American Pie

V-a: A long, long time ago, I can still remember how 
        that music used to make me smile
      And I knew if I had my chance that I could make
        those people dance, and maybe they'd be happy for a while
      But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver
      Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
      I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride
      But something touched me deep inside. the day the music died

      G ¦ Em / Am - C - / Em - - D / D - - - / G ¦ Em - / Am - C - / 
      Em - C - / D - - - / Em - Am - /     / C ¦ Am - / C - D - / 
      G ¦ Em - / Am7 - D - / G ¦ Em - / C - D7 - / G - C - / G - - - //

 C:   So, bye, bye, Miss American Pie
      Drove my Chevy to levee but the levee was dry
      And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
      Singing this will be the day that I die
      Singing this will be the day that I die

      G - C - / G - D - /  x2  /  x2  / Em - - - / A7 - - - / Em - - - / D7 - - - //

 V-b: Did you write the book of love and do you have faith in God above,
        if the bible tells you so?
      Now do you believe in rock 'n' roll, can music save your mortal soul
        and can you teach me how to dance real slow?
      Well I know that you're in love with him, cause I saw dancing in the gym
      You both kicked off your shoes then dig those rhythm and blues
      I was a lonely teenage broncin'' buck 
        with a pink carnation and a pick-up truck
      But I knew I was out of luck the day the music died

      G - - - / Am - - - / C - ¦ - / Am - - - / Em - - - / D - - - /    / 
      G - D/F# - / Em - - - / Am7 - - - / C - - - / Em - - - / A7 - - - / D - - - /    /
      Em - - - / D - - - /  x2  / C - ¦ - / A7 - - - / C - - - / D7 - - - /
      G - ¦ - / Em - - - / Am - - - / C - - - / 
      G - ¦ - / Em - - - / C - - - / D7 - - - / G - C - / G - D - //
  C:  I started singing bye, bye, ...

 V-b: Now for ten years we've been on our own, moss grows fat 
        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
      And while the king was looking down the jester stole his thorny crown
      The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned
      And while Lenin read on Marx the quartet practiced in the park
      And we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died

   C: We were singing bye, bye, ...

 V-b: Helter skelter in the summer swelter, the birds flew off 
        with a fallout shelter eight miles high and falling fast
      It land foul on the grass the players tried for a forward pass
        with the jester on the sidelines in a cast
      Now the half time air was sweet perfume while the Sergeants
        played a marching tune
      We all got up to dance, oh 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?

 C:   We were singing bye, bye, ...

 V-b: And there we were all in one place, a generation lost in space
        with no time left to start again
      So come one Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat 
        on a candle stick, 'cause fire is the devils only friend
      And as I watched him on the stage my hands were clenched in fists of rage
      No angel born in hell could break that Satin's spell
      And as the flames climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite
      I saw Satin laughing with delight the day the music died

 C:   He was singing bye, bye, ...

 V-c: I met a girl who sang the blues and I asked her for some
        happy news, she just smiled and turned away
      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 admire most, the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
      They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died

      G ¦ Em / Am - C - / Em - - D / D - - - / G ¦ Em G/B / Am G/B C - /
      Em - C - / D - - - /Em - Am - /   / C ¦ Am - / C - D - /
      G ¦ Em G/B / C - D - / G ¦ Em - / C - Am7 D7 / G - - - / G - D - //

 C:   We were singing bye, bye, ...

 C:   We were singing bye, bye, ...


      1971 Mayday Music &   1990 Liberty Records:: on his "American Pie"