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G D/F# Em Am C
1. A long long time ago I can still remember
Em D
How that music used to make me smile
G D/F# Em
And I knew if I had my chance
Am C
That I could make those people dance
Em C D
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
Em Am Em Am
But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver
C G/B Am C D
Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
G D Em Am D
I can't remember if I cried, when I read about his widowed bride
G D Em C D7 G C G
But 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 levee but the levee was dry
G C G D
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Em A7 Em D7
Singin' this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die.
G Am C Am
2. Did you write the book of love and do you have faith in God above?
Em D
If the Bible tells you so.
G D Em
Do you believe in Rock 'n Roll?
Am C
Can music save your mortal soul?
Em A D
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Em D
Well, I know that you're in love with him
Em D
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
C G/B Am
You both kicked off your shoes,
C D
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
G D/F# Em
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
Am C
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck.
G D/F# Em C D7 G C G
But I knew I was out of luck the day the music died I started singin'
(Chorus)
G Am
3. Now for ten years we've been on our own
C Am Em D
And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone, 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 A D
And a voice that came from you and me
Em D Em D
Oh, and while the King was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown
C G/B Am C D
The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned
G D Em Am C
And while Lenin read a book on Marx, the quartet practiced in the park
G D Em C D7 G C G
And we sang dirges in the dark, the day the music died. We were singing
(Chorus)
G Am
4. Helter-Skelter in a summer swelter,
C Am
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Em D
Eight miles high and falling fast
G D/F# 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 half-time air was sweet perfume
Em D
While the sergeants played a marching tune
C G Am C D
We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
G D/F# Em
'Cause the players tried to take the field
Am C
The marching band refused to yield
G D Em C D7 G C G
Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died? We stared singing
(Chorus)
G Am
5. Oh, and there we were all in one place
C Am
A generation lost in space
Em D
With no time left to start again.
G D Em
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 G/B Am C D
No angel born in hell could break that Satan's spell
G D/F# Em
And as the flames climbed high into the night
Am C
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 singing
(Chorus)
G D Em Am C
I met a girl who sang the blues and I asked her for some happy news
Em D
But she just smiled and turned away
G D Em
I went down to the sacred store
Am C
Where I'd heard the music years before
Em A 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 Am C D
But not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken
G D Em Am C
And the three men I ad -mire most, the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
G D/F# Em
They caught the last train for the coast,
C D G D
The day the music died And they were singing
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
C D G C G
singin' this will be the day that I die.
bis
Written by Don McLean