[Intro BPM 120 - G#m7b5/D = xx0102 - CAPO 1st fret for original key] -----Bm--------Bm/F#-Bm/A--Bm---------Bm/F#-Bm/A ||:--/---/---/___/---/---|--/---/---/___/----/--:||[x2]
[Keyboard riff] e |-2--2----keep Bm ringing apart from any part fretted with first finger B |-3--3------------------- G |-4--4------------------- D |-4--4------------------- A |-2--2-----0------------- E |-X--X--0h2--------------
[Verse 1 - Chug with no drums] [Bm] When I was young, it seemed that [Gmaj7] life was so [F#m7] wonderful, [(G)] A [A] miracle, oh, it was [G] beautiful, [E7/G#] magical, And all the [Bm] birds in the trees, well, they'd be [Gmaj7] singing so [F#m7] happily, [(G)] Oh, [A] joyfully, oh, [G] playfully [E7/G#] watching me
[Verse 2 - Full drums but slap snare] But then they [Bm] sent me away, to teach me [Gmaj7] how to be [F#m7] sensible, [(G)][A] Logical, oh, re - [G] sponsible, [E7/G#] practical, And then they [Bm] showed me a world where I [Gmaj7] could be so de - [F#m7] pendable, [(G)] Oh, [A] clinical, oh, intel - [G] lectual, [E7/G#] cynical
[Chorus - Just bass drum Bxxb Bxxx] There are [D] times when all the world's a - [G#m7b5/D - XX0102] sleep The questions run too [Gmaj7/D - XX0432] deep for such a simple (drums in) [C] man- [Em/B] ------ [Am7] ----- [G] ---, Won't you (just bass drum) [D] please, ...please, tell me what we've [G#m7b5/D] learnt, I know it sounds ab - [Gmaj7/D] surd, Please, tell me who I [C] am- [Em/B] ------ [Am7] ----- [G] --! -----C-----Em/B-----Am7---G |-/--/--/--/--|--/--/--/--/--|
[Verse 3 - Full snare] I said now, [Bm] watch what you say, they'll be [Gmaj7] calling you a [F#m7] radical, [(G)] A [A] liberal, oh, fan - [G] atical, [E7/G#] criminal, Oh, won't you [Bm] sign up your name? We'd like to [Gmaj7] feel you're ac - [F#m7] ceptable, [(G)] Re - [A] spectable, oh, pre - [G] sentable, a [E7/G#] vegetable, oh, take it, take it!
[Verse 4 - Sax solo - Full drums] ...Yeah! ---Bm----------Gmaj7-F#m7------(G)-A------------G------E7/G# |--/--/--/--/-|-/--/--/--/-|-/--/--/--/-|-/--/--/--/-|-/--/--/--/-| ---Bm----------Gmaj7-F#m7------(G)-A------------G------E7/G# |--/--/--/--/-|-/--/--/--/-|-/--/--/--/-|-/--/--/--/-|-/--/--/--/-|
[Chorus - drums as per others] But at [D] night, when all the world's a - [G#m7b5/D] sleep, The questions run so [Gmaj7/D] deep for such a simple [C] man [Em/B] ------ [Am7] ---, [G] Won't you [D] please, please, tell me what we've [G#m7b5/D] learnt? (Oh, won't you tell me? Umm, tell me what!) I know it sounds ab - [Gmaj7/D] surd-----!, (Can you hear me? I know!) (Oh, won't you help me?) Please, tell me who I [C] am- [Em/B] ------ [Am7] ---- [G] --, (Tell me who I am-------------!) who I [C] am- [Em/B] ------ [Am7] ----- [G] --,
Who I [C] am- [Em/B] ------ [Am7] ----- [G] --, who I [C] am- [Em/B] ------ [Am7] ----- [G] ---! Yeah!
[Outro - Fade to End] ----B7-------------------------------------Em----Em7 ||:-/--/--/--/-|-/--/--/--/-|-/--/--/--/-|-/--/--/--/-|
==================================================================== [Coda - with bass notes] This nine bar pattern repeats to the fade
h = Hammer-on notes
B7 e |-------2--2---------|--2-----------------|-------2--2---------| B |-------0--0---------|--0-----------------|-------0--0---------| G |-------2--2---------|--2-----------------|-------2--2---------| D |-------1--1---------|--1---0-h1----------|-------1--1---------| A |----0--2--2------0--|--2---------2--0----|----0--2--2---------| E |--2-----------------|--------------------|--2-----------2--1--|
Em Em7 B7 e |--------------------|-------2--2---------|---2----------------| B |---0--------0--0----|-------0--0---------|---0----------------| G |---0--------0--0----|-------2--2---------|---2----------------| D |---2-----2--0--0----|-------1--1---------|---1---0-h1---------| A |---2----------------|----0--2--2------0--|---2---------2--0---| E |---0----------------|--2-----------------|--------------------|
B7 Em Bm/D (Bm/F#) G e |-------2--2---------|--0------2----------|---3----------------| B |-------0--0---------|--0------3----------|---3----------------| G |-------2--2---------|--0------4----------|---4----------------| D |-------1--1---4--3--|--2---2--0------4---|---5----------------| A |----0--2--2---------|--------------------|--------------------| E |--2-----------------|--------------------|--------------------|
[Additional Notes] Bm Bm/F# Bm/A Bm Bm/F# Bm/A e |---2--2--2--2------------|---2--2--2--2------------| B |---3--3--3--3------------|---3--3--3--3------------| [x2] G |---4--4--4--4------------|---4--4--4--4------------| D |---4--4--4--4------------|---4--4--4--4------------| A |---2--2--2--2--------0---|---2--2--2--2--------0---| E |---------------0-h2------|---------------0-h2------|
[Chorus Riff arpeggios] C Em/B Am7 G (G/A)(G/B) e |----------------------|-------------------------| B |----------------------|-------------------------| G |---------0--------0---|---------0---------------| D |------2--------2------|------2------------------| A |---3--------2---------|---0--------------0--h2--| E |----------------------|------------3------------|
h = hammer-on note
Chord names and fret positions are relative to the capo: Bm = x24432 G = 320033 Em/B = x22000 Bm/F# = 224432 E7/G# = 420100 Am7 = x02010 Bm/A = x04432 D = xx0232 Em = 022000 Gmaj7 = 320002 G#m7b5/D = xx0102 Em7 = 020000 F#m7 = 242222 Gmaj7/D = xx0002 B7 = x21202 A = x02220 C = x32010 Bm/D = xx0432(G) = 3xxxxx
[Intro BPM 138] A [G] long, [D/F#] long time [Em7] ago [Am] I can still re [C] member how that [Em] music used to make me [D] smile And [G] I knew [D/F#] 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
But [Em] February [Am] made me shiver, [Em] with every paper I'd [Am] deliver [C] Bad news [G/B] on the [Am] doorstep, I couldn't [C] take one more step [D] I [G] can't remem [D/F#] ber if I [Em] cried when I [Am7] read about his [D] widowed bride [G] Something [D/F#] touched me [Em] deep inside The [C] day the [D7] music died [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 die [D7]
[Verse 2] [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/F#] believe in [Em] rock and 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 'cuz I [Em*] saw you dancin' [D*] in the gym You [C] both kicked [G/B] off your [Am] shoes, man I [C] dig those rhythm and [D7] blues I was a [G] lonely [D/F#] teenage [Em] bronckin' buck with a [Am] pink carnation and a [C] pickup truck But [G] I knew [D/F#] I was [Em] out of luck the [C] day the [D7] music [G] died [C] , [G] I started [D] singin'
[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 die [D7]
[Verse 3] Now for [G] ten years we've been [Am] on our own and [C] moss grows fat on a [Am] rolling stone [Em] but that's not how it [D] used to be When the [G] jester [D/F#] sang for the king [Em] and queen in a [Am7] coat he borrowed [C] from James Dean in a [Em] voice that came [A7] from you and [D] me
Oh, and [Em*] while the king was [D*] looking down, the [Em*] jester stole his thorny [D*] crown The [C] courtroom [G/B] was ad [A7] journed, [C] no verdict was re [D7] turned And while [G] Lennin read [D/F#] a book [Em] on Marx, the [Am] quartet practiced [C] in the park And [G] we sang [D/F#] dirges [Em] in the dark the [C] day the [D7] music [G] died [C] , [G] we were [D] singin'
[Chorus] [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 die [D7]
[Verse 4] [G] Helter skelter in a [Am] summer swelter [C] the birds flew off with [Am] a fallout shelter, [Em] eight miles high and [D] fallin' fast [G] It landed [D/F#] foul [Em] on the grass the [Am7] players tried for a [C] forward pass [Em] with the jester on the [A7] sidelines in a [D] cast
Now the [Em*] half-time air was [D*] sweet perfume, while [Em*] sergeants played a [D*] marching tune [C] We all got [G/B] up to dance [A7] but we [C] never got the [D7] chance 'Cuz the [G] players [D/F#] tried to [Em] take the field, the [Am] marching band re [C] fused to yield Do [G] you re [D/F#] call what [Em] was revealed the [C] day the [D7] music [G] died [C] , [G] we started [D] singin'
[Chorus] [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 die [D7]
[Verse 5] And [G] there we were all [Am] in one place a [C] generation [Am] lost in space, [Em] with no time left to [D] start again So come on [G] Jack be [D/F#] nimble, [Em] Jack be quick, [Am7] Jack Flash sat on a [C] candle stick, [Em] 'cuz fire is the devil's [A7] only friend [D]
And as [Em*] I watched him [D*] on the stage, my [Em*] hands were clenched in [D*] fists of rage No [C] angel [G/B] born in [A7] Hell could [C] break that Satan's [D7] spell And as the [G] flames climbed [D/F#] high into [Em] the night to [Am] light the sacri [C] ficial rite I saw [G] Satan [D/F#] laughing [Em] with delight the [C] day the [D7] music [G] died [C][G] he was [D] singin'
[Chorus] [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 die [D7]
[Verse 6] I [G] met a [D/F#] girl who [Em] sang the 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/F#] to the [Em] sacred store Where I'd [Am] heard the music [C] years before, but [Em] the man there said [C] the 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/B] word was [Am] spoken, the [C] church bells all were [D] broken And the [G] three men [D/F#] I admire [Em] most, the [Am7] Father, [C] Son, and the [D7] Holy Ghost [G] They caught the [D/F#] last train [Em] for the coast the [C] day the [D7] music [G] died, [N.C.] And they were singin'
[Chorus] [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 die [D7]
They were singin' [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]
