G D/F# Em7
A long, long time ago…
Am C
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
But February made me shiver,
Em Am
With every paper I’d deliver,
C G/B Am
Bad news on the doorstep…
C D
I couldn’t take one more step.
G D/F# Em
I can’t remember if I cried
Am7 D
When I read about his widowed bride
G D/F# Em
But something touched me deep inside,
C D7 G C G
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
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin whiskey and rye
Em A7
Singing “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/F# Em
Now do you believe in rock ‘n roll?
Am7 C
Can music save your mortal soul?
Em A7 D
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Em D
Well I know you’re in love with him
Em D
‘Cause I saw you dancing in the gym
C G A7
You both kicked off your shoes
C D7
Man, I dig those rhythm ‘n’ 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
But I knew I was out of luck
C D7 G C
The day the music died
G D7
I started singing…
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
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin whiskey and rye
Em A7
Singing “This’ll be the day that I die,
Em D7
This’ll be the day that I die.
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/F# Em
When the jester sang for the King and Queen
Am7 C
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
Em A7 D
And a voice that came from you and me
Em D
Oh, and while the King was looking down
Em D
The jester stole his thorny crown
C G A7
The courtroom was adjourned,
C D7
No verdict was returned.
G D/F# Em
And while Lennon read a book on Marx,
Am C
The quartet practiced in the park
G D/F# Em
And we sang dirges in the dark
C D7 G C
The day the music died.
G D7
We were singing…
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
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin whiskey and rye
Em A7
Singing “This’ll be the day that I die,
Em D7
This’ll be the day that I die.
G Am
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
C Am
The birds flew off with the fallout shelter
Em D
Eight miles high and falling fast
G D/F# Em
It landed foul on the grass
Am7 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 sergeants played a marching tune
C G A7
We all got up to dance
C D7
Oh, 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/F# Em
Do you recall what was revealed,
C D7 G C
The day the music died?
G D7
We started singing
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
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin whiskey and rye
Em A7
Singing “This’ll be the day that I die,
Em D7
This’ll be the day that I die.
G Am
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/F# Em
So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick
Am7 C
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
Em A7 D
‘Cause fire is the devil’s only friend
Em D
And as I watched him on the stage
Em D
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
C G A7
No angel born in hell
C D7
Could break that satan’s spell
G D/F# Em
As the flames climbed high into the night
Am C
To light the sacrificial rite
G D/F# Em
I saw satan laughing with delight
C D7 G C
The day the music died
G D7
He was singing…
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
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin whiskey and rye
Em A7
Singing “This’ll be the day that I die,
Em D7
This’ll be the day that I die.
G D/F# Em
I met a girl who sang the blues
Am C
And I asked her for some happy news
Em D
But she just smiled and turned away
G D/F# Em
I went down to the sacred store
Am7 C
Where I’d heard the music years before
Em 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/B Am
But not a word was spoken
C D
The church bells all were broken
G D/F# Em
And the three men I admire most
C D7
The Father Son and Holy Ghost
G D/F# Em
They caught the last train for the coast
C D7 G C
The day the music died
G D7
And they were singing…
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
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin whiskey and rye
Em A7
Singing “This’ll be the day that I die,
Em D7
This’ll be the day that I die.