American Pie Chords by Don McLean

[Start]

[Verse]
  G         Em      
A long long time ago
Am                   C  
I can still remember how
     Em         D                G
That music used to make me smile ■
    D           Em     Em     Am7
And I knew if I had my chance ■  
       Am         Am7   C           
That I could make those people dance
          Em     C        D           Em
And maybe they'd be happy for a while ■ 
                  Am Em    
But February made me shiver
                 Am         
With every paper I'd deliver
C   G           Am       Am7
Bad news on the doorstep ■  
C                        D   
I couldn't take one more step
G       D           Em     
I can't remember if I cried
C                 D                
When I read about his widowed bride
G         D       Em            
Something touched me deep inside
C           D     G   
The day the music died
   C            G        D  
So Bye bye Miss American Pie
         G        C                 G     D      
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
         G        C                  G           D  
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
G       Em                        A7 
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
Em                        D7 
This'll be the day that I die
G                   Am          
■ Did you write the book of love
       C                 Am       
And do you have faith in God above
Em              D           
■  If the Bible tells you so
       G   D          Em           
Now do you believe in rock and roll
    Am         C               
Can music save your mortal soul
Em                A7              D          
And can you teach me how to dance ■ real slow
       Em7  Em             D            
Well I know that you're in love with him
Em               D                 
'cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
C        G          Am   Am7 C    
You both kicked off your ■   shoes
                           D    
Man I dig those rhythm and blues


[Chorus]
        G      D       Em           
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
       Am                   C           
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
G     D          Em         
But I knew I was out of luck
    C       D     G    C
The day the music died ■
G         D      
I started singin'
G   C        G        D  
Bye bye Miss American Pie
         G            C             G     D      
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
G             C                  G       D      
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
    Em                                A7 
And singin' this'll be the day that I die
Em                        D  
This'll be the day that I die


[Verse]
        G               Am             
Now for ten years we've been on our own
    C                   Am           
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
Em                    D         
But that's not how it used to be
         G      D            Em            
When the jester sang for the king and queen
     Am               C              
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
      Em         A7   Am           D 
And a voice that came from you and me
       Em7       Em   D               
Oh and while the king was looking down
    Em           D               
The jester stole his thorny crown
    C         G   Am7      
The courtroom was adjourned
C              D       
No verdict was returned


[Chorus]
    G            Gbm7   Em          
And while Lennon read a book on Marx
Am          C                    
The quartet practiced in the park
    G  D    Em                
And we sang dirges in the dark
    C       D     G    C
The day the music died ■
G       D      
We were singin'
G   C        G        D  
Bye bye Miss American Pie
         G     C                    G         D  
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
G             C                  G       D      
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
    Em                     E7         Am 
And singin' this'll be the day that I die
Em                        D   D7
This'll be the day that I die ■ 
G                 Am              
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
    C                     Am7            
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Em             D                G   
■  Eight miles high and falling fast


[Verse]
   Gbm7   Em               
It landed foul on the grass
Am                    C             
The players tried for a forward pass
         Em            A7             D   
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
        Em               D            
Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
          Em               D              
While the sergeants played a marching tune
C      G      Am7     
We all got up to dance
C                       D     
Oh but we never got the chance
           G       D        Em            
'cause the players tried to take the field
    Am            C               
The marching band refused to yield
G      D           Em          
Do you recall what was revealed
    C       D     G    C
The day the music died ■


[Chorus]
G          D      
We started singin'
G   C        G        D  
Bye bye Miss American Pie
         G     C                    G         D  
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
G             C                  G              
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
D   Em                                Am 
And singin' this'll be the day that I die
Em                        D   D7
This'll be the day that I die ■ 
   G                     Am          
Oh and there we were all in one place


[Verse]
C            Am           
A generation lost in space
Em                   D          
With no time left to start again
        G       D  Em7                 
So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick
Am                C            
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
Em             A7               D     
'cause fire is the devil's only friend
Em                      D           
Oh and as I watched him on the stage
Em                     D               
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
C        Bm      Am7 
No angel born in Hell
C                        D    
Could break that Satan's spell


[Chorus]
           G      D            Em            
And as the flames climbed high into the night
Am           C               
To light the sacrificial rite
      G     D        Em          
I saw Satan laughing with delight
    C       D     G    C
The day the music died ■
G      D      
He was singin'
G   C        G        D  
Bye bye Miss American Pie
         G            C             G         D  
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
G             C                  G           D  
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Em                                Am 
Singin' this'll be the day that I die


[Bridge]
Em                           
This'll be the day that I die
D G       D        Em       Em7   A7
I ■ met a girl who sang the blues ■ 
                C                   Em
And I asked her for some happy news ■ 
             Em                D    G
But she just smiled and turned away ■


[Verse]
       D           Em          
I went down to the sacred store
      C                               
Where I'd heard the music years before
        Em7       C                       D   
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
Em                     Am               
And in the streets the children screamed
Em                       Am           
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
    C     G        Am7   
But not a word was spoken
C                D              
The church bells all were broken


[Chorus]
        G         D        Em7 
And the three men I admire most
C                           D    
The Father Son and the Holy Ghost
G    D               Em                 
They caught the last train for the coast
    C       D     G   
The day the music died
              G      
And they were singing


[Verse]
C            G        D  
Bye bye Miss American Pie
         G            C             G     D      
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
    G             C                  G       D      
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
        Em                        A7  Em
Singin' this'll be the day that I die ■ 


[Chorus]
                          D   D7
This'll be the day that I die ■ 
          G      
They were singing
C            G        D  
Bye bye Miss American Pie
         G     C            G                 D  
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
G             C         G                    D  
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
C                      D              G C G
Singin' this'll be the day that I die ■ ■ ■


[End]