American Pie

Don McLean

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{t:American Pie}
{st:Don McLean}

{c:Verse 1    (hold each chord):}
 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 one [D] more step

I [G] can't re-[D]member if I [Em] cried
When I [Am7] 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… 

{soc}
{c:CHORUS:}
[G] Bye [C] bye Miss A-[G]merican [D] Pie 
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy but the [G] levy 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
{eoc}

{c:Verse 2 (w/ Folk Strum):}
 [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 [D] 
Do [G] you be-[D]lieve in [Em] Rock 'n 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 [D] shoes,
Man, I [C] dig those [G] 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] 
I started [D7] singin' ….

{soc}
{c:CHORUS:}
[G] Bye [C] bye Miss A-[G]merican [D] Pie 
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy but the [G] levy 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
{eoc}

{c:Verse 3 (w/ Folk Strum):}
 Now for [G] 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 [D] 
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 you and [D] me [D]
   
Oh, and [Em] while the King was [D] looking down,
The [Em] jester stole his [D] thorny crown,
The [C] courtroom [G] was ad-[D]journed;
No [C] verdict was re-[D7]turned,
And while [G] Lennon [D] read a [Em] book of Marx,
The [Am] court kept practice [C] in the park,  
And [G] we sang [D] dirges [Em] in the dark 
The [C] day the [D7] Music [G] Died [C]      [G]…We were [D7] singin'… 

{soc}
{c:CHORUS:}
[G] Bye [C] bye Miss A-[G]merican [D] Pie 
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy but the [G] levy 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
{eoc}

{c:Verse 4 (w/ Folk Strum):}
[G] Helter-Skelter [Am] in the summer swelter,
The [C] Byrds flew off with a [Am] fallout shelter,
[Em] Eight Miles High and [D] falling fast [D] 
It [G] landed [D] foul out [Em] on the grass,
The [Am7] players tried for a [C] forward pass,
With the [Em] jester on the [A7] sidelines in a [D] cast [D]
 
Now the [Em] half-time air was [D] sweet perfume 
While the [Em] sergeants played a [D] marching tune,
[C] We all got [G] up to [D] dance,
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,
Do [G] you re-[D]call what [Em] was revealed,
The [C] day the [D7] Music [G] Died? [C]      [G] 
We started [D7] singin' … 

{soc}
{c:CHORUS:}
[G] Bye [C] bye Miss A-[G]merican [D] Pie 
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy but the [G] levy 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
{eoc}

{c:Verse 5 (w/ Folk Strum):}
 Oh, and [G] there we were all [Am] in one place,
[C] A generation [Am] Lost in Space 
With [Em] no time left to [D] start again. [D]
So come on: [G] Jack be nimble, [Em] Jack be quick!
[Am7] Jack 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 [D] hell
Could [C] break that Satan's [D7] spell,
And as the [G] flames climbed [D] high in-[Em]to the night
[Am] To light the sacri-[C]ficial rite,
I saw [G] Satan [D] laughing [Em] with delight 
The [C] day the [D7] Music [G] Died [C] [G]… He was [D7] singin' …

{soc}
{c:CHORUS:}
[G] Bye [C] bye Miss A-[G]merican [D] Pie 
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy but the [G] levy 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
{eoc}


{c:Verse 6 (hold each chord):}
I [G] met a [D] girl who sang the [Em] blues
And I [Am] asked her for some [C] happy news, 
But [Em] she just smiled and turned [D] away,
I [G] went down [D] to the sacred [Em7] store
Where I'd [Am] heard the music [C] years before,
But the [Em] man there said the [A7] music wouldn't [D] play
 
[Em] And in the streets: the [Am] children screamed,
The [Em] lovers cried, and the [Am] poets dreamed  
But [C] not a [G] word was [Am] spoken;
The [C] church bells all were [D7] broken,
And the [G] three men [D] I ad-[Em]mire most: 
The [Am7] Father, Son and the [C] Holy Ghost,
Why, they [G] caught the [D] last train [Em] for the coast
The [C] day the [D7] Music [G] Died… And they were singing… 

{soc}
{c:CHORUS:}
[G] Bye [C] bye Miss A-[G]merican [D] Pie 
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy but the [G] levy 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
{eoc}

{c:(continue Chorus Strum)}
They were singing
[G] Bye [C] bye Miss A-[G]merican [D] Pie 
Drove my [G] Chevy to the [C] levy, but the [G] levy was [D] dry, 
And [G] good old [C] boys were drinking [G] whiskey and [D] rye
Singin' [C] this'll be the [D] day that I [G] die [C]     [G]

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