break that Satan's

D7

spell

And as the

G

flames climbed

D

high in

Em

to the night

To

Am

light the sacr

C

ificial rite

I saw

G

Satan

D

laughing

Em

with delight

The

C

day the

D7

music

G

died

C

G

G

He was singing

G

Bye,

C

bye, Miss A

G

merican

D

Pie

Drove my

G

Chevy to the

C

levee but the

G

levee was

D

dry

And them

G

good old

C

boys were drinking

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 sang the

Am

blues

And I

C

asked her for some

Am

happy news

But

Em

she just smiled and turned

D

away

I

G

went down

D

to the s

Em

acred store

Where, I'd

Am

heard the music

C

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

C

But not a

G

word was

A7

spoken

The

C

church bells all were

D7

broken

And the

G

three men,

D

I adm

Em

ire most

The

Am

father,

C

son and the

D7

holy ghost

They

G

caught the

D

last train

Em

for the coast

The

C

day the

D7

music

G

died

C

G

G

And they were singing

G

Bye,

C

bye, Miss A

G

merican

D

Pie

Drove my

G

Chevy to the

C

levee but the

G

levee was

D

dry

And them

G

good old

C

boys were drinking

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

They were singing

G

Bye,

C

bye, Miss A

G

merican

D

Pie

Drove my

G

Chevy to the

C

levee but the

G

levee was

D

dry

And them

G

good old

C

boys were drinking

G

whiskey and

D

rye

Singin'

C

this'll be the

D7

day that I

G

die

C

G

chord