American Pie (Original Version Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Verse 1]
[G]A long, [D]long [Em]time ago
[Am]I can still remember[C] how tha[Em]t music
used to make [D]me smile
And I knew if I had my [Em]chance
That I [Am]could make those [C]people dance
And [Em]maybe they'd be [C]happy for a [D]while

[Verse 2]
[Em]But February made [Am]me shiver
[Em]With every paper [D]I'd [Am]deliver
[C]Bad news [G]on the door[Am]step
I [C]couldn't take one more [D]step

[Verse 3]
[D]I can't remember if I [Em]cried
When I [C]read about his [D]wid
owed bride
[G]But something [D]touched me [Em]deep inside
[C]The day the[D] music die[G]d

[Verse 4]
So [G]bye- [C]bye, Miss [G]Americ[D]an Pie
Drove [G]my Chevy to [C]the levee,
[G]but the levee [D]was dry
And them [G]good old [C]boys [G]were drinkin'
whiskey [D]and rye
Singin' [Em]"This'll be the day that I [A]die
[Em]This'll be the day that I die"
[D]

[Verse 5]
[G]
Did you write the [Am]book of love?
And [C]do you have faith in [Am]God a[Em]bove?
If the Bible [D]tells you so
Now, [G]do you be[D]lieve [G]in [Em]rock and roll?
Can [Am]music save your [C]mortal soul?
[Em]And can you teach [A]me
how to dance [D]real slow?

[Verse 6]
Well, I [Em]know that you're
in [D]love with him
'Cause I [Em]saw you dancin' i[D]n the gym
You [C]both kicked off [Am]your shoes
Man, I [C]dig those rhythm and [D]blues

[Verse 7]
I was [G]a lonely [D]teenage [Em]broncin' buck
With a [Am]pink carnation and a [C]pickup truck
But [G]I knew I[D] was ou[Em]t of luck
The [C]day the [D]music [G]died[C]

[Verse 8]
[G]I started s[D]ingin' b[G]ye- b[C]ye,
Miss [G]Americ[D]an Pie
Drove [G]my Chevy to [C]the levee,
but [G]the levee [D]was dry
Them [G]good old [C]boys were
drinkin' [G]whiskey and rye
[D]Singin' "Th[Em]is'll be
the day that I [A]die
[Em]This'll be the day that I die"
[D]

[Verse 9]
Now [G]for ten years we've
been [Am]on our own
And [C]moss grows fat on [Am]a rollin' stone
[Em]But that's not how it [D]used to be
When [G]the jester [D]sang
for [Em]the king and queen
In [Am]a coat he borrowed from [C]James Dean
And [Em]a voice [A]that came
from you and me
[D]

[Verse 10]
Oh, an[Em]d while the king was
[D]looking down
[Em]The jester stole [D]his thorny
crown
[C]The courtroom was [G]ad [Am]journed
[A]No [C]verdict was retur[D]ned

[Verse 11]
And [G]while Lenin [D]read
[Em]a book on Marx
[Am]A quartet [C]practiced in the park
And [G]we sang [D]dirges [Em]in the dark
The [C]day the [D]mu sic [G]died[C]

[Verse 12]
[G]We wer[D]e singin' bye[G]- bye[C],
Miss [G]Americ[D]an Pie
Drove [G]my Chevy to the [C]levee,
but the [G]levee [D]was dry
Them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin'
[G]whiskey [D]and rye
Singin' [Em]"This'll be the day that I [A]die
[Em]This'll be the day that I die"
[D]

[Verse 13]
[G]Helter skelter in [Am]a summer swelter
[C]The birds flew off with [Am]a fallout shelter
[Em]Eight miles high and fal[D]ling fast
[G]It landed fou[D]l on [Em]the grass
[Am]The players tried for [C]a forward pass
With [Em]the jester on the side
[A]lines in a cast
[D]

[Verse 14]
Now [Em]the halftime air was
[D]sweet perfume
While [Em]the sergeants played
[D]a marching tune
[C]We all got up [Am]to dance
Oh, but [C]we never got [D]the chance

[Verse 15]
'Cause the [G]players [D]tried to take
[Em]the field
[Am]The marching band re[C]fused to yield
[G]Do you re[D]call what [Em]was revealed
[C]The day [D]the music [G]died?[C]

[Verse 16]
[G]We [D]started singin' bye[G]- bye[C],
Miss [G]Americ[D]an Pie
Drove [G]my Chevy to the [C]levee,
but the [G]levee was [D]dry
Them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin'
[G]whiskey [D]and rye
And singin' [Em]"This'll be
the day that I [A]die
[Em]This'll be the day that I die"
[D]

[Verse 17]
Oh, [G]and there we were all [Am]in one place
[C]A generation l[Am]ost in space
With [Em]no time left to[D] start again
So come [G]on, Jack [D]be nimble,
[Em]Jack be quick
[Am]Jack Flash sat on [C]a candlestick
[Em]'Cause fire is [A]the devil's only friend
[D]

[Verse 18]
Oh, [Em]and as I watched him o[D]n the stage
My [Em]hands were clenched in [D]fists of rage
[C]No angel born [Em]in H[Am]ell
Could [C]break that Satan's [D]spell

[Verse 19]
And as [G]the flames climbed
[D]high in[Em]to the night
[Am]To light the sacrifici[C]al rite
I saw [G]Satan [D]laughing [Em]with delight
[C]The day [D]the music [G]died[C]

[Verse 20]
[G]He was[D] singin' bye[G]- bye[C],
Miss [G]Americ[D]an Pie
Drove [G]my Chevy to the [C]levee,
but [G]the levee [D]was dry
Them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin'
[G]whiskey [D]and rye
And singin' [Em]"This'll be
the day that I [A]die
[Em]This'll be the day that I [D]die"

[Verse 21]
[D]
I met a girl who [Em]sang the blues
And [Am]I asked her for some hap[C]py news
[Em]But she just smiled and [D]turned away
[G]I went down [D]to the sac[Em]red store
[Am]Where I'd heard the music
[C]years before
[Em]But the man there said the
mu[C]sic [D]wouldn't play

[Verse 22]
[D]And [Em]in the streets,
the [Am]children screamed
The lover[Em]s cried [Am]an d the
poets dreamed
[C]But not [G]a word [Am]was spoken
The [C]church bells all [D]were broken

[Verse 23]
And the three men I ad[Em]mire most
[C]The Father,
Son and the Holy [D]Ghost
They caught the last train
[Em]for the [D]coast
[C]The day [D]the music [G]died
[D]And they were singin'

[Verse 24]
[G]bye- [C]bye,
Miss [G]Americ[D]an Pie
Drove [G]my Chevy to [C]the levee,
but the [G]levee [D]was dry
And them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin'
[G]whiskey [D]and rye
Singin' [Em]"This'll be the day
that I [A]die[Em]
This'll be the day that I [D]die"

[Verse 25]
They were singin' [G]bye- [C]bye,
Miss [G]Americ[D]an Pie
Drove [G]my Chevy to the [C]levee,
but [G]the levee [D]was dry
Them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin'
[G]whiskey [D]and rye
And singin' [C]"This'll
[D]be the day that I [G]die"[C]