Don McLean

American Pie Chords | Don McLean

Song : American Pie Chords
* - strum once
[Verse 1]
G     D/F#    Em7
A long, long time ago,
Am            C                  Em                  D
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
G      D/F#   Em7
And I knew if I had my chance,
Am                 C                Em              C            D
That I could make those people dance 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      Am             C                     D
Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
G          D/F#     Em           Am7            D
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride
G         D          Em
Something touched me deep inside
C      D7      G
The day the music died
[Chorus]
G    C        G        D
So 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
Em*                         A7*   Em*                         D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
[Verse 2]
G                 Am
Did you write the book of love
C                 Am         Em           D
And do you have faith in god above, if the bible tells you so?
G      D/F#        Em
Do you believe in rock and roll
Am7            C              Em                 A7           D
Can music save your mortal soul and can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Em*                  D*                   Em*             D*
Well I know that you're in love with him 'cuz I saw you dancin' in the gym
C           G        A7           C                    D7
You both kicked off your shoes, man I dig those rhythm and blues
G      D/F#     Em                   Am                   C
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck 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    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
Em*                         A7*   Em*                         D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
[Verse 3]
G                   Am
Now for ten years we've been on our own,
C                   Am          Em                     D
and moss grows fat on a rolling stone but that's not how it used to be
G     D/F#            Em
When the jester sang for the king and queen 
Am7                C                   Em             A7          D
in a coat he borrowed from James Dean in 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          A7    C             D7
The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned
G         D/F#  Em             Am           C
And while Lennon read a book on Marx, the quartet practiced in the park
G        D/F#   Em             C         D7     G  C  G
And we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died, we were singin'
[Chorus]
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
Em*                         A7*   Em*                         D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
[Verse 4]
G                   Am
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
C                      Am                 Em                     D
the birds flew off with a fallout shelter, eight miles high and fallin' fast
G   D/F#  Em
It landed foul on the grass
Am7                C            Em                             A7     D
the players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Em*               D*                  Em*                 D*
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a marching tune
C          G        A7      C                  D7
We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
G      D/F#      Em                 Am              C
'Cuz the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield
G    D/F#       Em              C        D7       G  C  G
Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died,    we started singin'
[Chorus]
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
Em*                         A7*   Em*                         D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
[Verse 5]
G                Am
And there we were all in one place,
C        Am            Em                   D
a generation lost in space, with no time left to start again
G      D/F#   Em               Am7                 C
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candle 
Em                   A7             D
stick, 'cuz fire is the devil's only friend
Em*              D*               Em*                    D*
And as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage
C      G       A7         C                  D7
No angel born in Hell could break that Satan's spell
G            D/F#      Em             Am              C
And as the flames climbed high into the night 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 singin'
[Chorus]
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
Em*                         A7*   Em*                         D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
[Verse 6]
G    D/F#       Em
I met a girl who sang the blues
Am                 C               Em                      D
And I asked her for some happy news, but she just smiled and turned away
G       D/F#      Em
I went down to the sacred store
Am              C                     Em                 C
Where I'd heard the music years before, but the man there said the music
D
wouldn't play
Em*                Am*                    Em*                  Am*
But in the streets the children screamed, 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/F#   Em            Am7     C             D7
And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
G             D/F#          Em               Am7     D7    G
They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died,
N.C.
And they were singin'
[Chorus]
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
Em*                         A7*   Em*                         D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
G    C        G        D
They were singin' 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                D7         G   C   G
Singin' this will be the day that I die.