American Pie

G D/F# Em7
A long, long time ago
Am C Em7 D
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
G D/F# Em7
And I knew if I had my chance
Am C Em C D
That I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be happy for awhile
Em7 Am Em7 Am
But February made me shiver…………..with every paper I'd deliver
C G/B Am Cmaj7 D
Bad news on the doorstep………….I couldn't take one more step
G D/F# Em7 Am7 D
I can't remember if I cried…..when I read about his widowed bride
G D6/F# Em7 C D7 G / G4 G /
Something touched me deep inside………….the day the music died.

G C G D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
G C G D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G C G D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em A7 Em D / D4
Singin' this will be the day that I die……….this will be the day that I die.

G Am C Am7
Did you write the book of love and do you have faith in god above
Em D /D G D /
If the bible tells you so
G D/F# Em7 Am7 C
Do you believe in rock and roll……….can music save your mortal soul
 Em7 A7 / D / D4 D /
And…..can you teach me how to dance real slow
Em7 D
Well I know that you're in love with him
Em7 D
'cuz I saw you dancin' in the gym
C G/B A7 C D
You both kicked off your shoes……..man I dig those rhythm and blues
G D/F# Em7 Am7 C
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck with a pink carnation and a pickup truck
G D/F# Em7 G C D7 / G G4 / G D7 /
But I knew I was out of luck……the day….the music died……….I started singin'

G C G D
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
G C G D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G C G D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em A7 Em D4 / D
Singin' this will be the day that I die………this will be the day that I die.

G Am7
Now for ten years we've been on our own,
C G/B Am7 Em D4 D
and moss grows fat on a rolling stone, but that's not how it used to be
G D/F# Em
When the jester sang for the king and queen
Am7 C Em A7 D4 D
in a coat he borrowed from James Dean in a voice that came from you and me
Em* D* Em* D*
And while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown
C G/B A C / D4 D / D4 D /
The courtroom was adjourned…………no verdict was returned.
G D/F# Em7 G Am7 C
And while Lenin read a book on Marx…the quartet practiced in the park
G D/F# Em C D7 G G4 G G4
And we sang dirges in the dark the day...........the music died, we were singin'
[Chorus]
G C G D
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
G C G D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G C G D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em A7 Em D / D4
Singin' this will be the day that I die………this will be the day that I die.

[Verse 4]

G Am
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
C Am Em D
the birds flew off with a fallout shelter, eight miles high and fallin' fast
G D/F# Em
It landed foul on the grass
Am7 C Em A7 D
the players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the sidelines in
a cast
Em* D* Em* D*
Now at halftime there was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a
marching tune
C G A7 C D7
We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
G D/F# Em Am C
'Cuz the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to
yield
G D/F# Em C D7 G C G
Do you recall what was the feel the day the music died, we started
singin'
[Chorus]

G C G D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
G C G D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G C G D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em* A7* Em* D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

[Verse 5]

G Am
And there we were all in one place,
C Am Em D
a generation lost in space, with no time left to start again
G D/F# Em Am7 C
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candle
Em A7 D
stick, 'cuz fire is the devil's only friend
Em* D* Em* D*
And as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of
rage
C G A7 C D7
No angel born in Hell could break that Satan's spell
G D/F# Em Am C
And as the flames climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite
G D/F# Em C D7 G C G
I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died, he was
singin'

[Chorus]

G C G D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
 G C G D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G C G D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em* A7* Em* D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

[Verse 6]

G D/F# Em
I met a girl who sang the blues
Am C Em D
And I asked her for some happy news, but she just smiled and turned
away
G D/F# Em
I went down to the sacred store
Am C Em C
Where I'd heard the music years before, but the man there said the
music
D
wouldn't play
Em* Am* Em* Am*
But in the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried and the
poets dreamed
C G Am C D
But not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken
G D/F# Em Am7 C D7
And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
G D/F# Em Am7 D7 G
They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died,
N.C.
And they were singin'

[Chorus]

G C G D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
G C G D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G C G D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em* A7* Em* D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
G C G D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
G C G D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G C G D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
C D7 G C G
Singin' this will be the day that I die