Don Maclean-American Pie - BPM - 136
Harmonica is -Vocal Patches - - -
[Intro BPM 138 - NO DRUMS]
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]
(BASS IN AND DRUMS)
[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]
[DRUMS AND BASS STOPS]
[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]