A G long, D long Em7 time ago,
Am I can still re C member how that m Em usic used to make me D smile
And G I know D if I Em7 had my chance,
That Am I could make those C people dance and Em maybe they'd be C happy for a D while
But Em February Am made me shiver, with Em every paper Am I'd deliver
C Bad news G on the Am doorstep, I C couldn't take one more D step
I G can't remem D ber if I Em cried when I Am7 read about his D widowed bride
G Something D touched me Em deep inside
The C day the D7 music G died C G
*Chorus*
So G bye, C bye Miss G American 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 drinkin' G whiskey and D rye
Singin' Em this will be the day that I A7 die, Em this will be the day that I D7 die
*Verse*
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?
G Do you D believe in Em rock and roll
Am7* C Em A7 D
Can music save your mortal soul and can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Well I Em know that you're in D love with him 'cuz 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 die C d, G I started singin'
*Chorus*
*Other verses*
Now for ten years we've been on our own,
and 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 a book on Marx, the quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died, we were singin'
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
the birds flew off with a fallout shelter, eight miles high and fallin' fast
It landed foul on the grass
the players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the sidelines in
a cast
Now at halftime there was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a marching
tune
We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
'Cuz the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was the feel the day the music died, we started singin'
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, 'cuz fire is the devil's
only friend
And as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell could bread that Satan's spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died, he was singin'
*Last verse*
I G met a D girl who Em sang the blues
And I Am asked her for some C happy news, but Em she just smiled and turned a D way
I G went down D to the Em sacred store
G Am G C Em Where I'd Am heard the music C years before, but the Em man there said the C music
wouldn't D play
But Em 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 D broken
G And the G three men D I ad Em mire most, the Am7 Father, C Son, and the D7 Holy Ghost
G They caught the D last train Em for the coast the Am7 day the D7 music G died,
D7 And they were singin'
*Final Chorus*
So G bye, C bye Miss G American 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 drinkin' G whiskey and D rye
Singin' C this will be the D7 day that I G die. C G
/> Andrew Fowler (Zanar on the net) Snail Mail:
/< afowler@minerva.cis.yale.edu 624 Orange Street
*(/////|:::==================================- Apartment 1B
\< fowler@psgi.chem.yale.edu New Haven, CT 06511
\> Phone (IRL): 203-782-1379
Don McLean
